Marketers look to increase efficiency of digital campaigns in 2014

Published January 15, 2014 at 6:30 am

Thousands of marketing managers responded to a recent survey compiled by Salesforce.com, detailing their priorities and goals for the upcoming year. Unsurprisingly, digital concerns led the list, with 67 percent describing their primary goal as increasing the efficiency of digital marketing campaigns, 64 percent emphasizing more engaging email marketing, and 61 percent hoping to see gains in their ROI.

Their planned spending is backing up these goals. Respondents reported that they will be increasing expenditure on analytics, marketing automation, email campaigns, social media and content management. All of these responses suggest coordinated, holistic strategies aimed at using the internet as the primary conduit through which to connect with potential consumers.

One of the reasons the web has emerged as the primary medium for marketers is how constantly people are engaged with it. Most have at least some regular contact with an online source, so if a company wants to consistently engage that potential customer, it’s a good place to start.

A particularly interesting note is that there seems to be a growing divide between the strategies used to attract customers and those used to retain existing ones. While the internet is the dominant channel for new acquisitions, mobile seems to be the way to go to nurture existing relationships.

This likely has to do with the way in which they consolidate a lot of the activities associated with customer service: you can look up a product, buy it, call for more information and schedule a return, all on the same device.

Ultimately, as more companies begin to pour money into these conduits, it will become increasingly important to get the messaging just right — after all, a customer who has options will only choose you if you have a compelling story.