2013 Marketing Automation Study
A BLACK INK REPORT
2013 Marketing Automation Study
Marketing is no longer a profession of only ideas, creativity and words. It is becoming more and more technologically sophisticated and complicated. There are many vendors and tool solutions on the market, and marketers need not only the ability to evaluate the technical proficiency of the tool, but also to forecast the best value from the automation system and delivered results.
Winsper works with many vendors in the course of consulting clients about their choice of marketing automation. Our experience shows us that many clients face problems with complicated data structures, integration of systems, data quality, and campaign workflow.
Many of our clients have already outgrown some of the simpler solutions and moved forward to those that satisfy their growing need with advanced features. Other clients have the opposite issue: They are small businesses or operations with fairly simple structures and organization looking to invest in a friendly tool without too many complications.
Our research focused on users of marketing automation systems to better understand what their struggles with current solutions are, and identify the strengths and benefits they take from it. We also provide aggregated insight into our responders’ profiles in order to provide the opportunity for readers to benchmark themselves.
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
The objective of the research Winsper conducted was to analyze the post-implementation user experience of working with Marketing Automation Systems. We specifically focused our questions on data quality, system integration and analytics, as well as the level of utilization and satisfaction with features offered by a particular tool. Results of the study will be presented in two views: summary analysis, and grouped analysis.METHODOLOGY
The research method Winsper used was a survey questionnaire. We received a total of 145 responses, out of which 132 responders passed the qualification question stating that they do have a Marketing Automation System in their organization. We segmented the target audience into two groups: end users with titles such as Demand Generation Manager/Director/Specialist, Marketing Automation Administrator, and Marketing Specialist/ Manager/Director; and business influencers with titles like VP of Marketing and CMO. The business influencers were also encouraged to share the survey with end users within their organization.
AUDIENCE PROFILE
REVENUE
We focused our research on medium and large organizations. Over 48% of responders represented
organizations with revenue over $1B. Over 33% represented revenue from $10M to $500M.
ROLE
Over 41% of responders identified their role as Business Sponsor or Influencer; 42% of responders were
System Administrators or Power Users. Research with equal representation of Business Users and System Administrators helped to capture different aspects of automation usage within an organization.
LOCATION
Winsper’s research targeted North America; about 95% represented North America and about 5% represented the EMEA region.
BUSINESS
58% of responders identified their organizations as B2B, 15% as B2C-focused, and 27% as both B2B and B2C.
ORGANIZATIONAL TYPE
Over 56% of responders worked for a public company when the research was conducted; about 41% worked for a private enterprise. $1B-$10B 26.36% Business Sponsor or Influencer 41.22%
Business User w/limited system and access and rights
16.79% System Administrator 22.90% Power User 19.08% $10B+ 21.71% $600M-$1B 9.3% $1M-$10M 8.53% $1M-$10M 8.53% North America 94.66% EMEA
(Europe, Middle East & Africa)
4.58%
Asia Pacific
0.76%
Business to Consumer (B2C)
14.50%
Business to Business (B2B)
58.02% Both 27.48% $100M-$600M 17.83% $10M-$100M 15.50% Non-Profit Organization 2.29% Private Company 41.22% Public Company 56.49%
EXPERIENCE LEVEL
Over 51% of responders have 1-5 years of experience working with Marketing Automation; 32% of responders reported having more than 6 years. Over 84% are intermediate or advanced-level users of Marketing Automation. Integral to our research was engaging advanced users with several years of experience and hearing their evaluation of the tools. Beginners and users with less than 1 year of experience also contributed to understanding certain functionalities of the tool such as user training, system adoption, system friendliness, and ease of use and learning.
FINDINGS
HOW MANY USERS ARE IN YOUR SYSTEM?
Around 26% of responders had a user base consisting of at least 100 people. A trend of equally distributed user bases of sizes 1-10 (19%), 11-20 (18%), and 21-50 (18%) was also observed. North America’s average number of users exceeds 100, while EMEA’s average number of users ranges from 21-50.
From a solution perspective, Eloqua and Marketo tend to be more commonly used in organizations with 50 users or less. Aprimo (Teradata), Unica (IBM), and proprietary solutions tend to gain bigger market share in larger organizations with 100+ users.
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING BEST DESCRIBES YOUR USER BASE?
