The environment of the various organizations is witnessing major dramatic developments and unprecedented rapid development in various fields, which forced the organizations, whatever their nature, public or private, to rebuild their marketing policies in order to achieve marketing excellence, so organizations at present began to spread and develop greatly to meet the evolving and renewable needs of customers. Today, it has relied heavily on its competition and uniqueness in new marketing mechanisms that enable it to keep abreast of developments and face challenges, including, for example, competitive challenges that necessitate developing ways not only to compete, but also to achieve marketing excellence that guarantees success in achieving greater profits by meeting the needs In the best way, organizations have begun to apply and employ contemporary marketing concepts that make them at the forefront of successful organizations in their work market,   and  this is   through  the  concept   of  marketing automation in their marketing activities.

From this point of view, the researchers found the possibility of applying and studying the two dimensions of the research through the exploratory study of the opinions of a sample of individuals working in Carrefour / Dohuk as a sample for the research. The current one has several axes, the first concerned the research methodology, in which the research problem was addressed, and then its objectives and importance, as well as the hypotheses that emerged in the light of the questions of the research problem, and then the methodology adopted by the research and the technologies used in the research, while the second axis presented a theoretical framework for the two variables that were studied in The research represented by (marketing automation and marketing excellence), while the third axis was devoted to research hypotheses and testing them, and the fourth topic was concerned with the conclusions and proposals for the research.

Research Problem

Products have become intertwined and competition is increasingly global in the field of product manufacturing. Providing products with great value to customers is not as simple as it used to be. This can be seen especially in organizations with a high reputation, in which the process of providing the required value is a challenge in front of them, as is well known, the process of attracting a new customer is more expensive than the process of retaining it. Therefore, the process of developing an effective strategy through which marketing excellence can be achieved by providing better products than what the competitor offers to the customer has become difficult and must be done at the same time.

And through the field visits that the researchers made to the branch of the Carrefour chain of stores in Duhok governorate, to find out the most important modern marketing methods and mechanisms that this store follows, represented by the automation of marketing operations, the extent of customer response to them, and its ability to attract customers in order to achieve marketing excellence over other organizations, which constituted the first point Which the researchers relied on in defining the main problem of the research, which revolves around the main question of this research. Is marketing automation in the organization’s operations lead to enhancing marketing excellence?

The importance of the research and its objectives 

The importance of the research emerges from the importance of its objectives, which are represented by a set of answers to the question raised in its problem on the one hand, and regarding its hypotheses that will be examined later on the other hand, the details of which can be presented in two aspects as follows:

• Theoretical: or the theoretical importance that can be manifested through the answers referred to as it may provide a theoretical aspect in its entirety that can benefit researchers if they want to develop an intellectual framework that establishes the concept of marketing automation on the one hand, and develop another intellectual framework for marketing excellence, which may benefit researchers interested in these two topics. And the book

• Field: or the field importance that may help answer the research question as it will confirm or deny, in part or in whole, the sensitivity and impact of the two dimensions between them

Based on this, the research objectives appear to be:

• Presentation of the intellectual philosophical contents, as well as the cognitive framing of the two dimensions of the research, and most of that, is in the theoretical framework of the research

• Presenting a practical study of the researched field on the nature of the relationship between these dimensions

• Providing appropriate justifications for various organizations, including Iraqi organizations, about the dimensions of the research, and studying them in their theoretical and field aspects

Research Assumes

The hypotheses of this research are determined by the following main and sub-hypotheses:

• The first hypothesis: This hypothesis states there is a correlation between the marketing automation variable and the marketing excellence variable

• The second hypothesis: This hypothesis states there is an effect relationship between the marketing automation variable and the marketing excellence variable

Research Methodology and Techniques

The research adopted the descriptive analytical approach as its main approach, due to its suitability in describing the variables of the research, and based on that, it relied on the techniques of this approach in obtaining appropriate data to complete the research, through books, letters, dissertations, and research for some writers and researchers, as well as through the international network of information (the Internet). The questionnaire prepared by the researchers was relied upon for the purpose of collecting data and information on the variables of the search for the paragraphs that were formulated in the questionnaire form. The questionnaire was subjected to validity and reliability tests. Alpha) to determine the degree of reliability of the measurement tool in this research, and it was found that the percentage of congruence in the answers of the research sample individuals reached at the total level 82.4%, which proves a good degree of stability of the questionnaire compared to of 60% for human studies [1]. It should also be noted that the aforementioned questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of individuals working in Carrefour Duhok.   Finally,   with   regard     to     analysis   techniques:

Table 1: The concept of marketing automation from the point of view of some writers

Figure 1: The importance of marketing automation technology

Sourse: Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-marketing-report-2018-3

the ready-made system program (SPSS-26, Amos-24) was adopted in order to test research hypotheses and verify their validity or not.

