Indicators to Choose a Suitable Marketing Automation Platform

Abstract

Marketing automation platforms are an efficient tool for the collection, analysis and the processing of customer information. As a consequence, they are a highly relevant aspect of modern marketing, both for the practical and academic discussion. The rising demand implicates a more complex vendor landscape, whereby the comparison and selection of marketing technology are getting increasingly difficult. This article is an analytical and conceptual paper. The research question deals with the identification of indicators regarding the selection of a suitable marketing automation platform. Initially, the increasing necessity of marketing technology is pointed out. A general understanding of marketing automation as relevant subarea of marketing technology will be enabled. For this reason, a definition, relevant features as well as chances and risks are presented on the basis of a critical literature research. A holistic decision model for choosing a marketing automation solution complements the basic information and shows a selection procedure as well as the most essential selection and evaluation indicators. The specific contribution for academic discussion is twofold: Firstly, the key aspects of marketing automation are presented, and its basics are introduced. Secondly, this paper describes a framework that serves as recommendation and orientation for the selection process of marketing automation platforms and marketing technology.