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CEOs Pushing Marketing For Measurements
by Jack Loechner, Thursday, May 29, 2014 8:05 AM
The annual Ifbyphone State of Marketing Measurement Survey identifies what successful marketers are doing and how they’re doing it to grow their business. The survey is the leading
report in the sector with hundreds of marketing decision makers contributing their feedback. The 2014 survey examines trends in how often CEOs are looking for marketing activity reports, the
diversity of channels being measured, and how marketers plan to invest in technology platforms in the future. According to the Ifbyphone 2014 State of Marketing Measurement Survey 75% of
respondents describe their CEO as “totally committed” or “significantly committed” to supporting their marketing teams, up 8% from 2013. The number of respondents tracking
weekly or monthly marketing metrics jumped 6% in 2014. CEOs desire all marketing activities to be continuously measured and decision making to be founded on strong statistical evidence. CEO Support For MarketingCommitment20142013 Totally
Committed 38% 34% Significantly Committed 37% 33% Somewhat Committed 13% 18% Little to No Commitment 7%
9% Don’t Know 5% 5% Ifbyphone State of Marketing Measurement Survey, May 2014 With this
involvement comes increased demand for a more pragmatic approach to marketing campaigns, focusing on conversion and return on investment (ROI), says the report. The most measured attributes
include:
- Growth in sales revenue (69%),
- Number of new customers (63%),
- Number of new leads (58%).
The least measured metrics include:
- Increase in awareness (22%)
- Brand perception (21%)
- Purchase intent (11%)
To satisfy increasingly involved CEO leadership, marketers must align their priorities
with those of the CEO to effectively generate the desired marketing measurement results. In the past year, the proportion of marketers measuring their marketing activities has increased across all
channels. Between 2013 and 2014, focus and measurement of sales revenue growth jumped the most with a 20% boost.
Primary Tools In The Modern Marketer’s ToolkitTools% of
Respondents Web analytics 73% SEO and PPC
tools 63% Customer relationship management (crm) 52%
A mobile or responsive website 46% All tracking solutions
38% Marketing automation 34%
Ifbyphone State of Marketing Measurement Survey, May 2014 CEOs have a significant influence in marketing decisions. In
fact, says the report, as CEOs become more ingrained in marketing processes, and more committed to the role marketing data can play in organizational decision making, CEOs have become rapidly aware of
technology advancements in marketing automation that enhance the ability to report more marketing information more frequently. The most popular marketing measurements in 2014 are focused on
tracking marketing’s contribution to increases in sales. A significant proportion of respondents are also reporting the number of new customers generated by marketing activity. Almost six in ten
marketers are measuring new sales leads, and more than half are tracking increases in web traffic that result from marketing campaigns, says the report.
Range Of Marketing Metrics Measured By RespondentsMarketing
Metric20142013 Increase in sales/revenue
69% 49% Number of new customers
63% 49% Number of new leads 58% 43% Increase in website traffic 53%
35% Conversion rate (conversion funnel) 46% 41% Marketing ROI 45% 40% Cost per lead 36% 38%
Increase in customer retention 31% 22% Customer acquisition cost 29% 34%
Quantified increase in awareness 21% 12% Quantified
increase in brand perception 21% 10% Quantified increase
in purchase intent 11% 5%
Ifbyphone State
of Marketing Measurement Survey, May 2014 The ability of marketers to track their ROI for high-value sales channels is likely to become increasingly
important as CEOs push for sales growth and market expansion in 2014. This environment will place a greater emphasis on the integration of marketing measurements of offline and online channels to best
track high-value sales opportunities. High-value marketing channels such as real world marketing interactions at conferences and tradeshows remain important to four in ten marketers, a
proportion that is unchanged from 2013. In addition:
