IBM Software Thought Leadership White Paper

June 2011

11 key marketing trends for 2011

Highlights from the annual IBM Unica marketing survey

11 key marketing trends for 2011

Will more marketing opportunities lead to protable pathwaysor dead ends?

More is certainly the key word for our times. The results of our annual IBM Unica marketing survey reveal that the proliferation of marketing channels and the concomitant explosion of data pose many challenges for marketers in 2011. As the survey results suggest, marketers are looking for ways to turn more marketing possibilities into better marketing results. Our survey highlights the following key trends for 2011:
1. Marketers are bridging the gap between analysis and action

2. Marketers are empowering the customers to lead the dance by taking advantage of inbound interactions

When does a rich set of customer data become a mixed blessing? When asked to rank the top bottlenecks in the marketing process, participants identied measurement, analysis and learning as the number one impediment, reecting appreciation of its value. However, in a follow-up question regarding the most important marketing issues, turning data into action earned top priority. Over the last decade, many marketers have become data junkies, absorbing information for its own sake. Nevertheless, as they say, recognizing a problem is the rst step toward solving it. Marketers can no longer blame IT for withholding information. With vast quantities of data readily available today, its time to overcome analysis paralysis and turn this newly found knowledge into action by integrating data captured across all channels into subsequent campaigns and personalized offers.

For as long as anyone can remember, marketing is all about getting a message out. Advances in technology are driving a shift in direction. Today, inbound marketing is seizing the momentum. Customers are now taking the initiative and directing the relationship on their terms. Marketers are getting the message. We asked the marketers surveyed if they intend to deliver personalized messages in customer-initiated transactions and we received positive responses from the participants. The participants demonstrated substantial commitments to using, or planning to use, inbound channel communications through their websites (57 percent are already in place with 25 percent planning to do so within the year), customer service or call centers (52 percent versus 18 percent), and point of sale or kiosk or ATM (21 - 28 percent).
Inbound marketing adoption by channel

Website

57%

25%

82%

Customer Service / Call Center Point of Sale / Kiosk / ATM

52%

18%

70%

28%
Currently do this

21%

49%

Dont currently do this but plan to in the next 12 months

Base: Total Sample (279 Respondents)

IBM Software

57 percentanalysis and learning was said their top bottleneck measurement, 62 percent saiddata into action their top marketing issue was turning
3. Marketers are leveraging online behavioral data to help turn data into action

Marketers cherish the data they collect from their websites, irrespective of information overload. Web interactions open a priceless window on customer interests, intentions, and wants. They provide a wealth of precise information that easily trumps mere demographics or transactional data. Hence, it is not surprising to know that 90 percent of marketers consider web data as important to drive campaign decisioning. While only 41 percent currently use this data to drive campaign decisions, another 35 percent intend to use this data in the next 12 months.
4. Marketers are focusing on improving integration, segmentation, and targeting to keep email relevant

Now that the low-hanging fruit has been plucked and the eld is glutted with competing messages, how are marketers sustaining emails relevance? Today, smart marketers address this problem by integrating campaigns with data and triggers from other channels to make email an essential part of an ongoing, evolving dialogue with customers and prospects. However, the job is not easy as only 34 percent of marketers say they have automated the integration of email data with other marketing data. About 39 percent of marketers say they manually accomplish this integration. Email is becoming the natural integration point with emerging channels such as social media and mobile. In fact, over half of (54 percent) the marketers report including social sharing links in email, and about a third (35 percent) are already creating mobile-specic versions of emails.
Value of using web data in customer analytics and decisioning

Very Important

63% 27% 8% 2%
Base: Total Sample (279 Respondents)

Somewhat Important Somewhat Not Important Not Important At All

90% say web data is important

Email has not lost its status as a deeply entrenched, well-understood marketing channel. 85 percent of total participants use email software and others plan to use it too.

