Like event- or action-triggered campaigns, integrating email marketing with lead-generation systems is another email automation tactic that can significantly increase revenue-building opportunities.

Aberdeen Research conducted an extensive study that clearly illustrated the benefits of integrating email with lead generation. According to the report — “Success Strategies in Marketing Automation” (July 2007) — marketers revealed the following business benefits of linking email and CRM systems:

95 percent surveyed reduce the sales cycle by integrating email campaigns with lead-management solution.

66 percent pass leads back and forth between sales and marketing, creating more opportunities for qualifying, following up on and prioritizing prospects that are most likely to make a purchase.

42 percent use automated email follow-ups for lead qualification, improving the overall efficiency of the lead qualification and sales process.

Imagine being able to automatically move individual leads through the sales cycle faster with email campaigns that launch automatically as CRM data changes for individual leads. Automating your email campaigns in this way will enable your sales team to concentrate on leads that require personal attention.