Digital Analytics, Social & Mobile—Central to the New Marketing Reality

On the heels of a recent study that Webtrends undertook with Forrester comes another riveting piece of research from eMarketer that focuses on the current fracturing of the Internet and the explosion that is taking place in social and mobile.

Like our Forrester study, the key take away here is that  “data driven” marketing will play an enormously important role going forward and, as such, 81% of respondents said that they are prioritizing spend in digital analytics so that they can better segment, target and optimize experiences for their customers.

What is equally interesting is the intense focus that is being devoted to social media and mobile marketing programs. The fact that 82% of all the CMOs polled for the study revealed that they are increasing the use of social media should cast aside any illusions that this emerging new medium is a passing fad or merely a tactic to reach the highly prized 18-24 demographic.

And, lest you believe that app mania is poised to fade anytime soon, consider the fact that 80% of these respondents identified mobile apps and 72% stated that tablet apps are priorities going forward. Those, my friends, are staggering numbers that underscore the importance that some of the world’s brightest marketers are placing on MEASUREABLE, PERFORMANCE DRIVEN MARKETING.

Ironically, however, when asked about the areas of marketing that they feel most unprepared for, 71% of these same marketers revealed that it is the data explosion that these new mediums are generating that keeps them awake at night. Another 56% stated that it is ROI accountability that disrupts their sleep.

And well it should—given that a study last May, also in eMarketer, highlighted that approximately 63% of all marketers either weren’t measuring or didn’t know the ROI of their digital programs. That’s spellbinding when you think about it.

Also fascinating in this report is what CMOs are planning to do with all of this new data that they are mining for insights. The key points that should jump off the chart below:

• 35% of the CMOs polled revealed that they would use this data for segmentation and targeting.
• 30% stated that they were committed to integrating with social and better leveraging social data.
• 20% are looking to increase relevancy via dynamic (optimized!) content.
• 17% are interested in creating holistic digital reporting dashboards.

All this focus on “data-driven marketing” is interesting in its own right, but particularly so when you consider why CMOs are so intent on beginning to harness this data.

When asked, 67% of all these CMOs (over two-thirds!) stated that their focus on segmentation and targeting is tied to a desire to improve customer loyalty and advocacy. Over half (57%) revealed that this direction is tied to a need to OPTIMIZE mobile and tablet application experiences. Finally, nearly half (47%) stated that measuring the ROI of digital technologies is a priority going forward.

No matter how you stack it up, these are overwhelming numbers and reflect the kind of importance that Chief Marketing Officers are placing on digital analytics.

If you call yourself a professional marketer, or your role is to support digital programs within the enterprise, you’d be well advised to pay careful attention to what the Forrester and eMarketer studies are telling you. Make no mistake about it, getting your digital analytics programs ironed out and prioritized is more important now than ever before.

Going forward, not being able to account for mobile and social ROI or being unable to segment and target are a pretty surefire way to find your way onto the unemployment bullseye and into a new career.

Thankfully there are “best-of-breed” (thank you Forrester) solutions like Webtrends Analytics 10 which help alleviate the sleepless nights that stem from “analytics insecurity”. There are also talented resources like our “Digital Marketing Optimization” consultants that are available to help you tackle the challenge of data-driven marketing and ROI accountability and shape your own professional success in the new marketing reality in which we operate.