10 Keys to Campaign Management that Work

Using campaign management seems like just one more step in setting up your marketing automation system. Many people feel this is just added work and complexity that doesn’t need to be done. Just send the email out, right? This idea couldn’t be more wrong. Let’s start with the goal of campaign management.

What is the Goal of Campaign Management?

Campaign management can be a huge lifesaver for a marketing team when set up correctly. It doesn’t matter if you are working in Adobe Marketo, Oracle Eloqua, Salesforce, Hubspot or IBM Silverpop, using campaign management can reveal how your campaigns are working, where to place your money and how to show revenue contribution at the executive table. But, before we get too carried away, let’s be clear on what campaign management actually is.

What is Campaign Management?

Campaign management is the process of planning, implementing, tracking, and constantly analyzing a marketing initiative. Usually, this is focused on events, email marketing, or product launches.

Now that we have that out of the way, we need to make another thing clearer. Unfortunately, if campaign management is inconsistent or not set up at all, these benefits will never be realized. So, how to create a solid approach to campaign management? Read on for all the keys and tools!

10 Keys to Campaign Management That Works

1. Create a Lead Management Strategy

Start with having a solid lead management strategy. If you don’t know what this is or how to set it up, see our article on creating the ideal funnel system.

2. Enable Campaigns

Whatever your CRM is, make sure you enable campaigns. This is super important. People ask us all the time, why wouldn’t you just report out of the marketing automation system? Well, you certainly can, however, if you are in the boardroom (as we have been on many occasion) coming to the table with a different set of reports than sales can wreak havoc on your relationship with sales.

3. Build Solid Channels for Your Campaigns

Make sure you have solid channels, lead source, campaign cost, campaign type and that campaign responses are set up correctly. Why are all these details important? Well, to enable you to run meaningful reports in your CRM such as Salesforce, it is vitally important to ensure the data is correct and input clearly. Otherwise, the old saying stands true, “garbage in, garbage out.”

And be sure to note if the channel is paid, organic, or both. Keeping an eye on your budget is just as critical as building the channels themselves.

4. Train Your Team

Make sure your team is trained on campaign management and understands each button and lever that needs to be activated to have an effective campaign strategy. Don’t skip this step! We know it sounds easier than pie but it can often get overlooked. Whether you have tech-savvy employees or tech avoiders, don’t assume it’s easy to use the technology and to build campaign management. Take the time to train your staff yourself or reach out to your software representative.

5. Create Integrated Campaigns

Use integrated campaigns to drive deeper engagement and conversion. Integrated campaigns are probably in the latter stages of learning and experimenting with campaign management.

6. Track, Track, Track Some More

Track all leads that come in. Ensure that your leads are associated to a campaign and track all touches.

7. Add In Campaign Contribution to Revenue

Use campaign contribution to revenue and understand the many models out there available. Then, and only then can you choose a model or models that fit your go-to-market strategy.

8. Fail Fast

Be prepared to launch campaigns and fail fast. The ability to use A/B testing in marketing automation software like Marketo and Salesforce Marketing Cloud and learn what campaigns resonate with your specific audience is priceless.

9. Set Up Campaign Naming

Use campaign naming conventions for ease in reporting and searching your CRM and Marketing automation tool. A really great campaign naming convention that I love includes the following: Year – Quarter – Region – Business Unit – Channel – Name of Campaign.

This allows you to search by any one of these variables and provides endless value to your team in finding campaigns and assets within your marketing automation system such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Marketo.

10. Dashboards Should Reflect Team Effort

Ensure reporting and dashboards reflect all your team’s efforts. Check them often and drill down to see if there are data errors. In Salesforce, creating winning dashboards is easy if your campaigns are set up correctly.

The Bottom With Successful Campaign Management

Lastly, campaign management can provide robust insight into your overarching marketing strategy. Don’t let a day go by without having a solid foundation in campaign management.

If you would like to talk campaign management, let's talk with our no obligation consult.