Organizations worldwide
continue to invest in marketing without effective
measurement
Alterian Annual Survey reveals
difficulties facing marketers and predicts on and
offline spending patterns for 2009
BRISTOL, UK – 20 January 2009. 2009 will
see companies continue to invest significantly into
online marketing, although less than half (47 percent) of
marketers actually use analytics to
measure their campaigns. This is the key finding of the
sixth Alterian (LSE: ALN) Annual
Marketing Survey.
Online marketing investment is predicted to increase for the 6th
consecutive year as
organizations begin to look to social networks as well as email,
SEO and pay-per-click
advertising. Yet alarmingly, only 47 percent use analytics
to measure the success of this
activity. A quarter of those surveyed cite analyzing
results as the hardest part of any campaign.
David Eldridge, CEO Alterian said: “With the current economic
climate, it is refreshing to see
results that show businesses investing in areas that can
directly drive sales – essential in this
market. What is less encouraging is the low number of
marketers who use analytics to
evaluate and refine their campaigns.”
With responses from more than 1,500 marketers, agencies,
marketing services providers and
systems integrators, the survey provides a comprehensive
analysis of spending and investment
priorities for the industry over the coming year.
Despite the widespread coverage of the death of offline media
and marketing, only a fifth of
those surveyed are predicting a reduction in offline marketing
investment, with 38 percent
predicting it will actually
increase. Online direct marketing is also set to see healthy
growth
this year, with nearly two-thirds (62
percent) of organizations citing planned increases in
budgets.
Marketers are still using multiple applications to do their job,
with around a quarter of
respondents using more than seven applications on
campaigns. With more than half of those
surveyed (51 percent) using between three and six applications,
it means that a vast majority
of marketers are attempting to analyse data from disparate
systems, with little or no
integration.
Eldridge continued: “Multichannel marketing is commonplace in
2009, but the challenge for
marketers is to measure the value and draw results across these
various systems in order to
provide a true picture of ROI back to the business. This
seems to be a tough challenge for
many organisations as they continue to market in the dark.”
The survey also provided interesting insights into the
importance of a website in the overall
marketing mix. One-fifth of respondents claimed that their
website was only ‘basic’ and not at
the core of its marketing activity, but with increased
investment predicted in online marketing
channels, companies need to better understand the importance of
the website in effectively
underpinning its online presence. This demonstrates a need
for companies to better
understand the channels available to them before investing their
marketing funds.
Eldridge concluded: “Online marketing offers organizations
almost limitless ways of engaging
with their customers and prospects, but in the rush to make the
most of these new
technologies some businesses are getting the basics wrong.
Marketers must not forget that
their own website is the destination that many of their
activities drive customers and
prospects to, and they need to be extracting the maximum value
this cornerstone of any
forward-thinking company’s marketing activity.”
Notes to Editors:
The Alterian 2008 Survey polled a total of 1,545 marketing
professionals. The annual survey,
now in its sixth year, was conducted in North America and the
United Kingdom in October and
November 2008 through a dedicated website landing page and
hardcopy in-person interviews
at the 2008 Direct Marketing Association Conference and
Exhibition in Las Vegas, the 2008
Ad:tech Exhibition in New York and the 2008 Interactive
Marketing Show in Manchester.
Bob Barker, Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Alterian
presented the full
results of the 2008 Annual Marketing Survey in a global
webinar. Please click here to view or
listen to the findings.
If you are interested in receiving a copy of the full survey
report, please emai: linda.vetter@alterian.com.
About Alterian
Alterian (LSE: ALN) empowers marketers with an integrated
marketing software platform
combining database, online and operational marketing
applications on a shared data
infrastructure. The Alterian Integrated Marketing Platform
makes it practical and cost effective
for marketers to use actionable insight to execute an integrated
marketing strategy across
online and offline channels.
It is the unique integration of analytics, content and execution
through Alterian’s industry
leading tools, such as the Alterian Messenger email platform,
and the award winning Alterian
Content Management web solutions, which enables marketers to
drive a seamless, multichannel customer experience.
Alterian’s analytically-led software is delivered to
approximately 1,000 marketing
departments, across 26 countries, and an international network
of more than 100 business
partners, including marketing services providers, agencies and
systems integrators. Its
partners, such as Accenture, Acxiom, Allant Group, Cap Gemini,
Carlson Marketing, Experian,
Epsilon, InfoUSA, LogicaCMG, Merkle, Ogilvy One and Euro RSCG
Worldwide, deliver Alterian
software alongside their own domain and services expertise to
help market leaders such as
Princess Cruises, General Motors, Zurich, Astra Zeneca, HSBC,
Limited Too, AEGON, Avis,
Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment, Dell, Amnesty International
and Vodafone integrate
marketing processes and drive competitive advantage.