Eloqua Implementation? How is it going [ Edited ]

[B2BDemandGen]

Hello Emily,

Look at your budget and needs to determine best fit and value BUT DO NOT forget to look at customer support and product road map of your technology venders!  TCO and the venders ability to grow with you is very important, especially since the marketing automation space is still developing.

Feel free to contact me.  I work for Rubicon Marketing Group.  We are a B2B Demand Generation Agency with extensive experience in selection, CRM integration, management, and optimization of several leading marketing automation platforms:  Eloqua, M2L and vTrenz.

Best regards,
Michael
503-241-4703

www.rubiconway.com




Message Edited by B2BDemandGen on 02-14-2008 08:51 AM

Message Edited by B2BDemandGen on 02-14-2008 09:02 AM

[Manticore]

I'll refrain from talking specifically about any one vendor.  Here is my general advice having spoken with hundreds of comapnies looking to evaluate a solution like this:

1. If you do not evaluate all of the major vendors before you make your decision you are doing yourself a dis-service
2. All of the vendors use the same marketing hype - they all say lead scoring, lead nurturing, marketing automation, etc ....  This will certainly confuse people into thinking it is all an apples-to-apples comparison and as such they will just shop on price.  It is not an apples to apples comparison
3. Some companies have an implementation time of up to 2-3 months.  They also charge for this.  You might find yourself 2-3 months in and having already spent thousands and you still don't know if it is going to work.  I see it all of the time !!
4. Some say they do lead nurturing and automated drip marketing but when you start to use the app the options you have may be very basic and linear whereas others can take into consideration many if-then scenarios which is what is really needed.  However, get a demo and their answer will be "yeah, we do marketing automation".
5. Same thing with salesforce integration.  We all sync, but what do we sync?  What are the data points that get synced?  How often does it sync?  Is it bi-directional?  Vendors are not the same - you have to dig into the details of what is synced, how robust is the scoring, how complex of a nurturing program can I set up and what are the different options.

The bottom line is there are a bunch of new vendors and the breadth and maturity of the product are not there.  I could build a quick product that perhaps will automate the sending of a few emails and score leads based on a handful of criteria and whola, I can now say that I do lead scoring and marketing automation just like the big guys.

Also, without naming names some compaines have an admittedly flashy and powerful sales presenation.  A lot of the sales pitch is done at a high level and is conceptual.  Screen shots and powerpoints are used.  This is a red flag. 

My best advice to you and anyone looking at a MA vendor is to not get caught up in sales pitches.  Identify the thigns that you want to do, get a demo from the different vendors, and actually ask them to show you how to do what you want to do on the demo - not show you screen shot of the end result or talk about concepts at 50,000 feet.  Don't let them sell you on bells and whistles that may not have been on your radar and make sure that the junior members on your team will be able to use the solution.  Once you know what you want to do, and you stay focused on that, the process will be more straight forward.  As they say, the proof is in the puddin' and any vendor that can't show you how to do what you need to do, and in an easy to use way - right there in the demo - should raise a red flag.  Ofcourse getting a free trial is also always preferred.

Best of luck.

Justin England, VP - www.ManticoreTechnology.com