Jon Bornstein, field marketing manager, Deltek Inc.

“Three things work well. The first is to get in the game. Many companies haven't adopted marketing automation. The impact of that can be inefficient sales funnels and marketing investments. The second is to ensure proper training. If you don't have the skills in-house, find an external resource. The third is alignment with sales on what constitutes a lead versus responses requiring nurturing.”

Jeff Chamberlain, VP-b2b solutions marketing, Aprimo

“It's naturally evolving, but there are a number of dimensions. First, it comes down to providing value at the right level in the organization, and that means providing value, insight and integration to sales. There's also the value proposition on how to better serve marketing. Most marketers got into marketing not to run software or analytics but to apply their creativity to drive marketing opportunities. With marketing automation done right, we can enable that creativity again.”

Jeff Ernst, principal analyst, Forrester Research

“Companies rarely have enough of the right content to make marketing automation work. Marketing automation is like a Porsche. The platforms are well-architected but they need fuel, which is content. But most companies have content that's all about their products, functions and features. The content you need for nurturing needs to be around business problems and tends to be thought leadership about solving those problems. With inappropriate content you can turn off your audience. With appropriate content, you can turn them on.”