11 key marketing trends for 2011

Transcription

1 IBM Software Thought Leadership White Paper June key marketing trends for 2011 Highlights from the annual IBM Unica marketing survey

2 2 11 key marketing trends for 2011 Will more marketing opportunities lead to profitable pathways or dead ends? More is certainly the key word for our times. The results of our annual IBM Unica marketing survey reveal that the proliferation of marketing channels and the concomitant explosion of data pose many challenges for marketers in As the survey results suggest, marketers are looking for ways to turn more marketing possibilities into better marketing results. Our survey highlights the following key trends for 2011: 1. Marketers are bridging the gap between analysis and action When does a rich set of customer data become a mixed blessing? When asked to rank the top bottlenecks in the marketing process, participants identified measurement, analysis and learning as the number one impediment, reflecting appreciation of its value. However, in a follow-up question regarding the most important marketing issues, turning data into action earned top priority. Over the last decade, many marketers have become data junkies, absorbing information for its own sake. Nevertheless, as they say, recognizing a problem is the first step toward solving it. Marketers can no longer blame IT for withholding information. With vast quantities of data readily available today, it s time to overcome analysis paralysis and turn this newly found knowledge into action by integrating data captured across all channels into subsequent campaigns and personalized offers. 2. Marketers are empowering the customers to lead the dance by taking advantage of inbound interactions For as long as anyone can remember, marketing is all about getting a message out. Advances in technology are driving a shift in direction. Today, inbound marketing is seizing the momentum. Customers are now taking the initiative and directing the relationship on their terms. Marketers are getting the message. We asked the marketers surveyed if they intend to deliver personalized messages in customer-initiated transactions and we received positive responses from the participants. The participants demonstrated substantial commitments to using, or planning to use, inbound channel communications through their websites (57 percent are already in place with 25 percent planning to do so within the year), customer service or call centers (52 percent versus 18 percent), and point of sale or kiosk or ATM (21-28 percent). Inbound marketing adoption by channel Website Customer Service / Call Center Point of Sale / Kiosk / ATM Base: Total Sample (279 Respondents) Currently do this 57% 25% 52% 18% 28% 21% 49% 70% 82% Don t currently do this but plan to in the next 12 months

3 IBM Software 3 57 percent said their top bottleneck was measurement, analysis and learning 62 percent said their top marketing issue was turning data into action 3. Marketers are leveraging online behavioral data to help turn data into action Marketers cherish the data they collect from their websites, irrespective of information overload. Web interactions open a priceless window on customer interests, intentions, and wants. They provide a wealth of precise information that easily trumps mere demographics or transactional data. Hence, it is not surprising to know that 90 percent of marketers consider web data as important to drive campaign decisioning. While only 41 percent currently use this data to drive campaign decisions, another 35 percent intend to use this data in the next 12 months. 4. Marketers are focusing on improving integration, segmentation, and targeting to keep relevant has not lost its status as a deeply entrenched, well-understood marketing channel. 85 percent of total participants use software and others plan to use it too. Now that the low-hanging fruit has been plucked and the field is glutted with competing messages, how are marketers sustaining s relevance? Today, smart marketers address this problem by integrating campaigns with data and triggers from other channels to make an essential part of an ongoing, evolving dialogue with customers and prospects. However, the job is not easy as only 34 percent of marketers say they have automated the integration of data with other marketing data. About 39 percent of marketers say they manually accomplish this integration. is becoming the natural integration point with emerging channels such as social media and mobile. In fact, over half of (54 percent) the marketers report including social sharing links in , and about a third (35 percent) are already creating mobile-specific versions of s. Value of using web data in customer analytics and decisioning Very Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Not Important Not Important At All 2% 8% 27% Base: Total Sample (279 Respondents) 63% 90% say web data is important

4 4 11 key marketing trends for 2011 Use of Web Data in Campaign Decisioning Currently do this Plan to do this (next 12 months) Plan to do this (>12 months) No plans to do this 10% 14% Base: Total Sample (259 Respondents) 35% 41% 76% will use it in campaign decisioning by end of the year 5. Free online marketing tools are becoming expensive , web analytics and paid search are contemporary marketing mainstays. However, more than half (53 percent) of marketers rely on free tools for web analytics and more than a third (37 percent) rely on tolls from search engines to manage PPC marketing. The insightful marketers are now considering the cost of free. For starters, you can only use the free search tool with its proprietary search engine database. The free search tool may not include all functionality and may limit your results. In addition, generally, you cannot search across multiple search engines. It is difficult to incorporate the search tools and free web analytics with the other systems. Hence, it can be impossible to close the loop and understand the value these efforts add to the customers. The information these tools provide is so valuable, that if it remains stranded, it leaves you incapable of realizing the full potential of search and web data. Investing in web analytics and search bid management solutions are paying short- and long-term dividends. 6. Channel proliferation drives the need to nurture new channels New channels continue to multiply with familiar channels, such as mobile and new micro-channels like Foursquare. With the growth of smartphones and tablet computers, for example, the ipad, there is no reason to expect the proliferation of new channels to decelerate any time soon and it is not reasonable to expect success from all of them (remember Second Life?). However, in the face of a rapidly evolving marketing landscape, marketers need a structured process for assessing opportunities, testing tactics, measuring results, and evaluating further involvement in new channels. For example, a leading financial services organization developed a structure to determine which business goals each social media channel might support. Their findings prove that Facebook is a great place to drive new customer acquisition, but it is not particularly effective for customer service. They use web analytics to measure traffic on their Facebook wall and correlate this traffic with traffic from their other web properties and microsites. When traffic arrives at their website from Facebook, the customer more often than not signs-up for a card rather than logging in to their account for a service interaction. With social media and mobile, individual channels are coming and going, but a solid evaluation process is a lasting investment. 7. Social media is experiencing growing pains This year, social media is no longer the adorable baby everyone wants to hold, but the angst-filled adolescent still immature yet no longer cute who inspires mixed feelings.

