While reading the printed issue of BtoB magazine, a headline on the front-page caught my eye. I know, old school, huh!? But printed magazines and newspapers do still exist. Anyway! The article I am referring to is titled “Lack of resources impedes marketing automation adoption.”

The story reveals interesting survey results, stating that although awareness of marketing automation platforms is high, only 44 percent of B2B marketers surveyed are using some form of automated marketing. Of these 44 percent, 52 percent are using the tool for automatic distribution of leads and only an additional 19 percent are involved in more advanced nurturing and closed-loop automation — proving that marketers are not able to gain 100 percent of the benefits.

Our friend, Jeff Ernst of Forrester Research, Inc., who participated in our lead nurturing webinar, even questions the 44 percent. He contends that actually only about 5 percent of marketers use a full-featured marketing automation solution.

What’s the reason adoption is so low? Marketers mention budgets and resources as the main cause. Implementing marketing automation software involves more than just an investment in the software. Sure, some “low-end” features do not require advanced resources but then users cannot expect to achieve the ROI they were hoping for. As Jeff Chamberlain, VP at Aprimo, Inc. says, “Running marketing automation without paying attention to how to run it operationally is tantamount to putting a dragster engine in a Volkswagen and throwing it on the road.” Adopters need to understand operational requirements and build an infrastructure of resources to support and fuel this advanced marketing “engine.”

When thinking about implementing marketing automation, marketers need to think about access to the following resources:

• Marketing Strategists build your overall program, establish ongoing value streams, map communications to the decision cycle, and create an activity-scoring table measured against handoff thresholds and historic buying behavior.
• Sales Insight Teams provide front-line feedback on buying cycles, decision makers and on sales-ready leads.
• Content Experts create valuable raw content—and provide you with participants in educational events such as webinars and in-person events.
• Writers craft messaging that is fresh, meaningful and convincing to your target audience.
• Designers tell the story in a visually engaging way that supports the message.
• Technology Administrators are essential to execute, monitor, interpret and adjust campaigns.

This is a lot to think about and invest in when striving for a successful marketing automation program. Many marketers forget the operational side or see it as such a large obstacle that they will forego the benefits of marketing automation altogether. And even if a company is willing to invest and implement marketing automation, assembled teams will still need ramp-up time to figure out processes and optimal execution.

One compelling option to see immediate impact and to avoid large investments in infrastructure is to think about outsourcing your marketing automation. This will allow you to gain all the benefits of marketing automation without the large investment in the tool and the people.