- Marketers value online channels to generate high quality leads. SEO and PPC sees a 9% increase in popularity, from 46% in 2013 to
55% today. Social media receives a 7% improvement year-on-year, while online display/banner ads increase 5%
- There is a growing interest in mobile platforms for the purpose of generating
high-value sales leads. Mobile advertising (not tracked in 2013) is identified as a source of high-quality sales leads by more than one in ten marketing decision makers today
Marketing Channels Preferred For Sourcing High-Value LeadsMarketing Channel20142013Variation Email marketing 57% 54%
4% Search Engine Optimization Pay Per Click 55% 46% 9% Social media 44% 37% 7% Conferences, tradeshows and
events 39% 39% 0% Direct mail 26% 28% -1%
Online display/banner ads 25% 20% 5% Public relations 23% 28% -5% Webinars 22% 20%
2% Offline media: Print ads 16%
14% 2% Mobile ads 11% N/A N/A Offline media: TV 9% 5% 4% Content syndication 8% 9% -1% Offline media:
Radio 6% 6% 0% App stores 3% 3% -1%
Ifbyphone State of Marketing Measurement Survey, May 2014 The growth in mobile marketing is widely reported in
the media, but this report noted that only one in ten marketers are currently measuring the value of mobile ads. The future potential for marketers to track increasing amounts of marketing data via
mobile device usage is clear. In almost every marketing measurement category, with the exception of direct mail, mobile marketers report more measurements than the general respondent
population. Due to the way data-rich mobile devices are increasingly used for digital content, some of the biggest increases in measurement by mobile marketers are in online channels such as
email, social media and SEO/PPC. Interestingly, mobile marketers are also significantly more likely to measure the results of offline TV advertising, suggesting a strong correlation between these two
marketing channels as consumers watch TV while interacting with brands, ads, and other consumers via their mobile devices.
Percentage Of Mobile Marketers Measuring Other Marketing ChannelsChannelGeneral RespondentsMobile Marketers SEO/PPC 55% 69% Social media 44 69 Email marketing 57 64 Online display/banner ads 25 51 Conferences/events 30 40
Offline media: TV 9 31
Public relations 23 29 Webinars 22 27 Offline media: Print ads 16 27 Content syndication 8
24 Offline media: Radio 6 24 Direct mail 26 20
App stores 3 11
Ifbyphone State of Marketing Measurement Survey, May 2014 Just 46% of marketers are currently using mobile web measurement tools to report on
marketing channels accessed via a mobile device. CRM solutions that can track and provide CEOs with frequent reporting on in-person sales conversions are currently used by just 52% of marketers, while
call tracking technologies that can measure the value of inbound phone call inquiries are deployed by 38% of respondents. 42% of respondents are still lack marketing personnel who can deliver the
measurement objectives of the CEO.
Challenges That Impact Ability To Effectively Measure
MarketingChallenge2014 2013 Variation Lack of marketing personnel resources 42%
35% 7% Lack of measurement prioritization 42% 40% 2% Lack of data
collected due to manual systems 37% 38% -1%
Lack of automated marketing measurement tools 33% 33% 0% Lack of integration with sales 33% 32% 1% Lacking viable process for measuring and reporting 31% 33% -2% Lack of call tracking data
24% 26% -2%
Ifbyphone State of Marketing Measurement Survey, May 2014 When asked what they would need to be more successful in measuring
marketing ROI during the year ahead, more marketing automation tools is one of the least pressing. Of a higher priority is the need for more budget, and better alignment of marketing with sales.
Requirements To Be More Successful In Measuring Marketing ROI In 2014Need For Success2014 2013 Variation More attention to the measurement process 42%
48% -6% More budget 39% 32% 7% Better alignment with sales 37% 33% 4% More measurement data
37% 34% 3% More
trained marketing personnel 36% 8% -2%
More marketing automation tools 34% 40% -6% More executive-level involvement 17% 16% 2%
Ifbyphone State of Marketing Measurement Survey, May 2014
For
additional
information from Ifbyphone and access to the PDF file, please visit here.