IMHO, there are 3 kinds of marketers - those who use marketing automation tools to the fullest, those who’ve paid for them but barely use them, and those who are using them without even realizing it. 

Which one are you? 

Let’s break it down! And if you’re in the second or third category of marketers, we’ll look at why that’s happening and how to turn it around and make sure you’ve got the right setup and the confidence to make your marketing automation work for you. 

What is Marketing Automation?

By definition, marketing automation is the process of automating repetitive marketing tasks and activities using technology. And let’s be honest - anything that saves time and boosts productivity is a win, right? 

Things like sending an auto-reply when someone signs up for your newsletter, routing tasks through an editorial workflow, or scheduling social posts in advance… all of that counts as marketing automation. You might already be doing it without even realizing it.

Some marketing automation tools are designed specifically for automation. For example, MailChimp for email marketing automation, HubSpot for lead scoring and lifecycle stages, Zapier for automation between different tools, and more. A CMS like Drupal can also be used as a marketing automation tool because it does more than just manage content. It can trigger personalized emails, segment audiences, schedule content, integrate with CRMs, and automate workflows based on user behavior. 

Why are marketers underusing their automation tools?

Here’s something interesting: 75% of businesses use some form of marketing automation. Sounds promising till you hear the next part - 54% of marketers say they’re not using those tools to their full potential. Why does this happen?

The setup was never completed fully

You’d be surprised how many teams buy a powerful platform and never get past the onboarding. Maybe the person who pushed for the tool left, or priorities shifted mid-implementation. Sometimes the team might give up if setting up complex journeys and integrations takes way more effort than expected.

The marketing team lacks in-house technical skills

A team might be paying for HubSpot but never use its behavioral tracking, A/B testing, or automated lead-nurturing flows. This could be either because they don’t know those features exist or because no one has time to explore them.

It doesn’t feel personalized enough

Some marketers avoid too many automations because they think it’ll make their messaging feel robotic and not personal. Which again comes down to knowing and using the tools well. When used right, marketing automation tools can actually enhance personalization by automatically segmenting audiences, customizing emails, and delivering content at just the right moment.

Fear of messing up (FOMU?)

Not as famous as FOMO, but honestly, more relatable if you're a marketer. Marketers often worry that automated emails might go out to the wrong people, at the wrong time, with the wrong message, addressed to them as [FIRSTNAME]. (Let’s just say this may or may not have happened to our team…).

What underutilization of marketing automation tools is costing you

Marketing automation tools aren’t cheap. There are license costs, team training, setup, integrations, and a good chunk of your time that goes into it.

What does it cost?

• Missed revenue from poor targeting
• Wasted budget on unused features
• Slower campaigns
• Lack of personalization leads to lower engagement
• Increased dependence on agencies/consultants

Underusing your marketing automation tool is more than just a missed opportunity. It is a cost that quietly chips away at your team’s efficiency, your campaigns’ impact, and your brand’s experience. Check out the next section to find out how you can make it work.

How to fix it

Now that we have understood and recognized the problem, here’s how you can get more out of what you paid for.

Always start with a usage audit 

You should first start with a simple question: what are we paying for, and what are we using? You’d be surprised how many of your team members are sitting on features they didn’t even know they had. I once knew a team that had a full HubSpot subscription but was still using Google Sheets to manage leads manually. Only because no one knew the lead scoring feature existed.

Use this table as a starting point:

Revisit your business goals

Many times, automation setups are built in isolation, without aligning them to the organization's goals. The questions you need to ask at this point are: Are these automation journeys supporting your current business goals? Have your buyer personas changed? Is your sales team still happy with the quality of MQLs (marketing qualified leads) you're passing on?

For example, if one of your goals is to shorten the sales cycle, maybe you should revisit your nurture emails campaign and check if they are helping move the needle or just filling inboxes.

Assign platform ownership

This one is so important! Without a clear owner of the platform, the automation tool might fall into no-man’s land. Sometimes in between IT and marketing, and sometimes somewhere between sales and marketing.

You will need to pick a clear owner or a small team responsible for the tool. They will keep the platform organized, review its performance, and improve workflows if needed.

Prioritize 1-2 high-impact use cases (e.g., abandoned cart recovery, MQL scoring)

Don’t try to automate everything at once. Start small. Pick one or two high-impact use cases like abandoned cart recovery (ecommerce), MQL scoring + lead scoring (B2B), automated donor thank you journey (non-profits).

Use a CMS like Drupal

Marketing automation often ends up being a patchwork of disconnected tools, with each one doing its own thing. The good news is that a CMS like Drupal can help fix it. Drupal isn’t just great at content management but also at connecting it. With its API-first architecture, Drupal can integrate directly with marketing automation platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Marketo, or ActiveCampaign. That means your website can feed real-time behavioral data (like downloads, page visits, form submissions) straight into your automation workflows.

Drupal is also making strides in AI, letting you use smart tools to automate marketing tasks and even decision-making. Find an experienced Drupal development agency that understands both marketing and tech. One that can help you set up the right modules, integrate your marketing tools, and even customize AI-driven workflows that suit your business goals.  

Leverage AI to bridge the gap

Don’t think about AI as just another platform to add to your woes. In fact, AI can make your existing tools smarter and your team faster. How?

1. Utilize AI tools to review your existing automations and pinpoint underperforming journeys or untapped audience segments. Tools that can help: HubSpot AI, Ortto, Mutiny.
2. AI-powered lead scoring reduces manual effort and enables sales teams to engage with warmer, higher-quality leads. Tools that can help: 6Sense, Madkudu, Zoho Zia.
3. Use AI to act like QA for your automation setup. It can catch what you can’t, like spotting redundancies, broken logic, and dead ends. Tools that can help: Customer.io + AI rules, ActiveCampaign’s AI Insights.

Train and empower

Sure, automation can be done by tools, but these tools won’t run themselves. You need experts who understand both your business goals and the platform. 

• Invest time in training. Build process documentation and share best practices.
• Get external help if your team is already stretched thin.
• Empower your team to experiment and own their automation experiments.

Marketing automation works when people do. But they need clarity, focus, and support.

Final thoughts

The best automation still needs a clear strategy behind it. You still need to know your audience, define your goals, and understand how all the moving parts connect your CMS, CRM, email tool, content engine, and analytics stack. That’s how you move beyond “just setting up journeys” and start running a marketing engine that grows with you. So yes, automation is the future. But only if it stays human. 

Do you need help connecting your marketing automation tools and analytics to Drupal? Give us a call today!