Cloud services and marketing

Nowadays, most of the companies use cloud tools. Well-known services, such as Gmail, Google Docs and Dropbox are used every day. Salesforce is commonly used in companies' business routine. Through social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter), significant part of personal and business data is collected and saved in the cloud. So, all these services and their data are easily accessible and available for different purposes. On the other hand, users have to give up their privacy and control. Anyone with moderate analytical skills can research, profile and use all published data for their own gain and interest (advertising, sales, different analysis, etc.). Nothing excites managers and marketers more than the massive application of cloud services and infinite flow of fresh information about consumers, which is then used to improve their products and services. In this paper we present process improvements in marketing automation, lead tracking, and inbound marketing as a result of cloud services. No matter which cloud supported services are used, they are less time and money consuming and easier to access and manage. They are accepted by more users than traditional desktop tools. In the future, processes could be even more automated which could put businesses on autopilot. This might be the Holy Grail everyone is seeking.