60% of the user base is located internationally, and 40% is North America only. This indicates the growing trend of expanding marketing automation usage globally.
10+ years
6.87%
100+
25.95%
I don’t know
8.4% 1-10 19.85% 21-50 17.56% 11-20 17.56% 50-99 19.85%
Less than 1 year
15.27% 6-10 years 26.72% 1-5 years 51.15% Intermediate 48.09% Advanced 36.64% Beginner 15.27% North America & International 55.73%
North America only
40.46%
Other; please specify
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MARKETING AUTOMATION SYSTEMS IS YOUR CURRENT SYSTEM?
The most common systems are Eloqua (19%), Marketo (17%), Aprimo (11%), and SAS (8%).
Choice Response %
1 Eloqua 18.94%
2 Marketo 17.42%
3 Other 15.91%
4 Aprimo 10.61%
5 SAS 8.33%
6 Pardot 5.30%
7 NeoLane 4.55%
8 Responsys 4.55%
9 Silverpop 4.55%
10 Unica 4.55%
11 Experian 3.79%
12 HubSpot 1.52%
WHAT SYSTEM PLATFORM ARE YOU USING?
44% of responders prefer a SaaS-based Solution, 19% a Hosted Solution, and 16% prefer On Premise.
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING BEST DESCRIBES YOUR SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH?
Over 55% implemented the system themselves with help and training from a professional services provider. Of these, 72% use a SaaS platform solution. 53% of those who outsourced implementation services use hosted or on-premise solutions.
SaaS
43.51%
I don’t know
21.37%
Hosted Solutions
19.08%
On-Premise
16.03%
We implemented the system ourselves with help and training from
professional services provider
55.73%
I don’t know
10.69%
We implement the system ourselves
19.08%
Outsourced to an implementation professional services provider
IN YOUR OPINION, HOW DOES YOUR ORGANIZATION UTILIZE FOLLOWING
FUNCTIONALITIES IN THE CURRENT SYSTEM? Please rate on 1-5 scale, where 1 - Not Utilized at all and 5 - Fully Utilized
Least
Utilized 2 Neutral 4 UtilizedMost
Analytics 5.3% 20.60% 27.50% 26.00% 20.60% Campaign
Management 1.50% 12.20% 22.90% 27.50% 35.90%
Content
Management 16.80% 15.30% 31.30% 19.10% 17.60% Data
Management 3.80% 14.50% 34.40% 29.00% 18.30% Email
Automation 6.10% 10.70% 11.50% 26.70% 45.00%
Microsite/
Landing page 16.80% 13.00% 20.60% 26.00% 23.70%
Lead
Management 12.20% 16.80% 17.60% 31.30% 22.10% List
Management 6.90% 10.70% 27.50% 33.60% 22.40%
Reporting 5.30% 17.60% 29.00% 26.00% 22.10%
Resource
Management 25.20% 23.70% 24.40% 18.30% 8.40% Social Media
Management 44.30% 22.10% 16.80% 10.70% 6.10% Web Analytics 25.20% 26.00% 21.40% 14.50% 13.00%
Workflow 13.00% 24.40% 24.40% 21.40% 16.80%
THE MOST UTILIZED FUNCTIONALITIES
#1: Email Automation: 45%
#2: Campaign Management: 36%
#3: Microsite/Landing Page: 24%
#4: Lead Management: 22%
#5: Reporting: 22%
THE LEAST UTILIZED FUNCTIONALITIES
44% of users under-utilize Social Media Management functionality in their marketing automation platform. About 25% stated that Resource Management is the least utilized feature of their current system. 25% rarely use a Web Analytics feature, and 17% rarely use Content Management, while another 17% consider Landing Pages the least utilized feature in the system.
WHAT SYSTEM(S) INTEGRATE WITH YOUR MARKETING AUTOMATION SYSTEM?
The majority (69%) of responders stated that they integrate Marketing Automation with CRM/Sales Automation
Systems. 73% of those that integrate with CRM were B2B responders, 8% were B2C, and 19% were from organizations identified as both B2B and B2C. Other Marketing Automation integrations reported are with Marketing Databases (41%), Data Warehouses (34%), and Web Analytics (34%).
