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Marketing automation: why most platforms are underused

Many organisations invest in Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Marketo – then leads still go cold before they reach sales. The problem is rarely the platform.

By the Tonic The Agency team

Illustration of an automated customer journey linking email, chat, data and automation icons, with one lead going cold

In this guide

  1. The problem
  2. Why platforms end up underused
  3. Where automation breaks down
  4. When we meet
  5. FAQs
  6. Further reading

Marketing automation promises a lot. Nurture journeys that send the right message at the right moment, better-qualified leads and a clear line from marketing to revenue. Yet a year after launch, many teams are still sending one-off email blasts from an expensive platform – and sales still say the leads aren’t ready.

It’s rarely the technology that’s at fault. More often it’s messy data, unclear ownership and journeys nobody had time to design – problems that are hard to see when you’re inside them.

Definition

What is marketing automation?

Marketing automation uses software – such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Marketo – to send personalised messages, nurture leads and score them automatically based on how people engage, so sales and marketing can focus on the leads most ready to buy.

The problem

Side note: this guide focuses on marketing automation and lead nurturing in Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Marketo.

Five questions teams can’t answer about their marketing automation

  • Why do leads go cold between first contact and sales?
  • Are we using more than a fraction of what we pay for?
  • Do sales and marketing agree on when a lead is ready?
  • Which nurture journeys are working – and which should we switch off?
  • Can we show nurturing’s contribution to pipeline and revenue?

Leads don’t go cold on their own. They go cold in the gaps between marketing and sales.

Why it happens

Why marketing automation platforms end up underused

Most teams don’t lack ambition – they lack time and clarity. Four things usually get in the way.

  • Messy data.Duplicate, outdated or incomplete records undermine every journey.
  • No clear owner.When nobody owns the platform, it becomes a sending tool and little else.
  • Sales and marketing misaligned.Without an agreed definition of a good lead, scoring and handover break down.
  • Journeys set and forgotten.Nurture journeys built at launch are rarely reviewed, so they slowly stop working.

Figure 1

Where marketing automation breaks down

  1. Data

    • Are records clean and complete?
    • Are our systems connected?
    • Who maintains the data?

  2. Nurture journeys

    Lead goes cold

    • Do journeys match how customers buy?
    • Is content relevant at each stage?
    • When were they last reviewed?

  3. Lead management

    • What counts as a qualified lead?
    • How does handover to sales work?
    • Is lead scoring trusted?

  4. Reporting

    • Can we see what’s working?
    • Is revenue attributed?
    • Who acts on the numbers?
Figure 1. Common points where marketing automation and lead nurturing in Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Marketo lose momentum. The right fix depends on your platform, data and sales process – which is where a conversation starts.

When we meet

Where a conversation with us starts

Every platform, team and sales process is different, so we begin by talking rather than prescribing. In a first conversation we’ll look together at:

  • How leads are nurtured today – in Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Marketo, and where the biggest gaps are.
  • The state of your data – what’s helping and what’s getting in the way.
  • Where journeys could do more – the moments that matter most to your customers.
  • When a lead is ready for sales – a definition sales and marketing can both agree on.
Talk to us about marketing automation

Marketing automation FAQs

What is lead nurturing?

Lead nurturing is building a relationship with prospects over time by sending relevant emails and content at the right moments, based on what they do. The aim is to keep leads engaged until they’re ready for a sales conversation.

Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Marketo – which is better?

Neither is better for everyone. Salesforce Marketing Cloud is often chosen by organisations already invested in Salesforce, and Marketo by B2B teams focused on lead management. The right choice depends on your CRM, data, team and the journeys you need.

Why are our leads going cold?

Usually because of gaps between marketing and sales: no agreed definition of a qualified lead, slow or unclear handover, journeys that haven’t been reviewed since launch and data that can’t be trusted. The platform itself is rarely the cause.

Do we need a new marketing automation platform?

Often not. Many teams use only a fraction of the platform they already pay for. The bigger gains usually come from cleaner data, better journeys and clearer processes between marketing and sales – a new platform won’t fix those on its own.

Can Tonic help with Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Marketo?

Yes. Tonic implements and optimises marketing automation and lead nurturing in both Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Marketo. A good starting point is a review of how your platform, data and journeys are working today.

Guides. Further reading

Thinking it through? Start here.

All guides

Work with us

Getting less from your marketing automation than you expected?

Tonic The Agency is a full service independent agency in Surry Hills, Sydney, founded in 2010. We implement and optimise marketing automation and lead nurturing in Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Marketo.

Talk to us about marketing automation