A useful analysis from Forrester of how marketing automation can help to align B2B marketers with sales and bring large business benefits. However, 'Marketing Automation is like a painter's palette - it doesn't make you a master' and the research reveals a number of issues:
- Focus is stuck at the top of the funnel - many B2B marketers are not using the system to nurture the leads, but to blast their entire database.
- There is a lack of process - before automating, few B2B firms had any real process in place for lead generation and the handoff to sales.
- Not enough support from the sales organisation exists.
- Resource bottlenecks persist - once marketers realise what's possible with automation, they naturally want to run more campaigns, but don't have the content they need to engage buyers.
Further references
Making Marketing Automation A Catalyst for Alignment with Sales
I don't have anything against building more and more quality hubs, it is the foundation of the success, no doubt, yet it is not enough