Nearly half of global marketers (45%) say the lack of an effective strategy is hampering the success of their marketing automation efforts,according toa recent report fromAscend2.
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 fromthe 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 reportwas based on data from a survey of 291 global marketing, sales, and business professionals.
