Do You Really Need a Marketo Audit?

What exactly is a Marketo Audit?

The Marketo Health Audit is a comprehensive review of your running marketing automation processes. This Marketo health checkup includes the technical and operational implications of Marketo. It also consists of a thorough check of the processes within Marketo and its integration with CRM. Most audits also examine if your current plan is leveraging the prescribed Marketo best practices or not.

You might feel satisfied with your current Marketo applications setup, but there is always a scope of betterment; especially if you get it reviewed by experts. This is what we at AtCore Digital, do for you under our "Marketo Health Audit" services.  

Key Components of a Marketo Audit

Data Cleanliness and Hygiene

Data is the backbone of any successful marketing automation platform, and Marketo is no exception. Ensuring data cleanliness and hygiene is crucial to obtain accurate insights and make informed marketing decisions. The key areas to focus on during the data cleanliness and hygiene component of a Marketo audit include:

Data Quality Assessment: Review the completeness, accuracy, and consistency of the data in your Marketo instance. Identify and address duplicate, outdated, or invalid records.

Data Segmentation: Evaluate how your data is segmented and whether it aligns with your marketing objectives. Assess the effectiveness of your data segmentation strategies in reaching the right audience with personalized content.

Data Governance: Examine the processes and policies in place for data management, access, and security. Ensure compliance with data protection regulations and best practices.

Campaign and Program Analysis

The effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and programs directly impacts your overall marketing success. During the campaign and program analysis component of a Marketo audit, focus on the following aspects:

Performance Metrics: Evaluate key performance metrics of your campaigns, such as open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and ROI. Identify high-performing and underperforming campaigns.

A/B Testing: Review your A/B testing practices to determine how well you are optimizing your campaigns for better results. Assess whether testing variations are statistically significant and driving improvements.

Attribution Analysis: Analyze the attribution model used to measure the impact of various marketing touchpoints on lead conversion. Ensure your attribution model accurately reflects the customer journey.

Asset and Content Review

Your marketing assets and content play a pivotal role in engaging your audience and driving conversions. During the asset and content review component of the Marketo audit, consider the following:

Content Relevance: Evaluate the relevance and alignment of your content with the target audience and different stages of the buyer's journey.

Content Performance: Assess how well your content is performing in terms of engagement and conversion rates. Identify content that resonates well with your audience and content that needs improvement.

Content Personalization: Review your efforts in providing personalized content experiences to leads and customers. Determine the effectiveness of dynamic content and personalized recommendations.

Lead Scoring and Segmentation Evaluation

Lead scoring and segmentation are critical for delivering targeted and personalized experiences to your prospects. During the lead scoring and segmentation evaluation component of the Marketo audit, consider the following:

Lead Scoring Models: Assess the effectiveness of your lead scoring models in identifying and prioritizing high-quality leads for sales teams.

Segmentation Relevance: Review how well your lead segments align with your target audience and if they effectively guide personalized marketing efforts.

Lead Handoff Process: Evaluate the process of handing off leads from marketing to sales teams, ensuring a seamless transition and timely follow-up.

Integration and Data Flow Assessment

Marketo often integrates with various other systems, such as CRM platforms and third-party applications. Ensuring smooth data flow and integration is crucial for maintaining a unified marketing ecosystem. During the integration and data flow assessment component of the Marketo audit, consider the following:

Integration Efficiency: Evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of data synchronization between Marketo and other integrated systems.

Data Mapping and Transformation: Review how data is mapped and transformed during integration to maintain consistency and accuracy.

API and Third-Party Integration Security: Assess the security measures in place to protect data during API and third-party integrations. 

Benefits of Performing Marketo Health Audit

Let's examine the various benefits; a business will get from a well-conducted "Marketo Health Audits."

1) Lead Lifecycle & Scoring Insights

Lead lifecycle and scoring are significant elements of your demand generation strategy. They help in securing a required lead handoff between your sales and marketing teams. The Marketo health audit studies your customer's online behaviors and can help identify the ideal lead lifecycle.

