Marketing Commentary from interlinkONE
Marketing. Web-to-Print. Warehouse Management.
What is Marketing Automation?
Posted by 
on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 
at 11:15 AM 
in Marketing automation is exactly how it sounds. It’s all about making the steps in marketing automatic, as opposed to manual in nature. And it’s accomplished by using software that can execute automated marketing steps.
Imagine harnessing the power of technology to engage your prospects. Via email. Via text messages. Via social networking sites. And then setting up the relationship building process to work completely automated. You still have personalized messages. You still make that connection with your prospects. But it’s all done with an automated system – making technology working for you!
When you build a marketing campaign, there are a lot of moving parts. Yes, you need to get the message out there to your prospects. You also need to ensure that the message stays consistent. Using software that helps you do this saves time, money and allows you to do things within your marketing campaign that perhaps wouldn’t be efficient were you conducting the various aspects manually.
You build your marketing campaign. You develop the marketing messages and you will get them to your target market through the following: text messaging, direct mail, e-mail, Facebook and MySpace ads and banner ads. Each message sent through each of these methods will have a call to action and will allow for a response from your prospects. However, there is no “man behind the green curtain” choosing when to unleash each message. The delivery of the messages are already pre-determined and set up on a fine-tuned schedule. Banner ads are in place on day one. Social media ads (Facebook and MySpace) are also ready to go. Emails will be sent 3 days later. Text messages will go out 4 days after that. And then the direct mail will hit the streets a few days later. Each message is completely scheduled and each message invites response from prospects. The moment your prospects begin to respond and utilize those response mechanisms, your automated marketing system continues to plug away at the campaign, kicking into high gear. Whether the prospect responds via a web form after clicking on a banner ad, or a personalized URL, that prospect is sent information that directly corresponds to the prospect’s interest.
Relationship building via an automated system saves resources in regards to both money and time, and by providing relevant information to the prospect in a timely manner, a company is more likely to foster that relationship and turn it into a sale.
Tags John Foley, Jr. to speak with Barb Pellow at Print 09
We are happy to announce that interlinkONE’s President and CEO, John Foley, Jr. will be speaking along with Barb Pellow, Group Leader at InfoTrends, at Print ’09.
They will be presenting the following topic, “Strategic Company Marketing to Build Your Prospect Database” – Session #60.
The session will be take place on Monday, September 14th, from 10:30 am to 12:15 pm.
It will be held in Room S405AB – this is in the Level Four meeting rooms of South Hall.
Many service providers have successfully increased their business by offering marketing services. John Foley and Barb Pellow will demonstrate ways that service providers can successfully improve the marketing and sales process for their own business.
During this presentation, the following items will be discussed:
- Setting up a marketing plan to grow your database
- Separate the good from the bad – acquiring qualified leads
- Ready-to-go campaign ideas to help grow your list
- Marketing 2.0 – how to use social media to attract prospects
Print ’09 is being held in Chicago, from September 11th – 16th, 2009.
interlinkONE will be exhibiting at the Print ’09 conference. Make sure to swing by Booth #7240!
This topic is being presented as part of the MFSA Educational Series
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Barbara A. Pellow, Group Leader, InfoTrends
A digital printing and publishing pioneer and marketing expert, Barbara Pellow is leading the InfoTrends Business Development Strategies and Custom Communications Services to help companies develop multi-media strategies that ride the information wave. Whether it is developing a strategy to launch a new product, building a strategic marketing plan or educating your sales force on how to deliver an effective value proposition, Barb brings the knowledge and skills to help companies expand and grow business opportunity.
Before joining InfoTrends, Pellow was the Chief Marketing Officer of Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group, where she was responsible for all marketing activities for the division, including business strategy, marketing communications, public relations, marketing intelligence and advertising strategy. Prior to joining Kodak, Pellow was the Gannett chair in integrated publishing sciences in Rochester Institute of Technology’s (RIT) School of Printing Management and Sciences (SPMS). As chair, Barb focused on the relationship between traditional paper-based media and emerging electronic new media. Previously, she served as Corporate Vice President of Marketing for IKON Office Solutions; Corporate Vice President of Marketing for Indigo; Vice President and General Manager for the Xerox Document Production Systems Group; and Director of the On Demand Printing and Publishing Service at CAP Ventures, an internationally known firm specializing in the digital document and print on demand industry. Pellow was elected to the Board of Directors of Ft. Lauderdale based Spherion and is on the Board of Directors of EDSF.
She is a frequent speaker at industry events and a recognized author.
John P. Foley, Jr. President and Chief Executive Officer
John Foley is the founder of interlinkONE, and has served as the President and CEO since the company’s inception in 1996. Mr. Foley is responsible for the corporate vision, strategic alliances, and technical leadership for interlinkONE. He is widely recognized for his visionary approach in designing Internet business applications that meet the changing needs of dynamic Print, Mail, and Fulfillment Service Provider organizations.
Major accomplishments include the integration of the order, print, warehouse and marketing tools in one solution that serve the marketing service providers in a broader capacity. These tools were positioned well in advance of the changing print and fulfillment service provider landscape. With these new tools the Marketing Service Providers can provide more services to their customers and become more valuable to their customers over a longer period of time.
