ExactTarget Partners with Marketo to Integrate Marketing Technologies

ExactTarget and Marketo, two software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies, announced a strategic partnership today to integrate Marketo’s Revenue Performance Management solution with ExactTarget’s Interactive Marketing Hub.

Developed as the first partner application for the Interactive Marketing Hub, the application will provide Marketo’s full lead management functionality directly from the Interactive Marketing Hub, allowing marketers to plan, power, monitor, and track Marketo revenue performance management campaigns alongside ExactTarget-powered email, mobile, social media, and Web campaigns.

ExactTarget’s team of professionals across North America, Europe,and Asia-Pacific will begin selling and supporting the integrated Marketo partner application later this year, expanding Marketo’s reach into new markets around the globe.

“Consumers are interacting with brands in real time across email, mobile, social media, and the Web, and marketers must make the most of the opportunity to effectively engage,” said Scott Dorsey, ExactTarget co-founder and CEO. “By bringing the power of Marketo to the ExactTarget Interactive Marketing Hub, we can provide B-to-B marketers a single solution to deliver real-time cross-channel marketing, improve sales efficiency, and accelerate revenue growth.”

Unveiled in September 2010, the Interactive Marketing Hub is a cross-channel interactive marketing platform that enables marketers to engage in real-time marketing, consolidate all data to create a common view of the consumer. and deliver targeted, permission-based interactions across email, mobile, social media, and the Web. Currently in beta with more than 500 of the world’s leading brands, the Interactive Marketing Hub is an online marketing suite that provides a platform for marketers and technology providers to connect disparate data sources to power more relevant real-time cross-channel marketing.

“We are in the midst of a transformational shift in the Revenue Performance Management market,”said Phil Fernandez, president and CEO of Marketo. “The buying process has changed. Customers now touch dozens of online and offline information sources before they ever talk to a sales representative. Businesses recognize they need to move with high velocity to reach these prospects with compelling content before they decide to buy from a competitor. By combining ExactTarget’s and Marketo’ss market-leading products, we offer an unmatched solution to businesses seeking to engage with customers at the speed of the modern social web to accelerate revenue growth.”

The Marketo partner application will feature full integration with the ExactTarget Interactive Marketing Hub, allowing marketers to access unified calendaring, campaign management, data management and ExactTarget’s channel applications by bringing B-to-B and B-to-C communication together in a single platform.

“To progress beyond the limitations of single-channel solutions, professionals must consider incorporating the online marketing suite into their approach to cross-channel marketing,” wrote Joe Stanhope, senior analyst at Forrester Research, in the March report The Road to the Online Marketing Suite. “The online marketing suite facilitates marketing performance improvements by linking execution, content, and measurement to coordinate and optimize interactions across multiple online channels.”

In addition to the partnership, the companies also announced that ExactTarget has selected Marketo to power its global revenue performance management efforts. ExactTarget’s global sales and marketing teams will use Marketo’s technology to expand lead flow, optimize sales and marketing investment, and improve productivity.