When researching through-channel marketing automation (TCMA) platforms it’s highly likely that many forms of the word integration will make several appearances. Integration is a technical feature that can help create a full view of the buying journey or customer cycle, track progress and interactions, align departments to a single customer view, and build a fully optimized tech stack. So, what exactly is integration?
“Integration refers to the process of combining two pieces of software in order to solve the problem of isolated data.” —HubSpot
Put simply, integration establishes connections that merge the various software that organizations use to strategize and execute their sales and marketing initiatives so that the data housed in each individual software can be compiled and analyzed collectively to gain better feedback and insights for more strategic decision making.
As a technical feature, integration is a capability that works behind the scenes of TCMA to ensure an effortless and enjoyable user experience, in which vendors and their partners can reap the benefits of the integration without consciously knowing that the integration is at work.
Today, the number and variety of integration opportunities are myriad. A TCMA platform with the flexibility and aptitude to provide and support several integrations to facilitate a fully streamlined tech stack is ideal.
However, a platform with that capacity is likely to come with a hefty price tag that’s not suited for every program or organization. If your distributed marketing program doesn’t have the budget to justify an investment of that size but is still ready to invest in through-channel marketing automation software, there are two integrations that are non-negotiables: sales force automation (SFA) and customer relationship management (CRM). SFA and CRM integrations are integral to completing the customer lifecycle.
Sales Force Automation (SFA) - SFA is software that helps sales managers, and their reps, streamline the sales process by automating the tedious everyday administrative tasks that detract from active selling time.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - CRM software provides teams with the tools they need to nurture and manage the company’s relationship with clients post-sale by tracking engagement, monitoring accounts, and completing new or additional requests.
Concisely, SFA software provides support for teams during the pre-sale process, while CRM software offers support for teams during the post-sale process.
The Benefits of SFA & CRM Integration
Integrating your through-channel marketing automation platform with supplier and partner SFA and CRM software delivers leads to partners in real-time and contribute to a fully supported customer lifecycle for better, more relevant engagement before, during, and after the sale is made.
Additionally, SFA/CRM integration with TCMA offers ‘close-loop reporting’—or the ability to monitor prospect interactions and engagement throughout the buying journey as well as that same activity once they’ve become a confirmed customer.
Triptych Through-Channel Marketing Automation offers a wide variety of integration opportunities beginning with integrations to many SFA/CRM platforms including prominent players such as Salesforce and HubSpot. However, Triptych doesn’t settle for simple integration. Triptych offers configurable and customizable integrations in order to better align with clients’ specific SFA/CRM installation.
Stronger alignment with specific installations helps reduce complications that can arise with software integration. Mitigating those risks offers greater assurance that the incorporation will not only be successful so that the client can fully realize those key benefits that SFA/CRM integration has to offer but also that, once integrated, they will perform to their highest capacity and supply a seamless experience.
With strong SFA/CRM integration and additional data and analytics that Triptych offers natively, suppliers can provide their partners with better insights and better content and partners can have more productive interactions and produce greater results. Ultimately, you need a single source with a seamless system for sales reps and partners to have the visibility they need to take advantage of the power of every platform in your arsenal. Do the hard work of making it easy for your sales team and partners, up front, and the benefits will follow.