Organisations 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 organisations
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 analysing 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 organisations 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 organisations 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 will be presenting the full results
of the 2008 Annual Marketing Survey in a global webinar on 22nd
January 2009 at 4pm UK time. Please click on the following link to
register for the webinar:
www.alterian.com/news__events/events
If you are interested in receiving a copy of the full survey
report, please email: alterianpressoffice@ruderfinn.co.uk
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, multi-channel 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. For more information about Alterian, products
within the Alterian Integrated Marketing Platform or our Partner
Network, please visit www.alterian.com.
For more information, contact:
Hannah Smith
Ruder Finn London
+44 (0)207 462 8900
hsmith@ruderfinn.co.uk
Annabel Kerr
Ruder Finn London
+44 (0)207 462 8900
akerr@ruderfinn.co.uk