Data Driven Marketing

Transcription

1 Data Driven Marketing B2B MARKETING AUTOMATION BENCHMARKS FIND. NURTURE. CONVERT. The most challenging obstacles to B2B Marketing Automation success and how marketers will overcome them in the year ahead. Client Connection Research TM conducted by Ascend2 in partnership with NetProspex

2 Imagine turning strangers into prospects, prospects into customers, and customers into advocates. Automatically. While marketing automation isn t a magic wand, it has dramatically increased the effectiveness and efficiency of finding, nurturing and converting customers. That s not to say there aren t some challenges. To uncover the most challenging marketing automation obstacles that lie ahead and get insight into how B2B marketers will overcome them, NetProspex partnered with Ascend2 to field the Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey. We completed interviews with 291 business, marketing and sales professionals; 77% of whom are dedicated to the B2B channel and are represented in this report. We thank these busy professionals for sharing their valuable insights. The charts in this edition of the Data Driven Marketing Series, titled B2B Marketing Automation Benchmarks, show that B2B marketers know a truly productive automated marketing program is grounded in the quality of data they collect and how they apply purposeful data analysis to the broader market. In addition to the charts, we have included tips and insights that you might consider applying to your own marketing programs. This research has been produced for your use. Put it to work in your own marketing strategy planning and presentation materials. Clip the charts and write about them in your blog or post them on social media. We only ask you credit this research as published. As B2B marketing becomes more buyer centric, you ll likely engage with multiple influencers meaning more data from more channels during the buying process. And while marketing automation can streamline the process of tasks like segmenting audiences and delivering relevant messages to each prospect, success still depends on keeping highly accurate contact and company records. At NetProspex, we believe great marketing begins with great data and with each Ascend2 survey, it would seem that more and more successful marketers do too. Lauren Brubaker Sr. Manager, Demand Generation NetProspex 2

3 Alignment is key. When it comes to marketing automation there are plenty of important objectives for the B2B community. Improving productivity is #1, but don t overlook the need to better align marketing with sales. What are the MOST IMPORTANT OBJECTIVES for B2B marketing automation? Improve marketing productivity 43% Attracting and engaging B2B decision makers has always been competitive. Today it s even more so the process is more complex and it takes longer for prospects to be ready to engage. Best practices indicate it takes between 8-10 touches before a lead is ready to be delivered to sales. Improve lead nurturing Increase lead generation Increase sales revenue Increase lead quality 43% 43% 42% 41% Today s B2B buyers are often farther along the path before ever speaking to a sales rep. Appropriately, effective marketing automation and sales and marketing alignment has made a real difference in delivering qualified leads to sales. Improve performance measurement Improve marketing-sales alignment Reduce sales cycle 19% 24% 26% Automation can help you get ahead of the game. Read this blog to learn the initial steps you need to take to get your data ready for automation. 3

4 Scratching the surface of success. Talk about potential! So many of our respondents report that they are only somewhat successful at achieving important objectives. Be sure you are making the most of your marketing automation platforms to ensure optimal success. How do you RATE THE SUCCESS of marketing automation in achieving important objectives? Not successful 9% Somewhat successful 71% Very successful 20% Marketing Automation can t do it all. Before deciding on a technology platform: >> Make sure you have the right talent on your team. They should be analytical, creative and innovative. >> Understand your buyer personas and where they are online. >> Have everyone agree on a campaign process. >> Create compelling content that is relevant to each delivery channel, engaging to the prospect and ultimately sharable. Most importantly, consider the quality of your database. Data quality issues prevent many organizations from fully taking advantage of marketing automation. If you haven t read our Data Driven Marketing Benchmark for Success Survey, be sure to do so today. 4

5 The true value of data quality is in the strategy. Developing an effective strategy must involve a programmatic approach to addressing data quality. Otherwise, your best ideas will never reach fruition. What are the MOST CHALLENGING OBSTACLES to B2B marketing automation success? Lack of an effective strategy 48% It s essential to have a data management strategy that facilitates the buyer s journey. We recommend these 4 steps when preparing your database for marketing automation. 1. Conduct a database audit for all records in your system. Having a baseline helps you define success. Budget limitations Lack of skilled staff Insufficient data quality 36% 39% 42% 2. Perform a data health scan. Are records complete or duplicative? What about phone and deliverability? 3. Decide whether to delete or archive bad records. Lack of management buy-in Difficult to use interface Ineffective metrics 17% 22% 25% 4. Lastly, enrich your database to drive advanced segmentation, accurate lead routing and scoring, and dynamic content personalization. Not enough leads 16% Want an automated and free method to assess the health of your data? Access our Data Health Scan tool here. 5

