B2C marketing automation best practices guide

A briefing on success factors for implementing marketing automation in business-to-consumer companies

How will this guide to marketing automation help me and my business?

Marketing automation is a relatively new category of marketing technology that combines lead capture, lead scoring, CRM, email marketing, personalisation, re-targeting and analytics. Our guide explains exciting opportunities to deliver more relevant and timely communications to prospects which nurture leads and boost response through the lifecycle.

This guide to marketing automation best practices for consumer markets will help you review your requirements for marketing automation, select the best vendor and create your new and improved lead generation and nurturing programme.

What does the marketing automation guide cover?

This guide will help you review your options requirements for a marketing automation programme, plan and implement improvements to best practices and select the best vendor to meet these requirements by answering these questions:

What is marketing automation?
What are the commercial benefits B2C marketers gain from marketing automation that they can use for making the business case?
What are the best practices across 10 key techniques of marketing automation?
How can we score leads of consumer propensity to buy?
How should we nurture our leads to convert more to sale?
Which criteria should I use to selection the best marketing automation vendor?

Who is this guide for?

This guide is aimed at consumer marketers in businesses with relatively high value or high products or services where extended purchase timeframes can be supported by lead capture and nurturing during the buying process. Examples include:

Automotive
Travel
Financial services
Healthcare services
Higher education
Professional services
Retail (high value and luxury)

If you're a B2B Marketer, be sure to check out more recent guide to B2B marketing automation best practices.

Latest updates

Automation capability benchmark added
Updated research on adoption of automation
New frameworks for designing targeting and contact strategies
New examples including applications of AI, such as Kobo, Air Canada, and Holland & Barrett

Resource Details

Authors: Jordie van Rijn and Dr. Dave Chaffey
Format: Downloadable PDF guide
Recommended resources:
- Email marketing 7 Steps to Success Guide – a more general guide to email communications strategy
- B2B marketing automation best practices – a companion guide with best practices and examples for B2B marketing

About the authors

Jordie van Rijn

Jordie van Rijn

Jordie is an independent email and eCRM marketing consultant. Entrepreneur Magazine titled him “One of 50 Online Marketing Influencers to Watch”. Brands like Unilever and KLM turn to him for advice. He is the founder of an international platform for Email and Marketing Automation Software selection. Next to helping companies improve their marketing results, he is often asked as a trainer and keynote speaker. His practical and enthusiastic approach is contagious and will have you sending better emails the next day.

Dr. Dave Chaffey

Dave Chaffey Dave is co-CEO and co-founder of Smart Insights. He is editor of the 100 templates, ebooks and courses in the digital marketing resource library created by our team of 25+ Digital Marketing experts. Our resources used by our premium members in more than 80 countries to Map, Plan and Manage their digital marketing.

For his full profile, or to connect on LinkedIn or other social networks, see the About Dave Chaffey profile page on Smart Insights. Dave is author of 5 bestselling books on digital marketing including Digital Marketing Excellence and Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice. In 2004 he was recognised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing as one of 50 marketing ‘gurus’ worldwide who have helped shape the future of marketing.