Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey

Transcription

1 2015 Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey March 2015 / 2015 Rizen Creative Co. All rights reserved.

2 Which marketing tactics are working for Idaho companies? Which aren t? Those two simple questions led us to create the Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey. The survey provides a rare insider s look at the marketing efforts of Idaho companies both what s working and what s not. What the survey is: a self-reported assessment of the marketing tactics employed by Idaho companies in diverse industries, ranging from health care to professional services. What the survey isn t: though the sample size is significant for a localized, business-focused survey, it has not been statistically verified. More about this survey. Who took this survey: leaders from 51 Idaho-based companies, 18% of which have more than 100 employees; 25% employ people. Their industries are varied: Professional Services Agriculture Retail Travel & Tourism Technology Personal Services Real Estate Nonprofit Medical Restaurant/Food Service Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey / March 2015 Page 2

3 Highlights Much like last year, most companies are beginning the new year with an aggressive marketing approach: 66% plan to increase their overall marketing efforts, and 54% plan to increase their overall marketing spending. For the third year in a row, none of our respondents plan to decrease their overall marketing efforts. Although, 4% intend on decreasing their marketing department hiring and 8% plan to decrease their marketing spending. The amount of money spent on digital marketing continues to rise. Two-thirds of respondents said that digital marketing tactics will increase in 2015 (websites, social media, blogs, etc.), as compared to a 28.5% increase in traditional marketing. There was little-to-no change in social media marketing tactics from last year. 80% of respondents said that they planned on increasing their usage of social media in With the continued growth and understanding of social media, leaders in Idaho businesses are feeling more comfortable using it as a marketing tactic; to do more outreach with less monetary investment. The majority of those who are not using social media claim that it is due to lack of time (21.6%) or lack of human resources, also 21.6%. The number of respondents who Do not understand it, See no clear ROI or Don t see much benefit has continued to decrease over the course of the last 4 years. Several new questions were added to this years survey to better understand the behaviors being used by companies. These questions focused on the usage of social media, digital marketing and mobile advertising; areas we feel will only continue to grow in the future. *Regarding all bar graphs: Figures represent the percentage of those that answered the given tactic. Respondents had up to 20 defined tactics to choose from as well as the option to list other tactics. Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey / March 2015 Page 3

4 Findings The next 12 months. The growing shift from traditional marketing to digital marketing continues. Similar to last year, the majority of Idaho companies surveyed intend to do more in 2015, but not necessarily through traditional marketing efforts. Traditional marketing continues to wane as 8% of companies plan to decrease their spending in this category while 63% expect it to remain unchanged. Much like last year, respondents plan to do more without hiring more people. An overwhelming majority, 75%, do not intend to hire additional marketing employees in Do you expect the following to increase, decrease, or remain unchanged in the next 12 months? Overall Marketing Efforts 66% 34% Increase Remain Unchanged Overall Marketing Spending 8% 54% 37.5% Increase Remain Unchanged Decrease Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey / March 2015 Page 4

5 Marketing Department Hiring 21% 75% Increase Remain Unchanged Decrease 4% Corporate Social Media Usage 18% 79.5% Increase Remain Unchanged Decrease 2% Internet-Based Marketing 67% 31% Increase Remain Unchanged Decrease 2% Traditional Marketing 28.5% 8% 63% Increase Remain Unchanged Decrease Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey / March 2015 Page 5

6 In the next 12 months, which types of tactics will be most important to your marketing efforts? 24% 76% Digital Marketing Traditional Marketing The shift from traditional marketing to digital marketing is continually on the rise. 76% confirmed that digital marketing will be most important for their 2015 marketing efforts. In the next 12 months, do you plan on incorporating mobile advertising into your marketing strategy? 33% Yes 67% No One-third of Idaho leaders indicated they are planning to use mobile advertising in This question was not included in prior surveys, so we do not have a benchmark for comparison. However, according to comscore, Mobile has swiftly risen to become the leading digital platform, with total activity on smartphones and tablets accounting for an astounding 60 percent of digital media time spent in the U.S. What tactics are you NOT using now that you are planning to begin using in the next 12 months? Blog / 19% Events / 9.5% Promotional Video Pinterest / 8% / 8% Marketing / 6% This year blog usage made a leap from 7th to 1st place. Additionally, most of the items at the top of the list last year, such as Pinterest and Twitter, dropped in this year s survey. Hopefully this means that most of our respondents did in fact begin using those tactics in Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey / March 2015 Page 6

7 What s happening now? The trend in shifting advertising expenditures from more traditional mediums like radio and television to digital continues for most Idaho companies. Across the board, digital marketing efforts continue to gain importance and a larger emphasis in overall annual tactical plans. Social media s role within the advertising space continues to grow for Idaho companies as marketing opportunities within the platform continue to evolve to get even more targeted reaching qualified consumers with less intrusive tactics. It is probably safe to say the inclusion of Yellow Pages on future marketing surveys is over. For several years now, Yellow Pages has been named the tactic found to deliver the least bang for your buck and one of the least effective in attracting new customers. What traditional marketing tactics are you currently utilizing? Print Advertising / 19% Events / 17.5% Sponsorship / 16.5% Direct Mail / 13% Public Relations / 11% In an interesting turn of events, print advertising made the leap from 4th place to 1st, while events came in a close 2nd, climbing all the way from 8th place last year. While this may not mark the come-back of traditional marketing, it certainly is noteworthy. Promotional Video / 6% What digital marketing tactics are you currently utilizing? Marketing / 15% Facebook / 14.5% Online Advertising / 13% Twitter / 12% LinkedIn / 9.5% Blog / 9% Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey / March 2015 Page 7