Scoring leads based on prospects' behavior allows you to categorize the qualified leads to enhance revenue performance. Lead Scoring of your visitors based on the web activity is a prime component of a Marketo audit. The audit must help you to decide if the current lead scoring model is right or not.

2) Optimizing Engagement Marketing

Getting your Marketo Audit done by professionals must provide you a clear picture of the performance of your communication efforts. To make any marketing program a success; a perfect mix of communication streams is required. 

You need to serve your targeted audience with the relevant content depending upon the stage within your sales funnel. Whether it's your running email marketing campaign or you are planning to launch a new one; it should engage your customer. Marketo health audit with engagement marketing perspective should include the following:

• Categorization of customers based on their individual behavior, choices, and demographics.
• Making you aware of possible gaps that you can close wrt communication and engagement with customers by building automated campaigns.  
• Optimizing your current engagement marketing campaigns by providing suggestions for automated A/B testing. 

Source: Common Marketo Implementation Challenges to Avoid. You better read this to get a deep insight into what you should avoid scoring good in "Marketo Health Audit."

3) Help Define Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Strategy

Marketers tend to consider ABM as simply creating tiers for targeting customers. Whereas this is a common misconception doing Marketo health audit can help fill the gaps. Here is what it should be covering for you:

• How to best set up managing account insight and profiling.
• Identifying valid target accounts while using data and AI.
• Tracking Account engagement scoring on various leads.
• Opportunities for streamlining various ABM channels

 4) Thorough Marketing Analytics

No marketing campaign is complete without considering the marketing analytics. Marketo has a bunch of in-built analytic features and tools. A well-conducted Marketo Audit will ensure if the analytics in place are sufficient to help you make the right decisions when allocating your resources and budget. The Marketo Audit must:

• Scrutinizing your customer journey and provide insights into prospects' behavior throughout the funnel.
• Help you develop a flexible ad hoc reporting dashboard; that gives you actionable insights.

 5) Dynamic Web Personalization

The one-to-one interaction or web personalization experience can convert your prospects into customers. The more you make your targeted audience feel special and attended personally, the more chances you get to bag them. Marketo is capable of providing a personalized experience to engage deeply with your prospects. 

Signs You May Need a Marketo Audit

Inconsistent or Declining Marketing Performance

Marketing performance is a critical metric for any business. If you notice inconsistent or declining results in your marketing efforts, it could be an indication that your Marketo instance requires an audit. Some signs to watch out for include:

Fluctuating Lead Generation: If the number of leads generated from your campaigns varies significantly or is on a downward trend, it may be time to assess your Marketo setup.

Poor Campaign ROI: If your marketing campaigns are not delivering the expected return on investment, it could indicate inefficiencies or misconfigurations in Marketo.

Decreased Customer Engagement: Declining open rates, click-through rates, or overall customer engagement with your emails and other marketing materials may suggest the need for improvements.

Low Engagement and Conversion Rates

Engagement and conversion rates are strong indicators of your marketing success. When these metrics are lower than expected, a Marketo audit can help identify the underlying issues:

• Low Email Engagement: If your email open rates and click-through rates are below industry benchmarks, it may be time to review your email marketing strategies and Marketo configurations.
• Weak Website Conversions: If your website is not effectively converting visitors into leads or customers, a Marketo audit can help identify areas for improvement, such as lead capture forms and call-to-action effectiveness.
• Subpar Lead Nurturing: If your lead nurturing campaigns are not driving leads further down the sales funnel, an audit can reveal opportunities for optimization.

Technical Glitches or Errors in Campaigns

Marketo campaigns rely on various technical components, and any glitches or errors can disrupt your marketing efforts. Signs that you may need an audit to address technical issues include:

• Automation Failures: If automated workflows, emails, or other processes are not triggering as expected, it can impact the efficiency of your marketing operations.
• Data Integration Problems: Issues with integrating Marketo with your CRM or other systems can lead to inaccurate data and hinder seamless lead management.
• Broken Links and Landing Pages: Broken links in your emails or landing pages can result in a negative user experience and lower conversion rates.

