© 2013
2
The results are in. The 2014 State of Digital Marketing Survey
polled over 500 U.S. marketing professionals—two-thirds B2B,
one third B2C—to uncover their top objectives and toughest
challenges. Two trends emerged:
1. Increased uncertainty with the proliferation of new
digital marketing channels.
2. Increased pressure to deliver clear ROI.
Despite these hurdles, marketing professionals have managed to
increase spend in nearly every digital channel for the third year
running. While the complexity of the field has deepened and the
ability to measure and drive revenue has increased, the lack of
clear ROI remains an issue.
22%
ExEcutIvE Summary
2014 SurvEy HIgHlIgHtSSHIftIng focuS to rEvEnuE
Ranked as the #1 objective for B2c and #2 for B2B, revenue
is getting more attention than ever before. In the meanwhile, lead
generation remains the top priority for B2B.
SocIal mEdIa maturES
Today, 1 in 5 B2B and 1 in 3 B2c marketers report seeing
revenue from social media. This explains why marketers are a
lot less frustrated with social media measurement compared to
two years ago.
KPIs gEt SmartEr
In 2011, 74% of marketers measured digital marketing success in
terms of website traffic; in 2013, this has dropped to a mere 23%
as the pressure to prove ROI and generate revenue increases.
HIrE your WEaKnESSES
Marketers rely on agency expertise to supplement in-house teams
on non-core business functions, with a whopping 50% yoy
increase in outsourced SEO and SEM programs.
moBIlE taKES flIgHt
1 in 5 marketers see more than a third of their website traffic
coming from mobile. No wonder over 75% of marketers will
increase mobile investment.
contEnt gEtS Buzz and BudgEt
Content takes center stage as 63% of marketers plan to
increase spending on content.
rEconcIlIng roI
Marketers admit their greatest struggle in increasing budget is
their inability to prove ROI. This year brings increased
accountability, yet 2 in 5 still don’t have an attribution
model in place.
Despite these challenges, marketers still plan to spend more on
content and mobile.
© 2013
3
Compared to 2012, 30% more B2B marketers have identified revenue generation as their top objective, while 20% less still think it is lead generation.
Year over year, 30% more B2C marketers have identified revenue as the top priority, with brand awareness now trailing at a distant second.
toP oBjEctIvES for dIgItal marKEtIng ProgramS
toP oBjEctIvES for dIgItal marKEtIng ProgramS
11%
18%
40%
4%
1%
27%
17%
1%
3%
27%
41%
11%Increase website traffic
Increase website traffic
Generate leads
Generate leads
Drive sales/revenue
Drive sales/revenue
Improve ROI
Improve ROI
Lower cost-per-lead
Lower cost-per-lead
Improve brand or product awareness
Improve brand or product awareness
lEad gEnEratIon IS StIll tHE #1 oBjEctIvE
rEvEnuE trumPS aWarEnESS aS toP oBjEctIvE
#1 oBjEctIvE
#1 oBjEctIvE
© 2013
4
Lead generation is both the #1 objective and the #1 challenge. Meanwhile, marketers are finding it very challenging to produce enough quality content.
For B2C marketers, measuring and proving ROI is by far the leading challenge. They have yet to graduate to a more sophisticated set of KPIs, illustrated by the fact that website traffic is still the #1 metric.
B2B rEPort lEad gEnEratIon aS tHE toP cHallEngE
B2c rEPort ProvIng roI aS tHE toP cHallEngE
toP dIgItal marKEtIng cHallEngES
8%
4%
16%
12%
19%
20%
21%Generating enough leads
Producing enough quality content
Converting leads to customers
Integrating content and messaging across
channels
Measuring and proving ROI
Securing staff and budget
Improving ROI
toP dIgItal marKEtIng cHallEngES
7%
12%
25%
14%
22%
10%
10%
Generating enough leads
Producing enough quality content
Converting leads to customers
Integrating content and messaging
across channels
Measuring and proving ROI
Securing staff and budget
Improving ROI
#1 cHallEngE
#1 cHallEngE
© 2013
5
Surprisingly, despite the buzz on digital marketing, the vast majority of budgets still go to offline programs.
Half of marKEtErS SPEnd only 25% or lESS of tHEIr BudgEt onlInE
% of marKEtIng BudgEt SPEnt onlInE
6%
10%
16%
17%
29%
23%Less than 10%
10%–25%
26%–40%
41%–60%
61%–80%
81%–100%
© 2013
6
SEo
Increase
49%42%
2% 1%
Decrease
SEm
Increase
36%29%
7% 4%
Decrease
contEnt crEatIon (videos, webinars, white papers, etc.)
Increase
69%
53%
1% 2%
Decrease
Over 63% of all marketers intend to spend more on content marketing next year, again highlighting its importance.
marKEtErS BullISH on InvEStmEnt In dIgItal marKEtIng cHannElS
dISPlay
Increase
44% 48%
5% 6%
Decrease
EmaIl marKEtIng
Increase
47% 44%
5% 8%
Decrease
graPHIc dESIgn
Increase
31% 29%
2% 4%
Decrease
SocIal mEdIa
Increase
56%65%
2% 2%
Decrease
= =
© 2013
7
A whopping 50% increase in outsourced search marketing since 2012
marKEtErS WHo outSourcE
= =SEo32%
34%
29%
12%
11%
33%
39%
41%
47%
35%
22%
19%
28%
26%
SEm
dISPlay
SocIal mEdIa
EmaIl marKEtIng
contEnt crEatIon
graPHIc dESIgn
50% more B2B marketers now outsource SEO and 70% more outsource SEM compared to a year ago.
