New research has found that the vast majority of marketers—88 percent—are planning to increase the time, resources and budget allocated to lead generation in the coming months.
Twelve percent of marketers describe these increases as significant according to the research, from Ascend2. Improving third-party lead sources (36 percent), data management (36 percent), personalization (44 percent) and engagement with content (53 percent) were the most important challenges cited.
Social media marketing and email were cited as the most effective tactics for improving lead generation (59 and 40 percent, respectively), followed by website personalization (38 percent), content/video marketing (34 percent), martech/CRM (33 percent), events/product demos (28 percent), and search (23 percent).
The popularity of online tactics is no surprise. As a new report from Alliance Data notes, all consumers today are digital: 91 percent have Internet access and 77 percent have a smartphone. And, 34 percent identify as “digital first,” preferring to engage on digital channels and shop online. Seventy-three percent of digital first consumers said they preferred to engage with companies via websites, 48 percent via email, 35 percent via mobile apps and only 19 percent in-store.
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Online, their top expectations from brands’ digital presences are predictable. Ninety-one percent want quick and to find information, and 86 percent said easy-to-navigate sites are an unmet need. Eighty-eight percent wanted clear product descriptions and photos, but only 58 percent were satisfied with how brand are delivering on this promise today.
Measurement and attribution continues to be a challenge for some marketers. While just over half (54 percent) of respondents to the Ascend2 survey, 38 said they are continuously measuring lead quality, over a third (38 percent) said they are only occasionally measuring lead quality. The remainder said it is measured rarely—or never.
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