8 If you are not currently using social media for marketing, what are the primary reasons you are not? Lack of Time / 21.5% Lack of Human Resources / 21.5% Don t See Much Benefit Lack of Financial Resources My Customers Don t Use It / 13.5% / 11% / 11% For the fourth year in a row lack of time and lack of human resources remain at the top of the list, while don t see much benefit rose by 3.5%. While the perception that social media is not worth the time might be decreasing, it is clear that respondents still find it hard to make the time and commitment to social media. Of these tactics, which three would you consider MOST IMPORTANT to your business? Marketing / 13.5% Public Relations / 12.5% Print Advertising / 12.5% Events / 12.5% Facebook / 8.5% The list of tactics for this question changed from 2014, with the removal of word-of-mouth as an option in That aside, the most noticeable change was the inclusion of print advertising in the top three responses (12.5%). Print advertising did not make the top seven responses in Direct Mail / 7.5% Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey / March 2015 Page 8

9 Of these tactics, which three do you believe give you the MOST bang for your buck? Marketing / 13% Public Relations / 12.5% Events / 11% Facebook / 10% Last year print advertising just missed making the top five. This year it made a come back at fifth place at 9%. Not far behind marketing, public relations, events, and Facebook. Print / 9% Of these tactics, which three do you believe give you the LEAST bang for your buck? Yellow Pages / 15% Billboard Advertising / 13.5% Print Advertising / 9.5% Radio Advertising / 9.5% Not a great deal of change in this category. Various forms of traditional marketing continue to own the least bang for your buck category without much of a fight from digital marketing. TV Advertising / 9% Direct Mail / 6% Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey / March 2015 Page 9

10 Of these tactics, which three have you found to be MOST EFFECTIVE in marketing to EXISTING CUSTOMERS? Marketing / 19% Facebook / 12% Events / 11.5% Direct Mail / 10.5% Print Advertising / 7.5% As in 2014, marketing was cited as the most effective tactic in marketing to existing customers. Facebook, events, direct mail, print advertising, and sponsorships filled the remaining top six positions. Sponsorships / 5.5% Of these tactics, which three have you found to be MOST EFFECTIVE in marketing to NEW CUSTOMERS? Events / 22.5% Public Relations / 8% Online Advertising / 8% Direct Mail / 6.5% Sponsorships / 6.5% The most notable change here is Facebook s fall from the top six. Events and public relations climbed from 3rd and 4th last year to 1st and 2nd, respectively, this year. TV Ads / 6.5% Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey / March 2015 Page 10

11 Of these tactics, which three have you found to be LEAST EFFECTIVE in attracting new customers? Yellow Pages / 13% Print Advertising / 13% Radio Advertising / 11% Billboard Advertising / 10% Marketing / 7% Once again, digital marketing did not make the list among the least effective in attracting new customers. Yellow Pages and print advertising remained at the top of the list; only a few percentage points ahead of the followers. Pinterest / 6.5% Did you increase your social media marketing in 2014 from previous years? 62% 38% Yes No The increase in social media marketing dropped from 80.7% in 2013 to 62% in The lower figure may suggest that Idaho companies did, in fact, increase their social media marketing usage in 2013 and many did not feel the need to increase it further. Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey / March 2015 Page 11

12 Which of the following best represent the results you saw from your increase in social media usage? Better Name Recognition / 26.5% More Loyal Fan Following / 16.5% Improved Customer Retention / 16.5% Minor Increase In Followers Obvious Increase In Sales / 16.5% / 12% While most of the top results remained unchanged there were a few surprises. Improved Customer Retention jumped to 16.5%, a 10% increase from last year, and Significant Increase In Followers/ Fans fell slightly from 11% to 6%. 6% Significant Increase In Followers On social media, which of the following are you using? Organic (I Don t Pay For Any Social Advertising) / 39% Facebook (Paid Advertising) / 34% 10.5% 9% 5.5% I Currently Do Not Use Any Form of Social Media Twitter (Paid Advertising) Instagram (Paid Advertising) As a new question this year, we do not have a comparison to prior years results. It is notable that more than onethird of survey respondents are paying for Facebook ads. The most popular mobile app, Facebook accounts for 42% of all app time on smartphones (comscore, 2014). Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey / March 2015 Page 12

13 About Rizen Creative Rizen Creative helps underdogs win. Underdog is not a euphemism for small or unsophisticated. Our work spans multinational corporations, mid-sized consumer and business-to-business companies, and government agencies. Their common thread? A desire to use the power of a well executed idea to compete with better-funded or more entrenched competitors. We use digital, traditional or unconventional marketing tactics to grab attention, communicate clearly and spur action. Simple, really Rizen Creative Co. Please do not reproduce without permission. Idaho Marketing Tactic Survey / March 2015 Page 13