The report is part of an ongoing series from Adestra, which asks more than 50,000 marketers – chosen from a cross-section of business-to-consumer and business-to-business enterprises – to share their winning strategies, as well as identify their biggest challenges when it comes to digital marketing. Of those, 275 marketers were interviewed.
The majority of respondents – 57 percent – say that the most important thing their digital marketing strategy can do is generate new leads, with improving conversion rates, brand awareness and ROI following closely behind. And 18 percent say they’d like their digital strategies to help them more accurately attribute the source of a sale.
“This is the first time we are seeing sales attribution show up as a significant goal,” said Ryan Phelan, VP of Marketing Insights for Adestra. “Data analysis shows attribution is all about tracking conversions across multiple channels, not a single channel. It’s the amalgamation of all channels that contribute to an action, so while email is often the trigger for a purchase, that purchase is also influenced by the website experience, previous experiences with the company and the customer’s trust in the brand.”
It’s no surprise then, says Adestra, that the marketers surveyed continue to hold up email as their most effective digital channel (61 percent) with their company’s website a close second (59 percent).
One-third of the marketers surveyed said their digital marketing programs are having significantly more impact than ever before. Unfortunately, 60 percent said they are only seeing marginal increases in effectiveness. In addition, when asked which digital tactics are most difficult for them to execute, social media ranked number one with 48 percent, and search engine optimization (aka, the “black box” of digital) ranked second with 44 percent.
According to Adestra’s Phelan, there is a direct correlation between what marketers find most challenging and their perception of overall success.
“The rapidly changing technology landscape continues to have a disruptive effect on marketing strategy,” Phelan said. “Just when marketers feel like they’ve mastered Facebook, for example, along comes Periscope and Snapchat. We tell our clients all the time to go out and learn what you don’t know. And call on your ESP and other partners to help jump-start innovation.”
Phelan concluded: “Successful companies have a clear strategy and have their fingers on the pulse of their customers. They continue to launch, listen and learn – accurately tracking results and making adjustments along the way because they know what they need to accomplish.”