Theoretical Aspect

Marketing Automation: The term "marketing automation" was introduced by (John D.C) in his presentation at a scientific symposium at the University of California, and refers to the decision support of automated marketing on the Internet in order to achieve higher returns on marketing investments and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and was motivated by Introducing the idea of marketing automation is to provide models to deal with the huge amounts of data that organizations collect automatically via the Internet and to achieve adaptive interaction with the desires of customers on the Web, as he proposed five levels of system operation, which are (data inputs, decision rules in real-time, updates in Decision rules, site management feedback, strategy selection) [2]. Marketing automation refers to the use of software and technology to automate and simplify marketing tasks and processes. They can be used to facilitate a wide range of marketing activities, including email marketing, social media marketing, lead generation, and customer segmentation. Marketing automation is replacing the email marketing system and the organization's customer relationship management system that offers these functions in a single package in conjunction with automation capabilities and customer behavior monitoring. Changes in technology and customer attitudes force organizations to adopt new technologies and technology systems for communication and information gathering, in addition To the need to increase cooperation between management in the organization [3]. Thus, marketing automation represents one way to respond to a change in increasing collaboration to produce better and more personalized content, and in this way, the organization will enhance the acquisition of high-quality potential customers. Other benefits that marketing automation can bring to organizations include increased marketing efficiency, improved customer relationship management, and improved marketing intelligence. In the organization [4], the system collects data based on rules and tests different processes to find the best possible process [5], and many researchers referred to the concept of marketing automation, as shown in Table (1).

Marketing automation is one of the most important and fastest growing technologies in achieving success for organizations by establishing a permanent and proven relationship with customers, and by providing them with excellent service and good solutions to any problems they face. In addition, marketing automation can help improve customer experience and increase satisfaction. Figure 1 Importance of marketing automation technique.

And that the biggest challenge facing business organizations is represented in the huge amount and variety of data that emerged as an inevitable result of the accelerated technological transformation of societies, or what is known as the term at present (big data) [6], (which prompted marketing organizations to find solutions to deal with huge data about customers, one of which is adopting the concept of marketing automation.

The dimensions of marketing automation are viewed within the framework of three aspects, the first of which is philosophical. It is the organization’s tool in dealing with a large amount of data by providing models for dealing with the huge data that is automatically collected from the Internet to support the automated marketing decision and provide a more personal shopping experience for the customer [7]. The second perspective is technical, as it is an advanced system that arose as a result of the merger between the two e-mail marketing systems and the customer relationship management system in one of them through a set of system operations to solve the problem of scattered databases as well as meet the needs and desires of customers and working to develop this system continuously through nutrition. And the third is the social perspective. The application of this system by marketing organizations would generate a series of social effects in the behavior of potential customers and visitors to websites and social networks, which is likely to lead to a series of effects in society or what is known as (a wave of influence) and increase awareness [8]. This requires defining the main dimensions of the marketing automation system accurately and as follows:

• Advertising Campaign Management A campaign is a series of interrelated promotional efforts that are usually conducted within a specific time frame, designed to attract customer interest, and thus achieve accurate marketing goals. The campaign management system usually provides information that allows marketing managers to see vital data and identify key results in Various marketing efforts that are carried out by adopting tools (event management, employing multi-channel capabilities, employing websites, using e-mail) taking into account the personalization feature of all of the above [9]

• Lead management, in which the lead is identified through a contact created by a marketing campaign for existing or new potential customers who show interest in the organization's offerings or inquire about products or services, and this is done through customer acquisition management is a term mainly used in marketing It works through technologies that help organizations to track and improve the entire sales process by tracking and managing potential customers by employing tools to track the electronic visitor path, track the referral source, use query strings to track marketing channels, lead scoring policy, geographical location, personalization [10]

• Progressive profiling is the use of dynamic form fields on a website and gradually obtains basic and then additional information about the visitor, with the aim of accessing different content, or the possibility of filling a short form with his information, each time the possibility returns to reach more content, helps Gradually profiling the organization to get more information intelligently about its visitors by sharing their content, helps it target customers more accurately and keeps the database updated with current information, and the organization should ask for the relevant information gradually [11]

