MARKETING

AUTOMATION
BENCHMARKS BY REVENUE PERFORMANCE
TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 Executive Summary 9 Marketing Automation Features & Factors

4 Revenue Performance 10 Marketing Automation Metrics

5 Marketing Automation Objectives 11 About Marketo

6 Marketing Automation Success 12 About Demand Metric & Ascend2

7 Marketing Automation Obstacles 13 Appendix – Survey Background

8 Resources for Marketing Automation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Marketing automation has dramatically increased the effectiveness and efficiency of finding, nurturing and converting customers.

But what will marketing automation success look like in the year ahead and how will marketers achieve it?

To find out, Demand Metric, in partnership with Ascend2, fielded the Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey and completed
interviews with 291 business, marketing and sales professionals from around the world. We thank these busy professionals for
sharing their valuable insights with you.

The charts in this edition of our study, titled Marketing Automation Benchmarks by Revenue Performance, compare the
strategies and practices of companies that have achieved or exceeded their revenue goals with those that have not.

This research has been produced for your use. Put it to work in your own marketing strategy planning and presentation
materials. Clip the charts and write about them in your blog or post them on social media.

Please share this research credited as published.

- Jerry Rackley, Chief Analyst – Demand Metric

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REVENUE PERFORMANCE
Figure 1: Current Revenue Attainment for Organizations Participating in Study

Current Revenue Performance

13%
The charts in this report compare the strategies and
practices of companies responding to the Sales Experience
Exceeding
revenue goals Quality Benchmark Survey that are achieving or exceeding
42% their revenue attainment goals.
Achieving
revenue goals 58% of participating organizations are achieving or
exceeding their revenue goals, while 42% of
Not achieving participating organizations are not currently achieving
45% revenue goals
their revenue goals.

Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, July 2014, n=291

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MARKETING AUTOMATION OBJECTIVES
Figure 2: Most Important Marketing Automation Objectives for the Upcoming Year

This study endeavored to understand the most important

Most Important Marketing Automation Objectives
goals for marketing automation programs.
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals

Improve lead nurturing
Improve marketing productivity
Increase lead generation
Increase sales revenue
Improve lead quality
Improve performance measurement
28%
24%
25%
Improve marketing-sales alignment
20%
Reduce sales cycle
18%
13%
0%
Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, July 2014, n=291
5
46%
Participants were asked to choose all objectives that apply
37% to their program. The collection of responses is presented
42% in Figure 2.
50%
42%
41% Companies achieving or exceeding their revenue goals
41% indicated they were more likely to target the improvement of
49%
38% lead nurturing, lead generation and marketing productivity.
40%
While companies not achieving revenue goals
responded that an improvement in marketing
productivity was their most important objective, they
were more likely to rate an increase in sales revenue as
a key objective rather than lead nurturing or lead
20% 40% 60%
generation. It is important to note that an increase in sales
revenue would be greatly impacted by an improvement in
lead nurturing and an increase in lead generation, which it
seems that achieving organizations have already learned
for their processes.
CURRENT MARKETING AUTOMATION SUCCESS
Figure 3: Self-Assessment Ratings of Current Marketing Automation Success

Study participants were asked to provide a self-assessment

Ratings of Current MA Success
of their current marketing automation success.
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals

80%
The aggregate data collected from these ratings can be
seen in Figure 3 to the left.
78%

60% Overall, the majority of participants, no matter their revenue

65%
performance, rated their marketing automation program as
either “Very successful” or “Somewhat successful.” 92% of
40% under-achieving companies reported some level of
success with marketing automation; and their
achieving counterparts reported a 93% success rate.
20% 28%
7% 8% Although most organizations are reporting some level
14% of success with marketing automation, companies that
0% are achieving or exceeding revenue goals were twice
Very successful Somewhat successful Not successful
as likely to rate their program as “Very successful.” On
the other hand, both categories of revenue performance are
reporting their programs as unsuccessful at an almost
Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, July 2014, n=291
equal rate.

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MARKETING AUTOMATION OBSTACLES
Figure 4: Most Challenging Obstacles to Marketing Automation Success

As with any strategy or implementation, we may encounter

Obstacles to Marketing Automation Success
obstacles in order to become successful.
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals

44%
This study examined the most challenging obstacles to
Budget limitations
45% marketing automation success and the responses are
Lack of an effective strategy
42% detailed in Figure 4.
52%
Insufficient data quality
41%
28% Not surprisingly, budget limitations was ranked as the
Lack of skilled staff
38% most challenging obstacle for achieving companies
42%
22%
and the second most challenging obstacle for non-
Difficult to use interface
22% achieving companies.
Lack of management buy-in
22%
25%
16%
Most notably, more than half (52%) of all companies
Ineffective metrics
18% not achieving revenue goals indicated that lack of an
Not enough leads
9% effective strategy as the most challenging obstacle to
20%
obtaining success with a marketing automation
0% 20% 40% 60% program. Developing and implementing an effective
strategy for marketing automation would most likely
eliminate the likelihood that these organizations would
Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, July 2014, n=291
encounter any other challenges in their processes.