Extremely Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Extremely Satisfied
Vendor Support 2.30% 7.60% 28.30% 39.70% 22.10%
Management Support 14.50% 8.40% 30.50% 42.00% 18.30%
Internal Support 0.80% 8.40% 29.00% 44.30% 17.60%
Overall Business Value
0.80% 5.30% 26.00% 50.40% 17.60%
Data Quality 3.10% 10.70% 29.80% 42.00% 14.50%
System Integration 1.50% 16% 31.30% 37.40% 13.70%
User Training 0.00% 11.50% 35.90% 40.50% 12.20%
Processes Alignment 1.50% 10.70% 38.20% 37.40% 12.20%
System Adaptation 1.50% 12.20% 39.70% 35.10% 11.50%
Functionality
Completeness 0.80% 14.50% 37.40% 36.60% 10.70%
EXTREMELY DISSATISFIED/SATISFIED LEVEL
System Integration: 18%. Of those responders unsatisfied
with the level of system integration, 25% integrate with Data Warehouse, 8% with Financial System, 25% with Customer Services System, 58% with Marketing Database, 25% with Business Intelligence System, 33% with Web Analytics, and 8% with Webex.
8% Integrate with more than 6 systems at a time, 33% with more than 3 sources.
Functionality Completeness: 15%, of which 57% do
not utilize Social Media Management, 33% do not utilize Resource Management, and 24% do not utilize Web Analytics.
Data Quality: 14%
System Adaption: 14%, out of which 84% are users with
intermediate and advanced levels of experience with marketing automation systems (56% of whom have 1-5 years of experience working with marketing automation, and 28% having 6-10 years).
WHAT IS YOUR SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN YOUR MARKETING AUTOMATION SYSTEM?
SATISFIED OR EXTREMELY SATISFIED
Management Support - 60%
Internal Support - 62%
Vendor Support - 62%
Overall Business Value of Marketing Automation is
68%.
WHAT ARE THE TOP 3 BUSINESS VALUES YOU PERCEIVE FROM YOUR MARKETING AUTOMATION SYSTEM? (Please select up to 3.)
Enhanced targeting – 51%
Measurable results – 49%
Improved lead management – 45%
WHERE DO YOU SEE MAJOR WEAKNESSES OF YOUR MARKETING AUTOMATION SYSTEM?
(Please select all that apply.)
Ease of use / user adoption – 40%
System integration – 33%
Flexibility of data structure – 31%
NET PROMOTER SCORE: WOULD YOU
RECOMMEND THE SYSTEM TO OTHER USERS?
-9%. Promoters are 28% and Detractors are 37%. Overall, a majority of the responders would not recommend the system they currently use to other users. It is a signal to vendors to work with their client to understand what the gaps are and how to fix them.
ARE YOU PLANNING TO CHANGE YOUR SYSTEM?
8% of responders are looking to change their current system for various reasons, such as: system doesn’t meet requirements; looking for more robust functionality; ease of use for non-power users; some of the functionalities are not provided by current system.
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING BEST
DESCRIBES YOUR STATE OF MARKETING ROI MEASUREMENT?
45% of responders measure marketing ROI at both campaign level and aggregate level. 19% do not measure it, but are in the process of developing marketing ROI measurement.
I don’t know
4.58%
Do not measure & do not plan to
3.05%
Do not measure but in process of developing marketing ROI
19.08%
Measuring marketing ROI at aggregate level
7.63%
Measure marketing ROI at campaign level
20.61%
Measure marketing ROI at both campaign level and aggregate level
45.04%
CONCLUSIONS
Marketing automation is definitely becoming a more popular and necessary tool. 68% of responders recognize the overall business value that Marketing Automation brings into their organizations. In our research, nearly 50% of responders are from North American organizations with revenues of $1B+ (although, interestingly, their user base is mostly worldwide, counting more than 100 users in the system). 44% of companies use a SaaS-based solution and 72% of these handle the implementation process with internal resources, but 40% consider system adoption and ease of use as top weaknesses.
There are some struggles, especially in the integration process(es). Our research shows that some organizations that integrate more than 3 systems have a low satisfaction level with integration functionalities that marketing automation currently provides. It also seems that the CRM integration is already covered pretty well, but there are pending issues in the integration process with Data Warehouses, Financial Systems, Customer Services, Marketing Databases, BI Tools and Web Analytics. On the bright side, many users agree that marketing automation provides enhanced targeting, measurable results, and improved lead management to their
organizations. So if you are looking to select a marketing automation system for your organization, there are several points to keep in mind:
• How many data sources you have.