• Dynamic content It is a sales technique that consists in converting standard offers, and based on the analysis of information collected by the organization into dynamic offers to communicate its valuable offers most convincingly at every stage of targeting customers, and dynamic offers are often referred to as adaptable or smart offers The most important characteristic of dynamic presentations is their relevance. Contact management, which includes a set of tools through which the organization can manage contacts with its customers represented in contact records, caller profile, caller technological profile, integration with other databases taking into account standardization and preventing recurrence by using data quality programs by deleting data duplicated, classified and indexed [12]

• Analysis and impact measurement, including tools for analyzing reports, returned from the customer, verifying the validity of the marketing database, the amount of growth in it, and the value that this growth will generate, in addition to analyzing customer activity on the website and analyzing the results of advertising campaigns through a set of tools and applications designated for this purpose, and reviewing the results in a dashboard format. Counters and the reflection of all this in the performance of the organization [13]

Marketing Excellence

The concept of excellence has received great attention in the contemporary management literature as a result of the change in the business environment at the local and global levels and as a reaction to the information and communication technology revolution. Marketing requires creativity and innovation based on marketing information systems, which are the highest degrees of excellence and progress in the production of organizations for their products in a way that exceeds their competitors by exploiting and investing in the positive aspects and their strengths and employing them in managing their activities so that they create value in their performance, which makes them distinct and unique over other organizations [14]. And that the dynamic capabilities of marketing excellence are an organizational and strategic precedent by which marketing department managers change their resource base, acquire, dispose of, and regroup resources to generate new strategies to create added value for the organization, and this requires the manager to organize the marketing excellence strategy and link the new value to the organization effectively and logically in the market and control the The market through the existence of appropriate prices and quality of the products that it offers in the market, so that the competing companies in the market are unable to carry out these modern and important maneuvers for fear of reducing their profit margin and not being able to control the market or reduce prices [15]. And the process of creating additional value reflects positively on its marketing position, achieves efficiency in the use of resources, and encourages creativity and innovation, which leads to improving and enhancing productivity, and this requires attention to the organization’s inputs in terms of human, financial, material and information resources. This is following correct rules and standards, as well as employing new methods for the organization’s resources to achieve distinction over competitors [16]. Table 2

The importance of marketing excellence is represented in the fact that it contributes to the survival and continuity of the organization as long as possible in an environment characterized by change and intense competition, and is a source of strength for the organization to  meet  the  challenges  of  the  surrounding environment, through its generation and development of marketing knowledge, which in turn leads to the availability of capabilities and capabilities to meet the needs of and the desires of customers [17]. It is an essential and important measure for a successful organization because it generates renewed models and ways to continuously distinguish it competitively. Complex environmental changes [18-20].

Table 2: The concept of marketing automation from the point of view of some writers

Table 3: Analysis of the correlation between marketing automation and marketing excellence

Figure 2: The correlation between marketing automation and marketing excellence

Source: Outputs of (Amos v.24)

        Agreed that the importance of marketing excellence is as follows:

• Supporting the mental image of the organization

• Excellence in strategic resources and competencies

• It is a factor to enhance the organization's work and effectiveness and makes it an innovative organization that achieves its mission through effective leadership

• Improving performance, identifying and investing in strengths, and diagnosing and addressing weaknesses

• The organization is allowed to measure the extent of improvement and progress through the organization's self-evaluation

• Facilitate comparisons with other similar organizations

• Information and Data: Providing all possible data and information about customers

• Determining the needs and desires of customers and unifying them in specific forms in order to meet them

For the current research, researchers will rely on [21-23], in determining the dimensions of marketing excellence, which included the following:

• Quality of service: It has become one of the most important competitive weapons in light of the growing competition in the market and a basic means to achieve customer loyalty. The degree of satisfaction with the quality of service is by comparing what customers expected to get, and what they get after benefiting from the service. With what he expected to get, he will be satisfied, and if he does not get what he expects, he will be dissatisfied, and if he gets more than he expects, he will be happy, and this is of course related to the quality of the service provided [24] 

• Customer satisfaction: It is the basis and the main key to retaining the   customer,   and    he   emphasized 

Figure 3: The impact of marketing automation on marketing excellence

Source: Outputs of (Amos v.24)

