This series of posts were created when I worked at a Marketing Automation company called “Loopfuse” in the early 2010’s. I was the Senior Manager of Technical Support and I posted blog content on the merits of Marketing Automation in general, as well as some of the technical aspects specific to that platform. I recently rescued these posts from the Wayback Machine for posterity and to remind myself of what I have written in the past. The images are missing, but you’ll get the idea.

I just completed a DIY project at home and got to thinking about how building a shower is like using Marketing Automation software. I know that’s strange, but both endeavors are just a series of steps in a process. Let’s look at the commonalities:

• Start with a good plan. If you just jump in to it you’ll make a bigger mess than you started with.
• Make sure you have all the parts needed.
• Lay a good foundation – the rest of the project will not flow correctly if you don’t.
• Take your time to do it right – you don’t want leaks in your shower or your marketing funnel.
• Dress it up nice. Good content (or quality materials) is the difference between an excellent experience and a bad one.
• Show it off. Let others see what an awesome job you’ve done.

Tiling, like Marketing Automation, is one of those projects that can get very expensive when you have someone else do it for you but it actually quite affordable if you tackle it yourself. With a little research, a bit of determination, and a good bit of planning you can create a masterpiece that will impress your friends, family, and colleagues. They’ll look at it and say “You did that?!” and you can say “Oh yeah. *I* did that!” Marketing Automation can yield impressive results when you do your homework and put in the effort to really make it shine.

A Good Plan

I did a lot of research before putting in my shower. I looked at what experts had to say on the subject. I found examples of what other people had done for similar projects. I talked to people who had gone through the same thing I was about to. All of these principles translate to getting your Marketing Automation off the ground and in to production. Good research will save you a lot of time when you start putting things together. Going back and referencing your sources during the process will help keep you on track as well.

Having all the Parts

Most Marketing Automation platforms will have what you need to get the job done. That said, there are some differences and each situation is unique so you need to make sure you’ve got the right tools and materials to accomplish what you need to. That doesn’t mean you have to go out and get the most expensive tools to do the job. I looked at trowels to lay the mortar, for example, and couldn’t really tell the difference between the $2 trowel and the $15 dollar trowel other than the name attached to it. There was no appreciable difference in the end product just because I opted for the less expensive, but equally capable, tool.

Laying a Good Foundation

The logical extension of a good plan is laying a good foundation. Getting all the parts in place that will support the final product and really make it look good. If the underlying structure is not solid and built properly, it won’t matter how nice of a covering you put on it, the finished product won’t truly function as you expect it to. During my shower build I chose materials that were a good deal but provided a great return on my investment. You should be able to do the same with properly placed landing pages, registration forms, and marketing content. Having good content in place will give you a solid message to build on for your Marketing Automation engagement.

Do it Right

Being my first real construction project, I took my time to make sure I built that shower right. I didn’t want to rush it or skip over a step because I was too anxious to get the project done but that doesn’t mean I didn’t hurry whenever I could. Some steps were naturally easy to do and they were completed very quickly. Other steps were approached with a more methodical approach, measuring and analyzing several times before implementing. I even needed help on the last step of installing the shower door. I happen to know someone that installs doors so I enlisted his help. Marketing Automation has some steps you can accomplish quite easily that yield quick results like implementing the tracking beacon on your site or launching an email campaign. Other steps like setting up lead scoring or crafting a lead nurturing campaign take a more careful approach to get right. LoopFuse even offers a partner network that can help you if you just don’t think you want to tackle something like this on your own.

Make it Look Good

You could use any old tile in your shower and you’ll get any old shower. Get some good stuff if you want it to look like it belongs in a Las Vegas hotel (thanks for the compliment, Steve!). That doesn’t mean you have to pay huge sums of money (you could if you wanted to), but it has to look nice and you need to put it together well. Your customer facing content is the same way. Make sure it’s presentable and then craft it all together in a way that makes people stop and take notice. Make it interesting, timely (or timeless) and relevant. Leave an impression that people will remember and even look to you for inspiration when they tackle their own Marketing Automation projects.

Show it off

I love showing off pictures of my new shower. It’s a point of pride that I was able to craft something so functional and beautiful at the same time. I’ve seen some lead flow programs and scoring setups that are a thing of beauty. The people who put those together are proud of their work as well and many have been willing to share their processes with others.

My DIY project seemed a bit daunting at first, but with plenty of online resources and guidance from others who had tackled such a project it wasn’t so bad. It gave me enough experience that when I need to tackle the guest bathroom I’ll know what to expect, what pitfalls to look for, and how to do it quicker and even improve on my methodology. Marketing Automation isn’t as scary as some people might think. It just takes planning, resources, a thought out implementation, and a sense of pride in a job well done to produce an amazing experience.