This is a really broad question… allow me approach just a part of it.

Email Marketing is one of the primary tools in marketing automation. This answer is based on our experience of over 400 email customers and 10 years in the space.

There's no question that lead nurturing via marketing automation generates results - leads. However, is your business set-up to respond to this new lead pool?

Most businesses are used to responding to leads from a comfort zone. i.e. inbound phone calls; contact forms via websites; word of mouth referrals etc. What these new platforms bring are direct leads via forms but also leads born out of online intelligence.

Before you can get value from those via online intelligence your sales team and processes need to create and apply a very different approach. This approach will be a new experience for both the sales person and the company.

In order to ensure you get the ROI from marketing automation you should plan the process and the how-to that convert those leads into prospects.