Digital marketing has high strategic importance to nearly two-thirds of marketers, according to a new study. And, over 75% of them plan to increase spending on digital marketing within their marketing budget this year.
Nearly 40% of those who forecast spending for 2004 said they would spend more than 20% of their marketing budget on digital marketing, which includes e-mail campaigns, Web site interaction, online advertising and e-newsletters. This area is expected to increase the most for marketers who spent between 11% and 20% on this medium last year.
More than 70% of respondents said brand awareness is a key use of digital marketing, but customer lead generation is more important.
Digital marketing is growing very fast in the business-to-business area—635 of marketers are from the B-to-B sector.
Some 87% of B-to-B marketers are using digital marketing techniques for lead generation. Nearly 60% are using it for Web site traffic generation and just over half are using it for customer education.
Business-to-consumer companies are using the channel to improve customer relationships, said 74% of them. Another 63% said they are using the area for cross-selling and up-selling to existing customers, as well as for product sales.
Why is digital marketing so popular? Low cost, said 60% of respondents.
These marketers felt they could be using digital marketing more effectively, though. They would especially like to improve online analytics and multi-channel integration.
The barriers to effective digital marketing include spam, e-mail filters and inbox clutter, respondents said 60% of respondents. Another major problem is the lack of effective e-mail lists. Recent anti-spam legislation and privacy issues are also affecting e-marketing.
Nearly half of respondents said they would place more emphasis on the quality of e-mail lists. Over 40% have adopted a policy of opt-in e-mail communications only.
The study was commissioned by e-mail marketing company Responsys Inc., in Palo Alto, CA.
Results include responses from over 400 top marketing decision-makers. They represent all major industry sectors, including financial, retail, travel/hospitality, healthcare and consumer packaged goods. Almost 70% of the respondents had the title director of marketing or above, with CEOs representing nearly 30% of the sample.