11 key marketing trends for 2011

Use of Web Data in Campaign Decisioning

6. Channel proliferation drives the need to nurture new channels

Currently do this

41%

Plan to do this (next 12 months)

35%

76% will use it in campaign decisioning by end of the year

New channels continue to multiply with familiar channels, such as mobile and new micro-channels like Foursquare. With the growth of smartphones and tablet computers, for example, the iPad, there is no reason to expect the proliferation of new channels to decelerate any time soon and it is not reasonable to expect success from all of them (remember Second Life?). However, in the face of a rapidly evolving marketing landscape, marketers need a structured process for assessing opportunities, testing tactics, measuring results, and evaluating further involvement in new channels. For example, a leading nancial services organization developed a structure to determine which business goals each social media channel might support. Their ndings prove that Facebook is a great place to drive new customer acquisition, but it is not particularly effective for customer service. They use web analytics to measure traffic on their Facebook wall and correlate this traffic with traffic from their other web properties and microsites. When traffic arrives at their website from Facebook, the customer more often than not signs-up for a card rather than logging in to their account for a service interaction. With social media and mobile, individual channels are coming and going, but a solid evaluation process is a lasting investment.
7. Social media is experiencing growing pains

Plan to do this (>12 months)

No plans to do this

10% 14%

Base: Total Sample (259 Respondents)

5. Free online marketing tools are becoming expensive

Email, web analytics and paid search are contemporary marketing mainstays. However, more than half (53 percent) of marketers rely on free tools for web analytics and more than a third (37 percent) rely on tolls from search engines to manage PPC marketing. The insightful marketers are now considering the cost of free. For starters, you can only use the free search tool with its proprietary search engine database. The free search tool may not include all functionality and may limit your results. In addition, generally, you cannot search across multiple search engines. It is difficult to incorporate the search tools and free web analytics with the other systems. Hence, it can be impossible to close the loop and understand the value these efforts add to the customers. The information these tools provide is so valuable, that if it remains stranded, it leaves you incapable of realizing the full potential of search and web data. Investing in web analytics and search bid management solutions are paying short- and long-term dividends.

This year, social media is no longer the adorable baby everyone wants to hold, but the angst-lled adolescentstill immature yet no longer cutewho inspires mixed feelings.

IBM Software

Nevertheless, social media continues to hold intense interest, as 53 percent of marketers are currently applying it to their marketing efforts. As tactics rise and fall, a more sophisticated approach is emerging. Instead of thinking tactic by tactic, marketers are beginning to think strategically across three major areas of social content: owned (what they create), earned (what customers create), and paid (what marketers spend money for).
Social media marketing usage

Mobile sites and mobile messaging follow at 40 percent and 36 percent. However, the real question is not whether to use mobile or not, but the question is which mobile marketing channels, if any, are relevant to your business and its customers? Is it SMS texting or mobile versions of website or paid mobile search, or the tactic of the day, mobile applications or a mix of all the channels?
Use of mobile marketing tactics

11% 10% 26% 53%

Mobile application

44%

31%

20%

5%

Mobile version website Mobile messaging

(SMS/MMS/WAP)

40%

31%

20%

9%

36%

26%

17%

21%

Mobile version email

35%

34%

17%

14%

Current Activity
Base: 254 Respondents

No Plans

Planned Activity (>12 months)

Planned Activity (Next12 months)

Mobile Ads (PPC or Display)

30%

29%

17%

24%

Location-based targeting

29%

27%

18%

26%

8. Marketers are treating mobile as a device with many channels, not a single channel

Currently use

Survey results show that marketers are growing bullish on mobile, with over 40 percent of marketers currently using mobile marketing tactics. Among survey participants, mobile applications lead the way with 44 percent current usage.