Compliance and Data Security Concerns

Data privacy and security are crucial in today's digital landscape. If you have concerns about compliance or data security, a Marketo audit can provide valuable insights and recommendations:

• GDPR and CCPA Compliance: If you operate in regions with strict data protection regulations, an audit can help ensure that your Marketo processes align with these requirements.
• Data hygiene Issues: A Marketo audit can uncover data hygiene problems like duplicates, outdated information, or incomplete records, which can affect your marketing outcomes.
• Security Vulnerabilities: Assessing your Marketo instance's security measures can safeguard your data from unauthorized access or breaches.

Selecting the Right Time for a Marketo Audit

Milestones or Significant Changes in the Business

New Product Launch 

When your business is gearing up for a new product or service launch, it's a critical juncture to assess the readiness of your marketing automation platform. Conducting a Marketo audit before the launch ensures that your campaigns are aligned with the product's unique selling points and that you have the necessary lead scoring, segmentation, and automation in place to capture and nurture leads effectively.

Market Expansion 

As your business expands into new markets or demographics, it's essential to evaluate how well your Marketo setup adapts to these changes. A Marketo audit can help identify if your messaging, lead segments, and content strategies resonate with the new target audience, allowing you to make necessary adjustments for successful market penetration.

Strategic Shifts 

Times of strategic change, such as a shift in business focus, adopting a different marketing approach, or targeting a new customer base, warrant a Marketo audit. This evaluation ensures that Marketo supports your revised marketing strategies and aligns with the new direction of your business.

After Mergers, Acquisitions, or Rebranding

Post-Merger or Acquisition 

Following a merger or acquisition, businesses often face the challenge of integrating marketing processes and data from multiple entities. A Marketo audit post-merger can help identify duplications, inconsistencies, or inefficiencies in your marketing automation platform. It provides an opportunity to streamline processes, standardize lead scoring models, and ensure smooth data flow between Marketo and other systems.

Rebranding Efforts

A company rebranding involves more than just updating your website and logo; it also requires aligning your marketing efforts with the new brand identity. Conducting a Marketo audit during or after the rebranding process helps ensure that your marketing campaigns, landing pages, and communications accurately reflect the revised brand messaging, resulting in a cohesive and impactful brand experience.

System Integration 

When merging marketing systems from different organizations, a Marketo audit becomes essential to assess the integration process. It identifies potential challenges, data mapping discrepancies, and security issues. The audit ensures that your marketing automation platform plays well with other systems, streamlining data exchange and maximizing the benefits of a unified marketing ecosystem.

Regular Scheduled Audits for Ongoing Optimization

Quarterly or Annual Audits

Implementing a proactive approach to optimization involves conducting scheduled audits on a quarterly or annual basis. Regular assessments allow you to track the performance of your marketing campaigns, analyze key metrics, and identify trends over time. By identifying successes and areas for improvement, you can continuously enhance the efficiency and impact of your marketing efforts.

Compliance Check

Regular Marketo audits are vital to maintaining compliance with data protection regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA. By regularly reviewing your data management practices, consent mechanisms, and data access controls, you can ensure that your marketing operations remain compliant with evolving privacy laws.

Proactive Issue Detection 

Scheduled audits enable you to detect and address potential issues before they negatively impact your marketing performance. By proactively identifying and resolving glitches, data inconsistencies, or workflow bottlenecks, you can maintain a smooth and reliable marketing automation system.

The Marketo Health Audit will let you know if you are going in the right direction. 

The story doesn't end here. There are so many Marketo applications that can contribute to achieving your business goals, but if leveraged in the right way. We would love to help you while selecting the Marketo applications that fit your marketing campaigns today… and tomorrow. You can ask us to get a detailed Marketo health audit to know the loopholes so that you can streamline your efforts. Write to us info@growthnatives.com and we will get back to you.