• How many and which of these you are planning to integrate.
• The level of complication of your data structure. • The flexibility of the data structure offering from the
vendor.
Ask the vendor to demonstrate and build a detailed scenario or map of how they would handle your systems integration, and how the data structure would look once completed. Make sure to spend a fair amount of your evaluation reviewing the reporting and analytics capabilities. If the vendor offers a trial version or ability to test a demo, use this opportunity to evaluate how easy (or difficult) it will be to adapt the technology for your team.
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Enterprise Solutions: Aprimo, Unica, Neolane, SAS
Revenue 33% - $1B-$10B, 31% - $10B+
Role 49% - Business Sponsor or Influencer, 19% - System Administrator
Region 89% - North America
Business 46% - Business to Business (B2B), 27% - Business to Consumer (B2C),
and 28 % Both
Organization type 70% - Public Company, 28% - Private Company
User experience 41% - 6-10 years, 32% - 1-5 years; 49% - Intermediate, 41% - Advanced
User base size 39% - 100+ users, 24% - 21-50 users
User base location 49% - North America only, 46% - North America and International, 5% -
EMEA
System Platform 38% Hosted Solution, 30% - On-Premise
Implementation
62% implemented the system ourselves with help and training from professional services provider, 39% outsourced to an implementation professional services provider
Least Utilized functions 76% - Social Media Management, 57% - Web Analytics, 57% - Lead
Management
Most Utilized functions 57% Reporting, 54% - Email Automation, 46% - Campaign Management
System integration 68% - Data Warehouse, 54% CRM / Sales Automation System, 51%
Marketing Database
Extremely Dissatisfied/Dissatisfied 24% - Functionality Completeness, 22% - Vendor Support,19% each of the following categories Data Quality, Processes Alignment, System
Adaption
Extremely Satisfied/Satisfied 70% - Overall Business Value, 62% - Internal Support, 62% - Data Quality
Top 3 values 51% - Enhanced targeting, 47% - Measureable results, 43% - Increased
productivity
Top 3 weaknesses 51% - Ease of use / user adoption, 35% Lack of key functionalities
relevant to our marketing needs, 35% System integration
NPS -32%
Change 5%
ROI
38% - Measure marketing ROI at both campaign level and aggregate level, 27% - Do not measure but in process of developing marketing ROI measurement
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B2B Solutions: Pardot, Eloqua, Marketo
Revenue 27% - $1B-$10B, and 27% - $10M-$100M
Role 33% - System Administrator, 33% - Business Sponsor or Influencer
Region 95% North America, 5% EMEA
Business 85% B2B
Organization type 55% - Private Company, 45% - Public Company
User experience 58% - 1-5 years, 20% - 6-10 years; 44% advanced level and 42% beginner
User base size 31% - 1-10 users, 24% 11-20 users;
User base location
78% - North America and International, 22% - North America only
System Platform 76% -SaaS, 7% - Hosted Solution, 4% - On-Premise
Implementation 47% - implemented the system ourselves with help and training from
professional services provider, 29% - implemented the system ourselves
Least Utilized functions 69% Social Media Management, 58% - Web Analytics, 47% Resource
Management
Most Utilized functions 89% Email Automation, 76% Campaign Management, 75% Lead
Management, 75% List Management
System integration 87% CRM / Sales Automation System, 40% Web Analytics, 27%
Marketing Database
Extremely Dissatisfied/Dissatisfied 15% System Integration, 13% Processes Alignment, 11% User Training, 11%
Functionality Completeness, 11% Data Quality
Extremely Satisfied/Satisfied 71% Overall Business Value, 71% Vendor Support, 65% Management
Support
Top 3 values 73% Improved lead management, 51% Enhanced targeting, 51%
Measureable results
Top 3 weaknesses 42% Ease of use / user adoption,36% Integrated or multi-channel
campaign management, 31% Flexibility of data structure
NPS 15%
Change 5%
ROI
51% Measure marketing ROI at both campaign level and aggregate level, 18% Do not measure but in process of developing marketing ROI measurement
Based on similarities of core functionalities, vendors were combined into four groups for further comparative analysis:
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ESP Solutions:
