In past research, only one-quarter of marketers said they always used marketing data to make strategic decisions. Findings from a recent report [download page] from Ascend2 and its Research Partners may shed some light on why more marketers aren’t always using data to make decisions. Here’s what the survey revealed.
It turns out that most marketers aren’t confident that they have enough data or the best quality data in order to make effective decisions. Of the more than 350 marketers surveyed, only 3 in 10 (29%) agreed that they have enough data to make effective decisions on where to spend marketing and/or sales resources, and only one-third report that the quality of their data allows them to effectively make those decisions. Instead, the largest share is only somewhat confident that they have enough data (55%) and quality of data (55%) to make effective decisions on where to spend resources.
With that in mind, nearly all (94%) respondents agree that using a data-driven strategy can significantly improve demand generation efforts. These marketers say they are using strategies such as real-time marketing (47%), customer journey mapping (33%) and account-based marketing (26%) as part of their data-driven demand generation strategy.
In fact, marketers cite customer experience, email marketing, personalization of content and engagement as the demand gen strategies and tactics most impacted by data-driven marketing. Not only that, they are seeing the benefits of this type of strategy, with more than half (52%) seeing improved lead quality and others reporting improved customer experience (46%) and increased quantity of leads (37%).
Nevertheless, some marketers report encountering challenges when utilizing data to drive demand. These include measuring results, identifying target audiences or accounts, and aligning marketing and sales processes.
The full report can be found here.
About the Data: Findings are based on a January 2022 survey of 383 B2B (30%), B2C (44%) and B2B2C (26%) marketers.