Photo by Kevin Young on Unsplash
In a nutshell
I’ve learnt a lot in my first few months at Marketing Cube. I thought I came into the business with a sound understanding of Marketing Automation and its capabilities, however, I was happily mistaken.
Introduction
Getting first-hand experience of what the team looks over as they implement solutions for so many different businesses, I have started to understand some of the complexities of Marketing Automation and functions that are deliverable through a platform like Eloqua.
As marketers, most of us have experience with email marketing, and perhaps marketing automation platforms. Through this journey, most of us arrive at an understanding of the importance of data and personalisation.
I’ve captured some of the things I’ve learnt during my first few months at Marketing Cube which I hope you will find interesting.
Deeper Dive into Data
Collecting Data
There’s no higher level of importance I could give to collecting data for businesses when it comes to understanding their audience and catering to them on a personal level. I’ve witnessed the process of how valuable first-party data is and the process required to capture it. At Marketing Cube, part of what we do is oversee the strategic planning involved in using marketing automation to capture, unify and implement first-party data.
Data Cleaning
For any business, data cleansing/cleaning should be seen as housekeeping. As we continue to collect data and build our database, make it a habit to clean the data and develop a checklist to regulate the process. Up to date, clean data enables marketers to identify what data could be missing. This can help shape future campaigns and data collection activities.
Implementation of Data
More doesn’t always mean better, and holding unused data may be a breach of privacy laws. Instead, we need to have a strategy in place for the collection and management of data. A well-developed data collection strategy should consider the data required to improve CX and enhance personalisation.
Eloqua end of year data housekeeping
Your 1st party data is likely your #1 priority. It’s generally the most accurate of the data you have access to & likely the most current. This month we provided specific tips, ideas & suggestions for Eloqua customers helping them cleanse their data to drive more personalised campaigns. Watch the replay | Sydney Eloqua Help […]
Let’s get a little more personal
Personalisation
As marketers, we all know that the more personalised any content is, the higher the engagement will be. However, implementing this successfully can be a challenge.
Whether I’m ordering my coffee or training with my coach, the more personalised each experience is, the more likely I am to repeatedly engage. It just makes me feel more connected when my barista or coach seems to know me better than I had expected. It also provides a more human association with brands / corporations.
Hyper-Personalisation
While the benefits of personalisation are generally clear, what if we could go a step further and hyper-personalise content? With a marketing automation platform like Eloqua, I am able to have near real-time tracking of customers’ behaviour and interactions, as they browse our website and Eloqua landing pages. I can see which pages and emails they interacted with, through adding a UTM source, which can track a lead source, lead medium and lead campaign. This process also assists with attribution and identifying which touchpoints customers are engaging through.
Automation of any process requires planning and a review process to ensure the automation is delivering to the objective. We need to plan which data we want to collect and how we can provide a personalised experience for our customers, factor in the use of Eloqua Progressive Profiling in Forms. This ensures we’re not constantly pestering our customers with the same questions again and again. In addition to this, based on the data collected through forms, I can create custom data objects that are personalised to the customer, providing me with a unique opportunity to show the functions of hyper-personalisation and automation.
A key factor is the software and tools we’re using. In my personal use of various email marketing systems, I’ve experienced limitations that restricted my ability to hyper-personalise content. Some functionality is rudimentary and doesn’t allow for more complex data models.
The benefit of switching/upgrading to a specialised Marketing Automation platform is immense. For me personally, however, the biggest hurdle was going to be usability and functionality.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
Ease of Use
Usability & Functionality of Eloqua
From my user experience with Eloqua, I can easily say that Eloqua was built with marketers in mind, keeping marketing objectives in front of the user as it provides easy to use design elements, detailed reporting, app integration, and intricate segmentation, integration with CRM systems and data insights.
I’ve discovered that Eloqua is able to manage complex data requirements with ease. Accessing the data through a drag-and-drop segmentation tool, I’ve been able to apply filters and build very targeted lists without any code e.g. no SQL coding experience is required.
The campaign canvas allows us to build detailed campaigns with specific rules/decisions. As I built a landing page and form, based on what option my audience selected from a drop-down, contacts are shifted to another campaign and sent an email within a specific time and date period. This entire process is automated.
I tested this personally when it came to building out a campaign and overseeing what we currently deploy at Marketing Cube. The design editors made creating emails and landing pages so seamless. I’ve created dynamic content which personalises the entire campaign experience. Linking forms and adding customer segments were also easily associated with the campaign.
In closing, the reporting is also extensive and provides a highly detailed dashboard so you can retrieve the specific information you require.
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