There are many marketing automation platforms, but larger companies and enterprise clients will usually choose one of the leading platforms, such as Salesforce Pardot. But what is it and what do you need to know when it comes to integrating it with WordPress?
What is Pardot?
Pardot is a business-to-business marketing automation tool that aims to personalise sales and marketing by helping marketers nurture and warm up sales leads. The application captures customer information and tracks interactions, allowing marketers to assess their relevance and nurture them appropriately. In this way, cold leads can be resurrected and nurtured.
The content delivered can be customised to show specific offers, or emails can be sent only according to the user’s preferences.
Leads are assessed via automated scoring and rating methods, and if they start to show interest, real-time notifications can alert the sales team to follow up.
With clear tracking of the customer’s journey, marketing can better identify what led to the conversion and, in turn, more clearly understand which marketing efforts provide the best return on investment.
It’s officially called Salesforce Pardot, as it’s owned by CRM giant Salesforce. It’s no surprise, therefore, that the marketing automation solution combines seamlessly with Salesforce products for a truly integrated sales and marketing stack.
Pardot is billed annually, with an annual contract, and costs between £12,500 – £150,000 a month for up to 75,000 contacts. The price varies depending on the functionality required. Additional functionality can be added at an extra cost.
How does Pardot integrate with WordPress?
There is a WordPress plugin – created and maintained by Pardot – that integrates the two platforms. It’s free and installs in the same way as other WordPress plugins.
Once it’s installed and activated, some Pardot account login credentials, a user key and campaign tracking code need to be submitted to link your WordPress and Pardot accounts. This only needs to be done once.
What functionality does a Pardot/WordPress integration provide?
When the Pardot plugin is activated, a Pardot button is added to the WordPress toolbar. This allows you to insert forms and add dynamic content to your WordPress pages and posts.
It’s quick and easy to do, and no coding is required. Instead, the plugin adds shortcodes to pages and posts and widgets to sidebars.
What is the support like?
Support for something like this can be handled by your IT department or digital partner, but it’s still good to know that the plugin is updated regularly and questions are answered quickly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Pardot integrates easily with WordPress. It has a good level of maintenance, attentive support, and it’s easy to add some of the Pardot features to your WordPress site.