<s>
Marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
refers	O
to	O
software	O
platforms	O
and	O
technologies	O
designed	O
for	O
marketing	O
departments	O
and	O
organizations	O
to	O
more	O
effectively	O
market	O
on	O
multiple	O
channels	O
online	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
email	O
,	O
social	O
media	O
,	O
websites	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
focused	O
on	O
email	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
,	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
refers	O
to	O
a	O
broad	O
range	O
of	O
automation	O
and	O
analytic	O
tools	O
for	O
marketing	O
especially	O
inbound	O
marketing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
platforms	O
are	O
used	O
as	O
a	O
hosted	O
or	O
web-based	O
solution	O
,	O
and	O
no	O
software	O
installation	O
is	O
required	O
by	O
a	O
customer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
platform	O
is	O
to	O
streamline	O
sales	O
and	O
marketing	O
organizations	O
by	O
replacing	O
high-touch	O
,	O
repetitive	O
manual	O
processes	O
with	O
automated	O
solutions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
platform	O
allows	O
marketers	O
to	O
scale	O
lead	O
management	O
activities	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
coordinating	O
and	O
managing	O
marketing	O
campaigns	O
,	O
both	O
online	O
and	O
offline	O
)	O
,	O
nurturing	O
leads	O
,	O
and	O
scoring	O
leads	O
appropriately	O
to	O
determine	O
if	O
/	O
when	O
it	O
is	O
ready	O
for	O
sales	O
to	O
engage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Marketing	B-Application
Automation	I-Application
is	O
a	O
subset	O
of	O
customer	O
relationship	O
management	O
(	O
CRM	O
)	O
or	O
customer	O
experience	O
management	O
(	O
CXM	O
)	O
that	O
focuses	O
on	O
the	O
definition	O
,	O
segmentation	O
,	O
scheduling	O
and	O
tracking	O
of	O
marketing	O
campaigns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
makes	O
processes	O
that	O
would	O
otherwise	O
have	O
been	O
performed	O
manually	O
much	O
more	O
efficient	O
and	O
makes	O
new	O
processes	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Marketing	B-Application
Automation	I-Application
can	O
be	O
defined	O
as	O
a	O
process	O
where	O
technology	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
automate	O
several	O
repetitive	O
tasks	O
that	O
are	O
undertaken	O
on	O
a	O
regular	O
basis	O
in	O
a	O
marketing	O
campaign	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Marketing	B-Application
Automation	I-Application
platforms	O
allow	O
marketers	O
to	O
automate	O
and	O
simplify	O
client	O
communication	O
by	O
managing	O
complex	O
omnichannel	O
marketing	O
strategies	O
from	O
a	O
single	O
tool	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Marketing	B-Application
Automation	I-Application
assists	O
greatly	O
in	O
areas	O
like	O
Lead	O
Generation	O
,	O
Segmentation	O
,	O
Lead	O
nurturing	O
and	O
lead	O
scoring	O
,	O
Relationship	O
marketing	O
,	O
Cross-sell	O
and	O
upsell	O
,	O
Retention	O
,	O
Marketing	O
ROI	O
measurement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Effective	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
tools	O
leverage	O
data	O
from	O
a	O
separate	O
or	O
integrated	O
CRM	O
to	O
understand	O
customer	O
impact	O
and	O
preferences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
three	O
categories	O
of	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
software	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
its	O
interactive	O
nature	O
,	O
this	O
has	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
Marketing	B-Application
Automation	I-Application
2.0	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
Has	O
a	O
focus	O
on	O
moving	O
leads	O
from	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
marketing	O
funnel	O
through	O
to	O
becoming	O
sales-ready	O
leads	O
at	O
the	O
bottom	O
of	O
the	O
funnel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Commonly	O
used	O
in	O
business-to-business	O
(	O
B2B	O
)	O
,	O
business-to-government	B-Application
(	O
B2G	O
)	O
,	O
or	O
longer	O
sales	O
cycle	O
business-to-consumer	O
(	O
B2C	O
)	O
sales	O
cycles	O
,	O
Marketing	B-Application
Automation	I-Application
involves	O
multiple	O
areas	O
of	O
marketing	O
and	O
is	O
really	O
the	O
marriage	O
of	O
email	O
marketing	O
technology	O
coupled	O
with	O
a	O
structured	O
sales	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Applicable	O
to	O
just	O
one	O
or	O
many	O
of	O
these	O
elements	O
,	O
advertising	O
automation	O
focuses	O
on	O
automating	O
either	O
an	O
entire	O
aspect	O
or	O
their	O
most	O
mundane	O
tasks	O
-	O
often	O
with	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
Artificial	B-Application
Intelligence	I-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
A	O
clear	O
example	O
is	O
to	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
ad	O
operations	O
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
trafficking	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
involves	O
the	O
activities	O
around	O
mapping	O
adserver	O
and	O
analytics	O
placement	O
to	O
different	O
media	O
and	O
ad-tech	O
platforms	O
,	O
creating	O
tracking	B-Protocol
pixels	I-Protocol
to	O
disseminate	O
across	O
the	O
different	O
media	O
,	O
and	O
management	O
of	O
the	O
UTM	B-Protocol
parameters	I-Protocol
—	O
traditionally	O
manually	O
operated	O
across	O
different	O
adtech	O
platforms	O
—	O
that	O
with	O
advertising	O
automation	O
is	O
automated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
generates	O
an	O
automated	O
creation	O
of	O
placement	O
,	O
automated	O
pushing	O
of	O
trackers	O
to	O
the	O
various	O
media	O
,	O
and	O
automatic	O
management	O
of	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
UTM	B-Protocol
parameters	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
budgeting	O
and	O
planning	O
,	O
workflow	B-Protocol
and	O
approvals	O
,	O
the	O
marketing	O
calendar	O
,	O
internal	O
collaboration	O
,	O
digital	O
asset	O
creation	O
,	O
and	O
management	O
and	O
essentially	O
everything	O
that	O
supports	O
the	O
operational	O
efficiency	O
of	O
the	O
internal	O
marketing	O
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Advanced	O
workflow	B-Protocol
automation	I-Protocol
's	O
can	O
be	O
created	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
entire	O
customer	O
journey	O
,	O
including	O
awareness	O
,	O
consideration	O
,	O
decision	O
and	O
long	O
term	O
loyalty	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Any	O
organization	O
using	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
tracking	O
is	O
required	O
to	O
ask	O
consent	O
from	O
the	O
consumer	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
provide	O
transparency	O
on	O
how	O
the	O
data	O
will	O
be	O
processed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Consumers	O
are	O
directly	O
impacted	O
by	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
is	O
interpreted	O
as	O
an	O
efficient	O
customer	O
experience	O
while	O
others	O
interpret	O
a	O
loss	O
of	O
autonomy	O
for	O
the	O
consumer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
effectively	O
aid	O
marketers	O
in	O
fully	O
understanding	O
customers	O
and	O
subsequently	O
developing	O
a	O
strategic	O
marketing	O
plan	O
,	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
platforms	O
(	O
MAPs	O
)	O
are	O
designed	O
to	O
perform	O
eight	O
key	O
tasks	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Gartner	O
,	O
the	O
B2B	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
market	O
grew	O
15%	O
in	O
2020	O
and	O
was	O
valued	O
at	O
$2.1	O
billion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gartner	O
identified	O
the	O
following	O
vendors	O
as	O
B2B	O
marketing	B-Application
automation	I-Application
platform	O
leaders	O
as	O
of	O
August	O
2021	O
:	O
</s>
