Melissa Day, Marketo Champion and Global Digital Marketing Leader at The Chemours Company

Make it happen with the data you have available

“With the data you have available in Marketo, you can make it happen,” describes Melissa, talking about the possibilities and potential of marketing automation platform. In this episode of Data Heroes, Marketo champion Mellisa Day from Chermous Company explains how powerful Marketo is when it comes to cleaning and utilizing data.

Melissa details how crucial database health is and provides tips for marketing on how they should approach and apply available data. Melissa views data as a form of currency and explains the advantages companies can gain from focusing on perspective.

Melissa also talks about her beginnings in business and what pivoted her career toward data and Marketing. She thinks the Marketo community is a great place to learn and find support. She also shares advice on using Marketo and talks about essential strategies for gathering, cleaning, and utilizing data.

“By cleaning the data, we will have more effective lead scoring.”

Marketo works better if you have clean data

“I have always been a really big fan of Marketo. I’ve been in the tool for ten years. I’ve used other marketing automation platforms and other ad hoc platforms that try to do the same thing. With Marketo, it’s a little bit more difficult to get involved. I would admit that the user interface isn’t as straightforward or as friendly to someone new to marketing automation or digital marketing, understanding the connection between programs and people, marketing attribution, and acquisition. But, Marketo is unmatched, and its capability that it gives you.

You’re not locked into a specific series of workflow steps. You’re not locked into specific filtering criteria. If you can imagine piecing it together with the data you have available in Marketo, you can make it happen. It’s like a Wizard of Oz kind of land. If you can think of it, you can do it as long as the data’s there and the data is clean.”

Account-based marketing is always a great tactic to leverage

“If you know you have target accounts you’re going after, take the technology out of it and take the data out of it for a second, and find the right strategy to apply. Once you find that fit, if you know that you have target companies, ABM is a great strategy. You’ll start to uncover what the key pieces of data are that you need. And then, what technology you have that you need to support it. A lot of times, you might find that you already have what you need in-house versus starting with a tool and trying to work backward. I think that’s a great way if you know upfront who the companies are that you’re looking to get in.”

Progressive profiling can be tricky

“Sales and marketing historically is a tricky relationship to manage. If you pull too many of the requirements from sales and think about their requirements for everything you do in marketing, you may think that you need a phone number; you need a job title; you need role segmentation; you need their industry. But the fact is, you don’t.

If you ask upfront, the first interaction you have with someone, you’re not sending that lead to a salesperson. The first time they sign up for any e-newsletter or download your ebook. The second time you see them, instead of asking for a role segment, you ask for a job title. The third time, instead of asking for either of those things, you ask for a phone number. You’re building this complete profile a salesperson can leverage.”

Utilizing multiple score sets

“The most beautiful thing about Marketo – all of the functionality, the flexibility, and the capability. You can have as many score sets as you want. You’re not limited to one or two or ten. You could build as many custom lead scores as you want to add things together. You can have demographic data, personal data; you can have industry data, firmographic data, and all of these develop individual scores. I’m not recommending that, but it’s possible.”

Data should work for you

“It’s not about cleaning the data. It’s about what clean data can get you. By cleaning the data, we will have more effective lead scoring. By doing that, I will be able to provide your sales organization with better leads or with deep leads that have more data.”

Learning the tool is a great investment

“Getting to know the tool is great. You will find Marketo expertise to a certain level of being dangerous is hard to accomplish. The more you can get in the tool and get a comfortable understanding of what’s possible, understanding how it works, then you become more valuable in your job. Because you know how to click more buttons, how to make more things happen, and then arm yourself with understanding, ‘Why would I use that?'”

• Data doesn’t have to be scary. Melissa says data is fragile; it’s tricky. But having people who are comfortable and confident in the tools you have, and they know where the data is going, and putting those people in a position to define the process and understand your business goals — that’s the sweet spot. “Let me be the person who knows the most about technology, but let me also be dangerous enough to understand why we’re using it in the way that we are.”
• Data is my currency. People will only give you as much data as they think is worth it for the product you offer. “If I’m going to sign up for an e- newsletter and you want to know my phone number, I’m probably not going to fill out your form. There’s a difference between a number of fields too, and the level of data that you’re asking me to give you, the level of commitment that I feel like I’m making, and giving you this information.”
• Integrate yourself into the Marketo community. According to Melissa, Marketo is a fantastic place to be. “There is constantly new content. There are always blogs. There are always people answering questions. If you ever get stuck, you post a screenshot of where you are, and, I promise you, within ten minutes, somebody will reply and let you know, ‘Try this.”‘