Dont currently use but plan to in the next 12 months

Dont currently use but plan to in the future more than 12 months Dont currently use and have no plans at this time

11 key marketing trends for 2011

9. Interactive Marketing is reaching the tipping point as a dominant marketing discipline

Each of these trends is not taking place in isolation. Marketing messages delivered during inbound interactions need to be coordinated with outbound campaigns. Web analytics data is based on both online and offline marketing campaigns. Integrating social, mobile and other emerging channels in the marketing mix plays a pivotal role in meaningful cross-channel dialogues. Interactive Marketing bridges these trends to facilitate customer awareness, centralize decisioning, and execute across channels. Most marketers understand the need to create cross-channel dialogues and buy into the Interactive Marketing strategy. However, a mere 10 percent say they have completed their Interactive Marketing journey. The good news is that half of marketers say they are currently integrating across some channels. Over the next year, perceptive marketers will increase their adoption of Interactive Marketing and expand the number of channels they include in this orchestrated strategy.
10. Marketers get more serious about using cross-channel attribution to understand marketing effectiveness

marketing campaigns and exposures that lead to conversions and that has become a critical component of marketing analytics. Marketers are now looking for cross-channel attribution that demonstrates the value of specic tactics and helps direct resources to the most productive options. For successful attribution, marketers need a centralized interaction history of marketing contacts and customer responses. Those marketers who adopt an Interactive Marketing strategy already have a centralized view of marketing touches.
11. Adoption of an integrated marketing suite is accelerating

It is not enough to coordinate campaigns and deliver results. Marketers need to understand which activities, programs, and campaigns are contributing to those results. In the ranking of top marketing issues, attributing success to marketing takes the second spot with more than half of marketers saying they nd it challenging. Attribution is the process of assigning credit to

Marketers are condent that technology is easing their pain. More than half of marketers say technology enables them to increase productivity more than additional staff or external agency support. Moreover, an overwhelming 87 percent agreed that marketing needs a more integrated suite of software to improve their effectiveness. Integrated tools mean integrated, Interactive Marketing with shared sources of data and real-time behavioral triggers allowing marketers to take communications to the next level. This also results in personalized, yet relevant messaging to the right audiences at the right times. To deliver well-coordinated customer experience and integrate activities across channels, marketers need a comprehensive suite for centralized, strategic control. Adoption is expected to accelerate as the economy eases out of the downturn and releases pent up demand for more integrated marketing solutions.

IBM Software

Increasing marketing productivity with an integrated marketing suite

8% 5%

organizations worldwide to understand their customers and use that understanding to engage buyers in highly relevant, interactive dialogues across digital, social, and traditional marketing channels. Recognized as a leading integrator of enterprise systems for multiple industries, we help organizations with a wide variety of projects, analyzing real-time information and returning measurable value to stakeholders. In addition, we provide worldwide support for a variety of industry-partner content, services, and applications.

25% 62%

For more information

Strongly agree Do not agree at all
Somewhat disagree

Somewhat agree

To learn more about IBM Unica products, please contact your IBM marketing representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit the following website: ibm.com/software/info/unica. Visit the Interactive Marketing microsite for a comprehensive set of resources that puts you on the path to more personal, protable marketing, www.theinteractivemarketingjourney.com, or call us at 1.866.277.7488 (North America) or +1.781.487.8600 (International).

Base: Total Sample (279 Respondents)

Ready when you are

IBM Enterprise Marketing Management is hardly a neutral bystander in marketing technology. We are deeply committed to marketing automation. Based on our experience with hundreds of enterprise clients, truly interactive, and integrated marketing can help marketers achieve differentiation, attract prospects, and hold protable customers, regardless of whatever new channels come and go.

Smarter Commerce: An integrated approach

IBM Unica products are part of the IBM Smarter Commerce initiative. Smarter Commerce is a unique approach that increases the value companies generate for their customers, partners and shareholders in a rapidly changing digital world. To learn more about Smarter Commerce, visit: ibm.com/smarterplanet/commerce.

About IBM Unica solutions

IBM Unica products are innovative marketing solutions that turn your passion for marketing into business success. Our comprehensive approach to Interactive Marketing enables

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