Nearly half of global marketers (45%) say the lack of an effective strategy is hampering the success of their marketing automation efforts, according to a recent report from Ascend2.
Other factors seen as major hindrances to marketing automation success include budget limitations (44% of marketers cite as a challenging obstacle), lack of skilled staff (40%), insufficient data quality (34%), lack of management buy-in (23%), and the difficult-to-use interfaces of marketing automation software tools (22%).
Below, additional key findings from the report, which was based on data from a survey of 291 global marketing, sales, and business professionals.
Satisfaction and Goals
- 69% of respondents say their current marketing automation efforts are somewhat successful; 24% say they are very successful; and 7% say they are not successful.
- 45% say improving productivity is one of their top goals for marketing automation; 44% say increasing sales revenue is a top goal.
Resources and Tools
- 52% of respondents say their company handles all of its marketing automation efforts in-house; 41% use a combo of in-house and outsourced resources; 7% fully outsource.
- 41% say the quality of analytics and reporting tools is a top factor in choosing a marketing automation system; 40% say ease of use as a top factor; 34% look for an all-in-one solution.
Metrics
- 57% of respondents say knowing the rate at which leads are converted is one of the most useful metrics to measure marketing automation performance
- 42% say revenue generated is a key metric, and 40% cite lead generation ROI.
About the research: The report was based on data from a survey of 291 global marketing, sales, and business professionals.