6 To DIY or not to DIY. That is the B2B question. Just over half (52%) of B2B organizations use in-house resources only for their automated marketing campaigns. The rest rely on external expertise for some or all of their needs. Which best desribes RESOURCES USED to perform Inbound Marketing campaigns? Outsourced to an agency or consultancy 4% Outsourcing may makes sense if: >> Implementation, which can be complex, diverts internal resources from their typical responsibilities. Leave it to the experts. >> Unfamiliarity with automation keeps your organization from testing tactics beyond basic marketing. Experienced vendors ease the transition. In-house resources only 41% Combination of outsourced and in-house 55% Marketing data management is one of those timeconsuming occupations that makes a lot of sense to outsource. Download the NetProspex Product Solutions Guide to discover how data management automation can free up staff to focus on their core responsibilities. 6

7 Reporting trumps ease-of-use. But just barely. The ability to measure performance with visible analytics and reporting tops the list as the most important factor when it comes to choosing a marketing automation system. Ease-of-use is a close second at 39%. What are the MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS in choosing a marketing automation system? Analytics and reporting Ease of use All-in-one solution and campaign management Lead segmentation and scoring Pricing and/or pricing model 26% 25% 32% 40% 39% 37% When evaluating marketing automation partners, determine the types of reports you ll find most valuable. Are you interested in social shares, open rates, downloads, video or page views, site visits, time spent or overall ROI? All of the above? Ask to see examples of multichannel reports or dashboards before taking the plunge. Finally, look to secure synergistic marketing automation vendors to ensure a seamless platform integration. Lead capture and management CRM included Website visitor ID and tracking Message personalization 12% 20% 18% 24% For example, data management solutions from NetProspex are fully baked into Salesforce, Eloqua and Marketo platforms for ease of data access, marketing and robust reporting capabilities. Landing page builder 9% 7

8 Knowing your conversion rate matters. A lot. The rate at which leads convert, the most useful metric according to our study, is directly related to the quality of the lead data, which subsequently drives the return you achieve on your lead gen investment. What are the MOST USEFUL METRICS for measuring marketing automation performance. Lead conversation rate Revenue generated 41% 53% Consider this: With so many metrics available, it s challenging to decide what exactly you should be measuring. Whether your organization is evaluating traffic, response, conversion or overall value agree on one thing before starting any marketing automation campaign: which metrics will most effectively drive your success. Lead generation ROI Leads generated Pipeline value generated 35% 34% 40% Of course, great marketing start with great data so you might want to begin there. To start, download the DemandGen Special Report: Best Practices to Boost Your Database Health. Cost per lead 30% Open/click-through rate 21% Website traffic 16% 8

9 The methodology behind our research. Client Connection Research surveys are conducted online from Ascend2 s panel of more than 50,000 US and international business leaders, marketing decision-makers and practitioners representing a range of contact roles, company types, sizes and geographic regions. The questionnaire used is standardized to incorporate these methodologies across all studies while maintaining our proven 3-Minute Survey format. Survey findings are examined in a quantitative context by experienced analysts and reported objectively. Consider this: Automation can turn your marketing tactics into a true sales ecosystem but only if it s backed by accurate, actionable data. Ready to learn more? Survey demographics for the B2B marketing segment Company Location Other 10% Role in the Company Other Connect with us directly: by phone, , by , hello@netprospex.com or visit Netprospex.com to learn more about how we can impact your marketing efforts in 2015 and beyond. Europe 13% North America 77% Sales VP / Director / Manager 5% Marketing or Sales Staff 15% CEO / COO / CMO / CSO etc 34% In-house resources only 52% Marketing VP / Director / Manager 37% 9

10 NetProspex is the smarter B2B data partner. We help marketing and sales organizations optimize their revenue impact by increasing the quality and effectiveness of their marketing data management practices. Thousands of B2B organizations rely on NetProspex to assess, cleanse, enrich and grow their marketing data in order to fuel high-performing marketing campaigns and accelerate the creation of sales pipeline. To make databases richer and more actionable, the company offers the industry s largest and most accurate reference database of B2B contacts, cleansed with proprietary CleneStep TM verification technology. For more information visit Marketing agencies, marketing software and data companies partner with Ascend2 to provide research-based demand generation. Our Research Partner Programs are transparent spotlighting your brand and the interests of your market. Learn more at B2B Marketing Automation Benchmarks Research conducted by Ascend2 in partnership with NetProspex. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. You may adapt, copy, distribute and transmit this work. However, you must attribute the work as produced by Ascend2 and its Research Partners but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. 9