• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, February 4, 2016

According to a new industry survey conducted by Selligent/StrongView, marketing budgets will rise in 2016, with 56% of companies increasing and 35% maintaining current levels. The number of companies increasing budgets has grown two percentage points over 2015 results.

Email marketing budgets are top targets for increased investment as business leaders plan marketing budgets, priorities, and challenges for 2016. Brands will focus on engagement and integration with additional channels and data sources, says the report.

The number of brands decreasing budgets increased from 6% in 2015 to 9% in 2016, says the report. Social media and display follows email marketing as the top channels attracting increased investment. Mobile slipped to fourth place compared to 2015 results.

“Increasing subscriber engagement” was the most important marketing initiative for 2016 at 34%, says the report, with more than double the next response of “improving segmentation and targeting.” Marketers chose “improving data analysis to better understand customer context” as the third most important initiative.

In reporting the top challenge for 2016, Brands’ ongoing struggle with data and channel integration was evident in “leveraging customer data from multiple channels and data sources.”

 45% of marketers cited “social media channel growth” as their top email marketing initiative for investment in 2016 compared with only 34% in 2015, edging out more traditional promotional programs and triggered email programs. Integration with social media is by far the most popular channel integration initiative at 61% this year compared to 47% last year. Social media was chosen above web site integration (58%) and mobile integration (42%).

In summary, key survey data includes:

Marketing Budgets

• Increase 56%
• Decrease 9%

Marketing Programs to Be Increased (Top 3)

• Email 60%
• Social Media 56%
• Display 56%
• Mobile 52%

Top 3 Email Marketing Initiatives for 2016

• Increasing Subscriber Engagement 34%
• Improving Segmentation and Targeting 14%
• Improving Data Analysis to Better Understand Customer Context 12%

Top 3 Email Marketing Challenges for 2016

• Leveraging Customer Data from Multiple Channels and Data Sources 27%
• Improving Segmentation and Targeting 18%
• Inadequate Data and Analytics Capabilities to Engage in Contextual Marketing 12%

Andre Lejeune, CEO of Selligent, concludes "… encouraging to see marketers break down siloes… (using) channels like email, social media, and web together… (for a) more unified experience for consumers…" 

For additional information, please visit StrongView here.