[August 15, 2017] |
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Investment in Marketing Automation Drives B2B Marketing Performance, Act-On Study Shows
Act-On
Software, the leading provider of adaptive marketing automation for
fast-growing businesses, today shared findings from the State of B2B
Marketing Automation study it commissioned Econsultancy to do that
surveyed more than 350 B2B marketing professionals in North America and
Europe. The study reveals a correlation between marketing automation
investment and business performance. Leaders1 are 24 percent
more likely than their peers to say they are currently using marketing
automation, and almost two-thirds of these companies employ marketing
automation technology, compared to 50 percent for the Mainstream.2
This is the first year Act-On commissioned the study,
which set out to investigate how marketing automation helps companies
operationalise and grow. The goal of the research was simple: to better
understand how companies use and value marketing automation, looking
specifically at the technology's adoption, use case sophistication, and
perceived effectiveness. While marketing automation is a prevalent
technology in North America, the research wanted to find out if this was
true in Europe, and what differences, if any, existed in how marketing
automation is used and valued across countries.
While just over half of B2B organisations surveyed are using marketing
automation, only 27 percent firmly believe that it has increased
marketing's contribution to pipeline. This could be because marketers
are just only scratching the surface when it comes to using marketing
automation. The research shows that there are only three areas where
more than half of those surveyed are using marketing automation: email,
web forms, and landing pages. These are the more basic functions within
marketing automation, which can point to a potential misalignment
between system, strategy, and skill-set.
"Despite the important role marketing automation plays in helping
marketers to deliver against commercial objectives, the research found
that 47 percent of companies are not yet using the technology," said
Andrew Warren-Payne, Partner Content - Marketer and Industry Analyst at
Econsultancy. "Companies need to ensure that they have as much clarity
as possible around their sales and marketing goals, and have the
processes in place - along with the technology - to help them achieve
their revenue targets. Marketing Automaton appears to be a competitive
advantage for most businesses, so it is important for those companies
who have not yet invested to rethink their current growth strategy."
Lead nurturing, a standard practice facilitated by marketing automation,
is an area showing a noticeable gap in sophistication between Leaders
and their peers. There is a 23-percentage-point divid in the level of
usage of marketing automation for lead nurturing. Similarly,
significantly fewer non-Leaders are using their systems' lead scoring
capabilities (37 percent, versus 48 percent for Leaders). It was seen
that both these areas are very much on the radar, with 50 percent and 47
percent of companies, respectively, planning to use these tactics.
Across all areas, North American organisations are 14 percent more
likely to use marketing automation than their European counterparts. In
some categories, such as CRM integration, social, web forms and
account-based marketing, this is by a significant margin. As elsewhere
in the survey, the responses suggest that North America remains ahead of
Europe when it comes to marketing automation sophistication and results.
A significantly higher proportion of respondents based in North America
indicate that marketing automation has delivered their organisations
with return on investment than those in Europe (91 percent versus 72
percent).
Concludes Michelle Huff, CMO of Act-On Software, "Marketers today face a
changing, daunting world: a crowded vendor landscape, online channels
that are fast-multiplying, a digitally disrupted customer journey, but
more importantly, the customer they serve is more empowered and more in
control than ever before. As marketers, we must navigate through this
change to succeed. Increasingly, we are seeing companies embrace modern
marketing technologies like marketing automation to help them better
compete and achieve their business goals."
For more findings and to download the full report, please visit our
State of B2B Marketing Hub.
Survey Methodology
The survey included responses from 355 B2B in-house marketing
professionals predominantly located in United Kingdom (39 percent),
North America (34 percent), and Europe non-UK (18 percent). It was
conducted by Econsultancy and was sponsored by Act-On Software.
Forty-seven percent of respondents hold a marketing manager title and 18
percent hold a director or senior director title. More than 55 percent
of survey respondents come from companies with US$13m in revenue or
more. The top 3 industry sectors representing the respondents include
Technology (20 percent), Professional Services (16 percent), and
Manufacturing (11 percent).
About Act-On Software
Act-On Software is a marketing automation provider responsible for
delivering innovation that enables marketers to create Adaptive Journeys
using customer behaviors, preferences, and data to intelligently guide
the engagement strategy. Act-On is the only integrated workspace that
powers the customer experience from end-to-end, from brand awareness and
demand generation, to retention and loyalty. With Act-On, marketers can
drive better business outcomes and see higher customer lifetime value.
Act-On is squarely focused on the success of its customers and offers
consultant-level quality with everyday customer support. Act-On has been
recognized for its superior product and rapid business growth by
Deloitte (News - Alert), Forbes, and Inc. Magazine. For more information, visit Act-On
Software.
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1 Defined as companies whose marketing functions met or
exceeded their FY16 business goals.
2 Defined as companies whose marketing functions did not meet
their FY16 business goals.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170815005369/en/
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