52% more B2c marketers now outsource SEO and 55% more outsource SEM compared to a year ago.
morE marKEtErS arE outSourcIng SEo and SEm
© 2013
8
No matter how you slice it, B2B vs. B2C, industry vertical, or company size, businesses are
in agreement about one thing: the top 3 obstacles to budget increase are:
1. Proving roI
2. lack of overall company revenue growth
3. lack of buy-in from management
If we scratch the surface, it’s clear how inability to prove ROI instigates other issues, such as
management’s reluctance to invest in digital marketing, and lack of overall company revenue growth.
Lack of clear strategy
15%
Poor ROI from past
digital problems
8%
Lack of buy-in
from management
15%
Lack of overall company
revenue growth
18%
Inability to prove ROI
24%
Lack of expertise
and/or experience
9%
InaBIlIty to ProvE roI #1 oBStaclE to BudgEt IncrEaSE
© 2013
9
1 in 3 don’t know which channel generates the most revenue.
1 in 4 don’t know which channel generates the most revenue.
cHannElS tHat drIvE tHE BESt lEadS & rEvEnuE
Email EmailSEo SEmSEm SEo
© 2013
10
10%Cost per acquisition
10%Don’t measure / Don’t know
17%Total revenue
22%Conversion rate (lead to customer)
4%Return on ad spend
13%Don’t measure / Don’t know
26%Conversion rate (lead to customer)
24%Website traffic
15%Total lead volume
7%Cost per lead
22%Website traffic
9%Total lead volume
5%Cost per lead
8%Total revenue
5%Return on ad spend
3%Cost per acquisition
In 2011, 75% of B2B marketers measured success in terms of website traffic, vs. just 23% this year. We’ve come a LONG way!
Even though B2C marketers say driving revenue is their biggest goal, they use website traffic as their top success metric. No wonder they can’t prove ROI!
HoW marKEtErS mEaSurE SuccESS
© 2013
11
Attribution has become increasingly important. While 41% of marketers still don’t do attribution at all, about one fifth actually have the more sophisticated multi-channel model in place.
We don’t have an attribution model in place 41%
Clear ROI
Unclear ROI
multi-channel (all influencing touch points)
22%
first touch (lead source) 20%
first and last touch (lead source & conversion)
16%
last touch (conversion) 13%
other custom model 7%
Only 17% of marketers can track ROI from SEO, yet they agree it is the 2nd strongest revenue channel. How can that be?
roI – WHErE tHE ruBBEr mEEtS tHE road
© 2013
12
1 in 5 B2B marketers have generated revenue from Social Media.
1 in 3 B2C marketers have generated revenue from Social Media.
SocIal mEdIa HaS maturEd Into a SourcE of rEvEnuE, not juSt aWarEnESS and lEadS. not SurPrISIngly, B2c lEadS tHE PacK.
HavE you gEnEratEd lEadS from SocIal mEdIa?
If So, HavE you gEnEratEd rEvEnuE from SocIal mEdIa?
HavE you gEnEratEd lEadS from SocIal mEdIa?
If So, HavE you gEnEratEd rEvEnuE from SocIal mEdIa?
yes 54%
no 26%
no 20%
no 29%
no 14%
unsure 20%
unsure 19%
unsure 32%
unsure 38%
yes 60%
yes 39% yes
54%
© 2013
13
arE you runnIng rEtargEtEd adS?
do you Plan to IncrEaSE InvEStmEnt In moBIlE
In tHE nExt 12 montHS?
If So, do you fInd tHEm EffEctIvE?
IS your WEB PrESEncE moBIlE frIEndly?
yes – 36% yes – 43%No – 64% Too soon to tell / Don’t know – 48%
No – 9%
SurPrISIngly, 64% of marKEtErS HavE yEt to try rEtargEtIng
only 57% of B2B WEBSItES arE moBIlE frIEndly vS. 71% for B2c
3 in 4 marketers plan to spend more on mobile in 2014.
no
31% yes
69%yes
57%no
43%
no
14%
yes 86%
no
29%yes
71%
B2B and B2C marketers agree…
the winner is ”synergy”!
Considerably more hated even than “viral”.
SynergyVira
l
Best-in-cl
ass
Thought
leadershipKPI
ROI
Optimiza
tion
Industry-le
ading
Data-driv
en
Engagement0%
20%
15%
10%
5%
connEct WItH uS
webmarketing123.com 800.619.1570
The third annual Webmarketing123 State of Digital Marketing Survey was conducted in the fall of 2013. Over 500 U.S. marketing professionals completed the survey — all participants responded to an email invitation. Participants answered questions using an online survey tool.
For more information about the survey, please contact [email protected].
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