I recently joined the Pardot team as a marketing and client services coordinator. In my past experience I had minimal interactions with the technology/software arena. Coming from a sponsorship and strategic development background, I was a bit hesitant when first applying for the position. I was proficient in many software applications, but I was uncertain whether I was technically savvy enough to fulfill the position in a manner to effectively serve the clients I would be working with daily. Still, I was excited to be involved with emerging technology and really felt that my previous experiences would serve Pardot well.

When hearing the remarks of a sales person or reading blogs from a member of a company who has been consumed within a particular industry, it is common to hear about the product’s ease of use. From an external perspective, how much should I buy into this?

Let me tell you my experience and you can judge for yourself.

First Impressions
During the interview process, I was given a chance to interact with Prospect Insight much like a prospective client would during a trial. I was asked to set up my own account in Prospect Insight and given a list of tasks to complete. Essentially, I was to develop my own marketing campaign without any Pardot team support. Items included creating campaigns, forms, email templates, landing pages, layout templates, lists, automation rules, drip programs, and assign prospects to various elements of the campaign. To be honest, at first glance I was a bit overwhelmed. I hadn’t even heard of this technology and certainly had no idea of how to navigate the system.

Within a short time, and with only the demo videos and the documentation in the Knowledge Base as my support, I was able to navigate through the system without any hiccups or confusion. Once I became familiar with the location of various basic elements within the modules (which I was able to quickly locate in the Knowledge Base), I was able to easily complete the campaign implementation.

Drawing Conclusions
Now that I’ve seen the Quick Start packages that provide new clients with a solid foundation, in addition to the very user-friendly interface and in-depth Knowledge Base documentation, I personally believe that navigating Prospect Insight would be no problem for the typical marketing user.

Just as the team promised me when I first began my journey with Pardot, I can confirm that the product truly was developed for marketing individuals who are frustrated and want to execute their own initiatives without having to play an undesired game of tag with IT to obtain the same results.

Anti-spam activists call it the “You-Can-SPAM” act, and indeed several marketers and executives see it as such – an excuse to send out email communications without permission.  In the space of today’s online market, however, legal permission to blast out emails isn’t a formula for success, affirmative consent is.

What affirmative consent is: when subscribers have actively requested to receive your emails.
What affirmative consent is not: checking pre-checked boxes.

Loren McDonald says that “permission [...] is the foundation of customer relevance and trust.”

In the era of customer control, affirmative consent is crucial.  Consider how a customer reacts to email they have chosen to receive versus one that comes to them with the header “This is an advertisement” (a term of the CAN-SPAM act).  Sending customers relevant e-mail that will not annoy them is the difference between read and not read, engage and mark as spam.

To comply with the CAN-SPAM, affirmative consent is not required.  For a successful email marketing campaign – it’s key.