• that the satisfied customer will remain loyal to the organization for long periods, and in return will show less interest in competing organizations, and will speak positively about the organization loyal to it, and provide the organization with ideas, and be less interested and sensitive to the price, And the cost of serving him is less than the cost of serving a new customer [25]

• Customer retention: It expresses the tendency of customers to continue visiting the organization as long as it can fulfill their requirements and desires. Therefore, the ability of the organization to retain its customers is one of the defensive strategies that lead to survival in its current competitive market and works to increase its chance of success in the future [26]

• Customer value: A. Customer value has become a direct concept for customers. From the customer's point of view, it is called the received value, and from the organization's point of view, it is defining the value of its products [27]. The customer's perceived value is the difference between customers' assessments of all benefits achieved as well as all product costs and perceived alternatives [20]

• Marketing Creativity: It is the development and discovery of products. The discovery and development of products is an entry point for expanding and developing new knowledge and converting it into an application to the marketing reality, meaning that it is the process that relates to positive innovations that pertain to products of all kinds [28]

The Practical Side

• The Correlations Between Marketing Automation And Marketing Excellence: For the accuracy of the results, the researchers tested the relationship between marketing automation and marketing excellence, as the results of Table 3 and Figure 2 indicate that there is a direct and significant correlation between marketing automation and marketing excellence in terms of the value of the correlation coefficient, which appeared equal to 0.790, and this relationship is significant based on the probability value p-value, in which the highest value appeared equal to 0.00, which is less than 0.05, as the same result confirms the values The lower and upper limits of confidence 95% confidence interval, as they appeared to have similar signs.This is attributed to the acceptance of the first main hypothesis, which states there is a significant correlation between marketing automation and marketing excellence in the researched company

• Impact Relationships between Marketing Automation and Marketing Excellence: After conducting the test to measure the effect relationship between the agile supply chain and marketing performance at the aggregate level, the results appeared in Table 4 and Figure 3 that there is a direct and significant effect of marketing automation on marketing excellence, with a value indication. The regression coefficient, whose value appeared equal to 0.789, and this effect was significant in terms of the probability value p-value., which appeared equal to 0.00, which is less than 0.05, and the same result confirms the similarity of the signals of both the upper and lower limits of the confidence limits 95%Confidence Interval at a significant level 0.05, and this leads us to the conclusion that increasing interest in marketing automation will raise marketing excellence. This is attributed to the acceptance of the second main hypothesis, which states there is a significant impact relationship between marketing automation and marketing excellence in the researched company

Discussing the results: Through what has been observed from the results above, we note that the results of the current research are consistent with what was clarified in the study [29], which emphasized the importance of marketing automation and the time that is available in repetitive tasks of marketing operations and improving Managing potential customers by adopting an effective approach that supports the main goal of the organization, which is to acquire potential customers, increase sales and enhance the market position, and thus distinguish it from other organizations. It is important to enhance the work of the organization and its effectiveness and make it an innovative organization that achieves its mission, and this is what the results of the current study showed about the need for organizations to excel in all marketing and production activities and work to meet the needs and desires of customers by adopting marketing concepts that help them reach their marketing goals, and perhaps one of them or the most important is the automation of their marketing operations.

• Marketing automation shortens the repetitive tasks of marketing operations in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing operations decisions made by the organization

• Marketing automation has an important role in supporting automated marketing decisions via the Internet in order to achieve higher returns on marketing investments

• Marketing excellence is an important factor in the organization's survival and continuity as long as possible in its work environment by supporting the organization's power sources to face the challenges surrounding it

• Marketing excellence expresses the tendency of customers to continue the relationship with the organization as long as the latter is working to achieve its requirements and desires, and this is the key to maintaining it

Suggestions

• A clear strategy should be built in the process of adopting the concept of marketing automation for organizations in order to enhance marketing opportunities by controlling the costs incurred by the organization when it uses manual systems in its traditional marketing operations

• The need for organizations to agree between digital analytics and marketing data in order to employ their marketing automation in order to re-target and focus on the customer

• Enhancing interest in marketing excellence, as excellence establishes the rules and requirements for building the capabilities of the organization, in a way that helps it survive, grow and continue

• Achieving distinction over competitors with the possibility of excellence in strategic resources and competencies to achieve a unique position in the market and provide high value to the customer in the products offered by the organizations

Acknowledgment

The authors are very grateful to the University of Mosul, College of Administration and Economics, for their provided facilities, which helped to improve the quality of this work

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