Silverpop, Experian, and ClickSquared, Responsys
Revenue 27% $10B+, 27% $1B-$10B
Role 47% - Business Sponsor or Influencer, 24% Business User with limited
system access and rights, 18% System Administrator
Region 100% North America
Business 29% B2B, 47% Both B2B and B2C
Organization type 47% Public Company, 43% Private Company
User experience 59% - 1-5 years, 29% 6-10 years; 41% advanced level and 41% intermidiate
level of experience
User base size 24% - 100+, 11% 1-10 users and 11% 11-20 users
User base location 53% - North America only, 47% - North America and International
System Platform 47% - SaaS, 18%- Hosted Solution
Implementation 53% implemented the system ourselves with help and training from
professional services provider, 24% implemented the system ourselves
Least Utilized functions 47% - Social Media Management, 41% Resource Management, 41% - Lead
Management, 41% - Microsite/Landing page
Most Utilized functions 82% - Campaign Management, 76% - Email Automation, 71% Reporting
System integration 65% Marketing Database, 59% CRM / Sales Automation System, 73% -
Web Analytics
Extremely Dissatisfied/Dissatisfied 12% System Adaption, 12% System Integration
Extremely Satisfied/Satisfied 71% - Management Support, 65% each of categories: Data Quality, User
Training, Overall Business Value, User Training
Top 3 values 82% - Enhanced targeting, 59% Measureable results, 41% Better customer
relationship management
Top 3 weaknesses 53% - System integration, 35% Multi language support, 35% Flexibility of
data structure
NPS 0%
Change 6%
ROI 59% - Measure marketing ROI at both campaign level and aggregate
level, 24% - Measure marketing ROI at campaign level
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Others
Revenue 42% $10B+, 21% - $500M-$1B
Role 37% Business Sponsor or Influencer, 32% Business User with limited
system access and rights, 21% - Power User
Region 100% North America
Business 26% B2B, 47% Both B2B and B2C
Organization type 68% Public Company, 32% Private Company
User experience 59% - 1-5 years years pf experience, 16% 6-10 years; 63% intermidiate
level, 26% beginner
User base size 53% 100+users, 16% 1-10 users
User base location 68% North America only, 32% North America and International
System Platform 32% On-Premise, 16% Hosted Solution
Implementation 74% implemented the system ourselves with help and training from
professional services provider, 5% - implemented the system ourselves
Least Utilized functions 58% Social Media Management, 47% Resource Management, 47%
Workflow
Most Utilized functions 53% Microsite/Landing page, 53% Email Automation, 42% Reporting
System integration 47% CRM / Sales Automation System, 37% Marketing Database, 32%
Data Warehouse
Extremely Dissatisfied/Dissatisfied 32% System Integration, 21% System Adaption, 21% Functionality
Completeness
Extremely Satisfied/Satisfied 68% Internal Support, 63% Vendor Support, 63% Overall Business Value
Top 3 values 68% Increased productivity, 47% Reduced costs, 32% Improved
communication efficiency, 32% Measureable results
Top 3 weaknesses 32% each of the categories: System integration, Flexibility of data
structure, Integrated or multi-channel campaign management
NPS -37%
Change 21%
ROI
32% Measure marketing ROI at both campaign level and aggregate level, 16% Do not measure but in process of developing marketing ROI measurement
Based on similarities of core functionalities, vendors were combined into four groups for further comparative analysis:
ABOUT WINSPER
Winsper is an independent business and marketing firm with headquarters in Boston, MA. Winsper devises new ways for its clients to build their brand value over time and sales overnight by providing solutions such as Enterprise Marketing ROI, Insourced Business Leadership, Innovation Strategy, and Customer Engagement. Winsper represents both emerging and established companies in a variety of industries including finance, retail, and technology. Client experience includes IBM, STIHL USA, SAP Americas, Teradata Corporation, Inglesina, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Brevard Brewery, Moonrock Paper, American DG Energy, Hypertherm, and Toffler Associates. Winsper is part of Worldwide Partners, representing 90 agencies with 137 offices in 54 countries with over $3.9 billion in capitalized billings. For more information visit winsper.com.
