Eliminate Double Data Entry to Improve Sales and Marketing Efficiency with SAP Business ByDesign and Marketo Integration
Challenge
The company’s marketing and sales teams relied on both SAP Business ByDesign and Marketo to manage contacts, accounts, and opportunities. Each system served a different purpose—ByDesign for ERP and Marketo for marketing automation—but this meant teams had to maintain the same data in both places. This manual double entry was inefficient and led to frequent data discrepancies. As a result, marketing automation activities were delayed or based on outdated information, and sales teams struggled with incomplete or mismatched records. The marketing automation team felt this pain most, often resorting to time-consuming manual imports to keep systems aligned. The lack of a reliable integration created operational bottlenecks and risked poor customer experience.
Solution
We designed and implemented a custom interface between SAP Business ByDesign and Marketo. The integration automatically syncs five key objects from ByDesign to Marketo, ensuring that updates in the ERP system are reflected in the marketing automation platform without manual effort. For contacts (ByDesign) and leads (Marketo), the integration is bi-directional, allowing updates to flow both ways. This approach was chosen after a series of interviews and use case workshops with the company to ensure the integration met real business needs. The solution was tailored to the company’s specific processes and data structure, making it a practical fit. While the technical implementation is custom, the structured approach and learnings can inform similar projects in other organizations facing the same challenges.
Impact
The integration reduces manual work and eliminates data discrepancies between sales and marketing systems. Marketing can now send personalized communications from the correct account owner’s email, improving relevance and response rates. Sales and marketing teams receive real-time alerts and updates, enabling faster follow-up and better customer engagement. Data quality is improved, and operational delays are minimized. The solution supports more scalable, targeted campaigns and reduces the risk of missed opportunities or compliance issues related to outdated data.