5 IBM Software 5 Nevertheless, social media continues to hold intense interest, as 53 percent of marketers are currently applying it to their marketing efforts. As tactics rise and fall, a more sophisticated approach is emerging. Instead of thinking tactic by tactic, marketers are beginning to think strategically across three major areas of social content: owned (what they create), earned (what customers create), and paid (what marketers spend money for). Social media marketing usage Mobile sites and mobile messaging follow at 40 percent and 36 percent. However, the real question is not whether to use mobile or not, but the question is which mobile marketing channels, if any, are relevant to your business and its customers? Is it SMS texting or mobile versions of website or paid mobile search, or the tactic of the day, mobile applications or a mix of all the channels? Use of mobile marketing tactics 10% 11% Mobile application 44% 31% 20% 5% 26% 53% Mobile version website 40% 31% 20% 9% Mobile messaging (SMS/MMS/WAP) 36% 26% 17% 21% Mobile version 35% 34% 17% 14% Current Activity No Plans Planned Activity (>12 months) Base: 254 Respondents Planned Activity (Next12 months) Mobile Ads (PPC or Display) Location-based targeting 30% 29% 29% 17% 24% 27% 18% 26% 8. Marketers are treating mobile as a device with many channels, not a single channel Survey results show that marketers are growing bullish on mobile, with over 40 percent of marketers currently using mobile marketing tactics. Among survey participants, mobile applications lead the way with 44 percent current usage. Currently use Don t currently use but plan to in the next 12 months Don t currently use but plan to in the future more than 12 months Don t currently use and have no plans at this time

6 6 11 key marketing trends for Interactive Marketing is reaching the tipping point as a dominant marketing discipline Each of these trends is not taking place in isolation. Marketing messages delivered during inbound interactions need to be coordinated with outbound campaigns. Web analytics data is based on both online and offline marketing campaigns. Integrating social, mobile and other emerging channels in the marketing mix plays a pivotal role in meaningful cross-channel dialogues. Interactive Marketing bridges these trends to facilitate customer awareness, centralize decisioning, and execute across channels. Most marketers understand the need to create cross-channel dialogues and buy into the Interactive Marketing strategy. However, a mere 10 percent say they have completed their Interactive Marketing journey. The good news is that half of marketers say they are currently integrating across some channels. Over the next year, perceptive marketers will increase their adoption of Interactive Marketing and expand the number of channels they include in this orchestrated strategy. 10. Marketers get more serious about using cross-channel attribution to understand marketing effectiveness It is not enough to coordinate campaigns and deliver results. Marketers need to understand which activities, programs, and campaigns are contributing to those results. In the ranking of top marketing issues, attributing success to marketing takes the second spot with more than half of marketers saying they find it challenging. Attribution is the process of assigning credit to marketing campaigns and exposures that lead to conversions and that has become a critical component of marketing analytics. Marketers are now looking for cross-channel attribution that demonstrates the value of specific tactics and helps direct resources to the most productive options. For successful attribution, marketers need a centralized interaction history of marketing contacts and customer responses. Those marketers who adopt an Interactive Marketing strategy already have a centralized view of marketing touches. 11. Adoption of an integrated marketing suite is accelerating Marketers are confident that technology is easing their pain. More than half of marketers say technology enables them to increase productivity more than additional staff or external agency support. Moreover, an overwhelming 87 percent agreed that marketing needs a more integrated suite of software to improve their effectiveness. Integrated tools mean integrated, Interactive Marketing with shared sources of data and real-time behavioral triggers allowing marketers to take communications to the next level. This also results in personalized, yet relevant messaging to the right audiences at the right times. To deliver well-coordinated customer experience and integrate activities across channels, marketers need a comprehensive suite for centralized, strategic control. Adoption is expected to accelerate as the economy eases out of the downturn and releases pent up demand for more integrated marketing solutions.

7 IBM Software 7 Increasing marketing productivity with an integrated marketing suite Strongly agree 62% Base: Total Sample (279 Respondents) 8% 5% Do not agree at all 25% Somewhat disagree Somewhat agree Ready when you are IBM Enterprise Marketing Management is hardly a neutral bystander in marketing technology. We are deeply committed to marketing automation. Based on our experience with hundreds of enterprise clients, truly interactive, and integrated marketing can help marketers achieve differentiation, attract prospects, and hold profitable customers, regardless of whatever new channels come and go. About IBM Unica solutions IBM Unica products are innovative marketing solutions that turn your passion for marketing into business success. Our comprehensive approach to Interactive Marketing enables organizations worldwide to understand their customers and use that understanding to engage buyers in highly relevant, interactive dialogues across digital, social, and traditional marketing channels. Recognized as a leading integrator of enterprise systems for multiple industries, we help organizations with a wide variety of projects, analyzing real-time information and returning measurable value to stakeholders. In addition, we provide worldwide support for a variety of industry-partner content, services, and applications. For more information To learn more about IBM Unica products, please contact your IBM marketing representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit the following website: ibm.com/software/info/unica. Visit the Interactive Marketing microsite for a comprehensive set of resources that puts you on the path to more personal, profitable marketing, or call us at (North America) or (International). Smarter Commerce: An integrated approach IBM Unica products are part of the IBM Smarter Commerce initiative. Smarter Commerce is a unique approach that increases the value companies generate for their customers, partners and shareholders in a rapidly changing digital world. To learn more about Smarter Commerce, visit: ibm.com/smarterplanet/commerce.

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