Most marketers understand the value of good customer data, but they still struggle to organize and use it effectively: 62% cite "turning data into action" as their top marketing issue in 2011, according to a report by Unica.
Some 90% of surveyed marketers say Web data is very important or somewhat important in driving campaign decisions.
Even so, only 41% of marketers say they now use Web data to help them make such decisions; another 35% say they plan to do so in the next 12 months.
Below, other findings from the report, 11 Key Marketing Trends for 2011; Highlights from the Annual Marketing Survey, by Unica (an IBM company).
Mobile Strong Across Multiple Tactics
Marketers are bullish on mobile in 2011, with apps and mobile-optimized websites leading the way:
- 44% of marketers are using mobile apps and another 31% plan to do so in the next 12 months.
- 40% of marketers have mobile versions of websites, and 31% plan to implement one in the next 12 months.
Roughly one-third of marketers (35%) are now optimizing email campaigns for mobile delivery and another third (34%) plan to do so over the next 12 months.
Looking for great digital marketing data? MarketingProfs reviewed hundreds of research sources to create our most recent Digital Marketing Factbook (May 2010), a 296-page compilation of data and 254 charts, covering email marketing, social media, search engine marketing, e-commerce, and mobile marketing. Also check out The State of Social Media Marketing, a 240-page original research report from MarketingProfs.
Social Marketing Steady
More than one-half of marketers (53%) say they now use social media marketing and another 24% plan to do so over the next 12 months.
Another 10% of marketers say they have long-term plans to adopt social marketing (more than 12 months in the future) and 11% are still uninterested in social.
Inbound Marketing
Marketers also plan to deliver personalized messages in customer-initiated transactions and cite the following inbound channels:
- Websites: 57% now implement inbound-channel communications via Web and another 25% plan to do so in within the year.
- Customer service/call centers: 52% now using and 18% have plans to do so within the year.
- Point-of-sale/kiosk/ATM: 28% now using and 21% have plans to do so within the year.
Other key findings among surveyed marketers:
- Nearly 90% say they're interested in an integrated marketing suite, while one-half say they are now integrating across some channels.
- 57% say their top bottleneck is measurement, analysis, and learning.
- 53% say they have an issue attributing success to marketing.
- More than one-half cite technology as the key to productivity, in particular, to resolving the challenges of meaningful measurement and analysis, and to choosing the next best course of action.
About the data: The Annual Unica Marketing Survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2010 among 259 marketers from a wide range of industries, geographies, and company sizes.
