Currently, there is a huge free tools offer that allow marketing automation. The problem is you end up having to manage multiple apps, access codes… and find time to unify the information into a single report and be able to measure results. More than that, you end up managing marketing in isolation, without linking it to sales, customer service…, so, to know return on investment, conversion from lead to customer or LTV (lifetime value) requires crossing different databases, increasing errors and time loss.
Advantage of using NetSuite’s marketing automation is it does not require time to get report and insights, and all information is managed from a single system and a single database, giving you traceability of your contacts, from lead to client. Know what actions have better results, customise marketing and offers to customers, providing a powerful tool to your sales force to convert and manage cross-selling and up-selling.
In the sales funnel, we can distinguish two types of fundamental metrics. On the one hand, we have the marketing ones and on the other, their contribution to the company. Marketers usually tend to focus in marketing metrics showing progress and improvement, but no matter how impressive they may be, if they do not convert, they are just smugish metrics. Marketing must actively contribute to improve the sales funnel, not just attract visitors or improve time on page.
From marketing perspective as a tool to support the business strategy, we must design a plan that allows us to meet company goals. My recommendation is to start building marketing objectives in reverse.
Over-simplifying, suppose a B2B company, with a sales target of 15, a 1/20 conversion ratio from lead to customer, 3/1000 of impressions that show interest, of which 5% request more information or a demo. We would need 2 million impressions to obtain the expected results.
Cost per client depends on type of product/service, product margin, etc. Based on the customer acquisition cost, or estimated lead cost, we can determine the necessary budget and design the appropriate marketing actions according to the audience you want to contact.
In NetSuite, you can register, manage and control results of different marketing initiatives, both online and offline. You can create and send email marketing, send promotions and manage advertising campaigns.
NetSuite also lets you know your lead source, including which keywords have best return, or the return of a purchased list. In short, it provides all the tools and reports to manage and evaluate from a single system, all marketing related data important to your company.
Campaign categories represent the highest rank in campaign reports. Marketing campaigns are grouped into categories, depending on their type. By default, reports are grouped by category.
NetSuite has predefined categories and subcategories:
Personally, I do not like it. I consider these categories and subcategories, by default in NetSuite, channels. Marketing campaigns should be comprehensive and include several channels to maximise impact.
As we have seen in the previous table, depending on the type of audience and their “information needs” the campaign categories would be:
The good thing about NetSuite is you do not have to adapt. You can
Campaigns are “containers” that include all the relevant information to the marketing effort. You must set: the campaign time, dates in which it must be activated, target, cost and all important aspects.
To create it, go to Campaigns> Marketing> Campaigns> New.
Enter a campaign ID. You can either generate it automatically, or create your own. For example, a seasonal campaign with a promotion: “Spring Promo’18 – 20% online discount”
Campaign IDs are very useful when identifying actions, especially if they are similar.
Save
You already have your “container” created. Now you can configure the different actions, keywords, add files and other related information.
In this next part of our guide, we will specify the different actions and events which can be included in a campaign and how to measure them. For example, in a seasonal campaign with a promotional offer, we can do email, online advertising, at the point of sale, SMS, etc.
Each of the actions will have its own cost, target audience -clients and non-clients-, metrics… so it is advisable to differentiate the actions in order to obtain ROI information or determine which channel works best.
We use the “Events” tab when a marketing campaign has different actions and/or channels. Depending on the type of action, tracking will be done in the sub-tabs of Email, Direct Mail or Other Events.
You can schedule the date and time of the launch of a campaign and tracking. SEM campaigns are treated differently, which we will discuss in another article.
NetSuite has predefined channels: direct mailing, email, lead nurturing, telephone, printed advertising and others. Again, in this case, we are not contemplating the SEM, which is separate from these events. We have already said that its treatment is different, but if you are curious, you will find it in the Keyword tab:
The tracking of different actions for different channels is done in the events tab, each is done separately.
A user with Administrator permission can create new channels by accessing: Setup> Sales and Marketing Automation Campaign Channels> New.
You can follow the progress of a campaign in the Status field. Which can be:
Once the different actions/events have been created, the campaign can be executed.
Mark an action for executing:
In the case of email campaigns, once sent, you will receive a notification indicating that the action has been executed and the status will automatically change to Sent.
The campaign actions are individual. For example, a campaign may include different actions: print ads, email to customer database and an online banner.
To schedule actions:
The Subscription column is the one that guarantees that you are complying with the GDPR. Do not forget to select only the users who have authorized you to send marketing campaigns.
The metrics that NetSuite offers by default are multiples, allowing analysing the effectiveness of the campaigns both based on lead generation and its transformation into sales, but you can define your own reports based on the KPI you want to control. You can access the reports in the Marketing section under the heading Reports.
When you select or assign a campaign in the Lead Source field in a transaction, your revenue is linked to the campaign.
For leads and commercial transactions manually loaded into the System, I recommend that you establish a default Source. Go to Setup> Sales & Marketing Automation> Set Up Marketing.
You can choose:
By default, the System is assigned its classification by the source of the lead. All activity that is generated online will automatically assign the source. In the case where a lead enters through another channel, such as the telephone, it will be necessary to assign the source manually when the new contact record is created.
The Return on Investment (ROI) is calculated by the difference between the cost of the campaign and the income it generates.
When the campaign is created it is necessary to enter the Base Cost. If the campaign consists of different actions, the cost of the individual actions will add up in the Total Cost field.
Once the orders are generated, sales revenue will be linked to the campaign. ROI divides revenue between cost.
If you enter the report tab and select marketing, you will see there are preconfigured reports. They can be modified according to your preferences or create new ones. See our article on how to customize KPIs and reports if you want to generate your own.
Once you’ve made the decision to move on from spreadsheet accounting or to upgrade your legacy ERP system, how do you choose the right ERP software?
When you manage your whole business through an ERP system, you’re able to get a bird’s-eye view of your business, and better understand company-wide impacts of decisions, plans and unforeseen changes. This coordinated view is a real boon for companies looking to grow and to increase efficiency.
It’s essential to quantify the value and expected returns from implementing a new ERP system like NetSuite. After all, any new IT system is a substantial business expense, requiring a compelling business case to gain buy-in from stakeholders.
As businesses strive for efficiency, they are increasingly turning away from on-premises technology and moving to the cloud. As testament to this shifting trend, statistics indicate that cloud ERP is forecast to grow at more than 17% between 2022 and 2028.
ERP systems help companies automate and streamline operations, but how can they tackle the problems posed by inventory management?
When you manage your whole business through an ERP system, you’re able to get a bird’s-eye view of your business, and better understand company-wide impacts of decisions, plans and unforeseen changes. This coordinated view is a real boon for companies looking to grow and to increase efficiency.