According to a new Marin Software study, conducted by Forrester Research, marketers are using online advertising to drive revenue outcomes, but face challenges without ample visibility into key
performance metrics. The study suggests that advanced ad management programs can help advertisers scale ad programs, enable insight into data, offload operational headaches and improve program
performance.
US Interactive Marketing Spend ($US Millions) |
Media | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | CAGR |
Social Media | $2,760 | $3,453 | $4,217 | $4,995 | 26% |
Email marketing | 1,875 | 2,066 | 2,262 | 2,468 | 10% |
Mobile marketing | 4,238 | 5,697 | 7,057 | 8,237 | 38% |
Display advertising | 19,783 | 19,783 | 23,919 | 27,600 | 20% |
Search marketing | 24,613 | 27,515 | 30,433 | 33,319 | 12% |
Total | 49,571 | 58,515 | 67,888 | 76,620 | 17% |
Percent of all ad spend | 20% | 22% | 24% | 26% | |
Source: Forrester Research, January 2013 |
Key findings of the study show that advertisers value online advertising
because it’s flexible, targetable and drives immediate revenue outcomes. 83% of respondents are already held accountable for revenue outcomes; 79% say that driving revenue is a primary objective
for online initiatives. 74% look to technology to ameliorate problems.
Benefits of
Online vs. Offline Advertising (Top 3; % of Respondents) |
Benefit | Most
Important | Second | Third |
More accurate targeting | 23% | 17% | 18% |
Campaign measurability | 15 | 21 | 13 |
More efficient marketing ops | 10 | 10 | 16 |
Adjust strategies dynamically | 9 | 14 | 17 |
Better ROI on marketing campaigns | 12 | 13 | 13 |
Cost savings | 13 | 11 | 6 |
Better conversion
rates | 7 | 9 | 6 |
Access to consumer response data | 6 | 4 | 9 |
Source: Forrester Research, January 2013 |
Most respondents said paid search, audience buying,
retargeting and contextual ads when asked which online program types are most important for their business goals.
Importance of Marketing Program in Achieving Business Goals (Scale 1-5, 5=Extremely Important, 4=Very Important; % of Respondents) |
Program | Very Important | Extremely
Important |
Traditional paid search ads | 35% | 43% |
Audience buying | 47 | 26 |
Retargeting | 40 | 28 |
Contextual
display ads | 44 | 21 |
Mobile paid search ads | 35 | 28 |
Traditional display ads | 38 | 19 |
Product listing (e.g. Amazon, eBay) | 36 | 18 |
Pay per click ads on social networks | 25 | 5 |
Source: Forrester Research, January 2013 |
48% of respondents outsource management of paid search to agencies, 35% use free or propriety tools, and 17% purchase 3rd party tools to aid search program
management.
Online advertisers focused on real-time buying of targeted or direct response media will gain prominence over the next 18 months, according to the report. With the trend underway,
the emphasis is on driving immediate and quantifiable revenue outcomes.
- 83% say that their online advertising efforts are held accountable to revenue outcomes
- 6% believe that
their organizations are less focused now on driving revenue directly from online ads than in 2011
- 55% expect revenue targets for their online ad programs to increase slightly in 2013, while
25% expect a significant increase
65% of respondents focus on driving sales, 64% on leads. The number one measurement is site traffic, with online sales tracked by 48% and 25%
measuring offline or customer value metrics.
Metrics Used to Measure Online Ad Program
Effectiveness |
Measurement Metric | % of Respondents |
Site traffic | 69% |
Online conversions | 63 |
Online sales and revenues | 48 |
Performance by product line and business unit | 25 |
Influence along path to conversion | 23 |
Customer lifetime value | 20 |
Offline conversions and revenues | 20 |
Competitive benchmarks | 19 |
Source: Forrester Research, January 2013 |
For additional
information about this research, please access the complete PDF report file from Forester Consulting through Marketing Charts here.