Marketers are upbeat this year, with 80 percent of the respondents for an Infogroup Targeting Solutions (ITS) survey claiming to be more optimistic about their organization’s marketing efforts than they were last year.
Conducted during last October’s Direct Marketing Association Annual Conference, the survey discovered 62 percent of the 370 marketers polled expected data-related expenditures to increase this year, with 39 percent already witnessing a positive return on data investments. ITS’s survey focused on data and analytics issues, covering topics like budgets, expected ROI and 2014 priorities.
“The survey findings…indicate that marketers are moving from the information-gathering stage to the analytics phase of big data adoption,” said ITS president David McRae.
Compared to last year’s survey, fewer marketers said they will be increasing data-related budgets in 2014. Last year, 70 percent of respondents said they would increase data budgets, while only 62 percent were going to do so this year.
How Do You Expect Your Data-Related Marketing Budget To Change In 2014?
In terms of utilizing data, 35 percent of the marketers surveyed claimed budget limitations would be the biggest barrier keeping them from delivering multichannel marketing programs, followed by a lack of quality data and limited tools and technology.
More than half (54%) of the survey respondents have invested in data, with 61 percent of this group already experiencing positive ROI. Of the marketers already investing in data, 86 percent expect to see a return on their investment within the next two years.
When Do You Plan To Start Investing In Big Data Marketing Solutions?
ITS claims the number of marketers investing in data solutions will rise to nearly 90 percent during the next five years.
According to the survey findings, the largest share of data budgets are being spent on enhanced analysis, followed by campaign management and integration tools. ITS reports the data budget expenditures indicate marketers, “Have already mastered the basics and are moving onto more advanced big data strategies.”
What Types Of Data Technology Do You Expect To Invest In For 2014?
ITS found 30 percent of marketers are managing their data-driven campaigns through a single integrated platform, while 44 percent are conducting separate campaigns through individual channels. Twenty-six percent have limited integration across channels.
From the ITS report:
The true hallmark of multichannel strategy, however, is having insights from one channel inform the other. By this definition, marketers haven’t fully embraced multichannel. Only 46 percent of marketers actively leverage data from social media, direct mail and mobile to inform email marketing communications to customers.
Looking further into the 2014, 73 percent of survey respondents said data analysis will be their top priority this year, while 66 percent claimed data collection tops their list. According to ITS, “This indicates that the majority of marketers are caught between stages one and two of implementing big data – data collection and analysis.”
Will The Following Data Initiatives Be More Or Less Of A priority In 2014 Compared To 2013?
Comments