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RESOURCES FOR MARKETING AUTOMATION
Figure 5: Description of Resources Used for Marketing Automation Campaigns

This study attempted to discover what resources were most

Resources Used for MA Campaigns
commonly used to implement, manage and track marketing
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals automation programs.
60%
Participants indicated whether they used an outsourced
57% agency/consultancy, in-house resources or a combination
50%
of both. The results of this inquiry appear in Figure 5.
45% 47%
40%
More than half of companies not achieving revenue
37%
30% targets and nearly half of those achieving or exceeding
their goals indicate using in-house resources only to
20% run their marketing automation campaigns.
10% 5% Interestingly, companies achieving or exceeding their
9% revenue goals are more likely to outsource all or part
0%
Outsourced to an agency or Combination of outsourced and In-house resources only of their automated marketing campaigns, gaining
consultancy in-house resources
expertise not found internally.

Consequently, the revenue achieving organizations may

Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, July 2014, n=291
obtain a higher level of marketing and revenue
performance.
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MARKETING AUTOMATION FEATURES & FACTORS
Figure 6: Most Important Features & Factors Considered for Marketing Automation Systems

The marketing automation technology landscape is rapidly

Important Factors for MA System Selection
expanding with many new features and functionality. There
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals are many factors that need to be considered in order to
42%
select the system that fits best with an organization.
Analytics and reporting
37%
All-in-one solution 36%
33% Study participants were asked to select the most important
Ease of use 36%
45% features and factors to be considered in order to select a
Email and campaign management 34%
34% marketing automation system.
Lead capture and management 26%
24%
25%
Pricing and/or pricing model
29% Respondents had the ability to choose any and all options
Lead segmentation and scoring 25% that apply to their selection process and the responses are
25%
CRM included 20%
19%
detailed in Figure 6.
Website visitor ID and tracking 18%
15%
Message personalization 12% The ability to analyze and report on marketing
12%
Landing page builder 9% performance is the most important factor in choosing a
6%
marketing automation system for companies achieving
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% or exceeding revenue goals. While this functionality
was second on the list for under-achieving companies,
the most important factor for these organizations was
Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, July 2014, n=291
a system’s ease-of-use.

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MARKETING AUTOMATION METRICS
Figure 7: Most Useful Metrics to Measure Marketing Automation Performance

As analytics and reporting functionality were rated as one of

Metrics for Marketing Automation Performance
the most critical factors in selecting a marketing automation
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals system, this study attempted to understand what the most
57%
useful metrics were to measure the success of marketing
Lead conversion rate
56% automation program.
Lead generation ROI
47%
32%
38%
Participants were asked to select all choices that apply to
Revenue generated
49% their program and the results are presented in Figure 7.
Cost per lead
32%
32%
31%
For both achieving and under-achieving organizations,
Pipeline value generated
26% more than half of respondents indicated that the most
Leads generated
25% useful metric was lead conversion rates.
41%
Open/click-through rate
22%
19% After the top rated metric, we begin to see discrepancies
Website traffic
16% between the two revenue performance categories.
18%
Companies achieving or exceeding revenue targets
0% 20% 40% 60% rank lead generation ROI and revenue generated as the
second and third most useful metrics, respectively.
Those companies not achieving revenue targets
Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, July 2014, n=291
ranked revenue generated and leads generated as the
second and third most useful metrics, respectively.
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ABOUT MARKETO
Marketing Software. Easy. Powerful. Complete.

You want results and you want them fast. The Marketo platform is built by marketers, for marketers. Everything you need –
marketing automation, social campaigns, inbound marketing, sales apps, ROI reporting, - all in one place.

For more information, visit www.marketo.com.

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ABOUT DEMAND METRIC & ASCEND2
About Demand Metric
Demand Metric is a global marketing research & advisory firm serving a membership community of over 40,000 marketing
professionals, CEOs, and business owners with advisory services, 100+ research & benchmark reports, 20+ consulting
methodologies, 50+ training e-workshops & courses, and a library of 500+ practical tools and templates.

Using Demand Metric resources, members complete projects faster and with greater confidence, boosting respect for the
marketing team and making it easier to justify needed resources. Our 1,200+ corporate clients range from start-ups to consulting
firms to members of the Global 1000.

To learn more about Demand Metric, please visit: www.demandmetric.com.

About Ascend2
Ascend2 is a market research firm with over 50,000 research subscribers and survey panelists comprised of sales & marketing
professionals. Each month they field new research studies and generate reports that typically include 12 to 18 pages of charts and
analytical commentary.

Demand Metric partners with Ascend2 to leverage their panel of research survey panelists and develop additional benchmark
reports for community members. Learn more about Ascend2 at www.Ascend2.com.

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APPENDIX – SURVEY BACKGROUND
Surveys are conducted online from a panel of more than 50,000 Ascend2 research subscribers, representing US and
international marketing and sales decision-makers and practitioners in a range of contact roles, company types, sizes and
geographic regions.

The questionnaire used incorporates standardized research practices across all studies while maintaining a proven 3-minute
survey format. Survey findings are examined in a quantitative context by experienced analysts and reported objectively.

The Demand Metric and Ascend2 2014 Marketing Automation Benchmark Survey was administered online in July 2014. During
this period, 291 responses were collected for inclusion in the analysis.

Summarized below is the basic categorization data collected about respondents:

Primary Role of Respondent: Employee Size:

 C-level Executives (33%)  More than 500 (25%)

 Marketing VP, Director or Manager (37%)  50 to 500 (27%)
 Sales VP, Director of Manager (5%)  Fewer than 50 (49%)
 Marketing or Sales Staff (16%)
 Other (9%)

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 Benchmark Report

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