ABSTRACT
Marketing Automation (MA) involves using software to manage and execute marketing activities with minimal human intervention. A set of rules govern marketing activities and algorithms decide on when and how to implement them. In this chapter, we consider the role of MA in two areas: campaign management and strategic CRM. Campaign management applications allow marketers to plan, execute and evaluate single-, multi-, or omni-channel marketing campaigns and events across multiple channels including direct mail, email, tele-marketing, social media, and digital. MA may also take a more strategic role in a company’s marketing function, for example by enabling integrated marketing management, partner marketing, product life cycle management, and asset management. The main benefit of MA is the reduced need for human engagement (which reduces potential costs), the greater effectiveness of marketing activities, and the heightened ability to monitor marketing outcomes. The main costs include the reduced human interaction that customers experience, the high cost of MA systems, and difficulties in the integration of MA systems with existing company systems.
