Future of Marketing and Sales Automation – Parts 1 & 2

How do marketing automation and sales automation systems come together, both today and in the future? What is the difference between CRM, marketing automation, sales automation, and customer experience management?

Find out by listening to this 4-part fireside chat with

• Clint Oram, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, SugarCRM
• Chris Wong, Vice President, Strategy and Product Management, IBM ExperienceOne
• moderated by Laurence Leong, Senior Director, IBM Alliance from SugarCRM

In part 1, hear Chris talk about the SugarCRM and IBM partnership, and how IBM is not only a partner but also a customer. Chris talks about how he deployed and managed the marketing automation system within IBM, and his views on how to use the marketing automation and CRM system to build relationships with customers. Clint discusses the evolution of the CRM market and how it has grown to be not only sales force automation, but also include marketing automation and all technologies that interface with customers in all stages of their sales cycle.

Here are a few highlights (edited for clarity):

Chris Wong:

• “IBM is not only a partner but also a user of Sugar.  Sugar is an extremely impressive product. I deployed and managed the marketing automation system within IBM. [In IBM’s deployment], we have an opportunity to think about how we can use marketing automation systems in IBM together with this very powerful CRM capability that SugarCRM has.”
• “The future of marketing automation and CRM linkage is not just in the traditional way of marketing developing campaigns, and creating leads. Those are table stakes. The next level – the future of marketing and sales – is how we use these two systems to build relationships with customers. How do we help a company’s sales team stay on top of the customer? How do we help them as they go in for that critical moment-of-truth meeting with their customer? How do we make sure they know what’s happening and are well informed? That’s the power of marketing automation and sales automation: How do we bring that all together so that it’s really designed around the customer.”

Clint Oram:

• “Chris and I share a lot of similar views on the customer relationship management industry and where it’s going. SugarCRM has been partnering with IBM for several years around our integrated customer relationship management technologies. We’ve been working together on a series of customers around the world.”
• “A lot of people still think of CRM as sales force automation. Some people still call the tools that they put in the hands of their sales people CRM. But now, CRM spans across all technologies that interface with customers in all stages of the sales cycle.”

Click here to listen to part 1.

In part 2, you’ll learn how companies can get started towards the aspirational, ideal goal of tightly integrated marketing and sales systems when many companies are still challenged with the basics, and focused on deploying digital systems in place for sales and marketing. Chris and Clint also share their views on B2B vs B2C, and something Chris calls “B2P”.

Clint Oram:

• “The view of a company that can truly digitally manage a relationship using digital tools and across digital channels with customers in a fully integrated lockstep cycle no matter which department a customer is engaging with – that’s still in the aspirational realm for most companies. Most companies are just trying to get digital technologies deployed in the sales department for the first time, and digital technologies deployed in the marketing department for the first time. Many of them are just challenged with the basics. When it comes to CRM vision: let’s focus on simple metrics, which could be: raise revenue, decrease costs, improve lead flow, improve time to close, get quotes out more quickly. Many companies start with a departmental siloed view and over time they spread to different departments.”
• “Driving lifetime value of customers instead of single transactions, is something I call the subscription economy.”

Chris Wong:

• “Historically the main point of contact has been with the sales team; now there’s so many points of contact that need to come together in a much more integrated way. It’s a maturity model. Organizations have to start with just getting those digital systems in place , first with sales, then with marketing, then across all the different engagement points that can happen – customer service, web, mobile, email. Customers want to integrate that around the experience. Step 1 is to get those systems in place, then step 2 is how do I bring that together. “
• “Even though you may be marketing to companies, at the end of the day you’re marketing to individuals. How do you engage with them on a one to one basis? Inside IBM , we call it “B2P” : business to person. It’s no longer about engaging with customers as a transactional moment – it’s moving to engage with them over time, with continuous engagement driving lifetime value.”

Click here to listen to part 2.

Click here for parts 3 & 4 of this thought-provoking discussion from two true leaders and visionaries in the industry.

How do you see marketing and sales automation coming together? Add your comments below.