It’s one of the hottest buzzwords in the online marketing world: automation! Marketing automation sounds ideal. The term itself leads you to believe that you can set up a system, then sit back and relax while leads flock to your sales team's desks. But what does reality look like? Could it really be that simple? If your business is considering investing in this effective online strategy, you need to know a few marketing automation requirements before spending your hard-earned money. Choose a Strong Partner There is no shortage of marketing automation vendors on the market. You have the choice of companies that offer a full range of services. From automated social media posts (think: Hootsuite) to automated sales funnels (think: Infusionsoft), you have a big decision ahead of you. The first thing you need to do when investing in marketing automation is find the right partner. There are several things to do. Things to consider when narrowing down the pool of potential candidates: What are your end goals? What type of message does your audience need to take the next step ?...