MOBILE MARKETING

BENCHMARKS BY REVENUE ATTAINMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
3 Executive Summary 9 Mobile Marketing Budget

4 Achieving Revenue Goals 10 Types of Mobile Marketing Used

5 Usage of Mobile for Marketing 11 Resources Used for Mobile Marketing

6 Mobile Marketing Objectives 12 About Demand Metric & Ascend2

7 Current Mobile Marketing Success 13 Appendix – Survey Background

8 Obstacles to Mobile Marketing Success

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
It’s time to take mobile marketing seriously. No other media is able to engage customers as personally (on their own device),
pervasively (always on) or geographically (enabled by geo-tracking) as mobile media. Mobile literally enables marketers to
connect with the right person, in the right place, with the right message, at the right time.

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

To find out, Demand Metric in partnership with Ascend2 fielded the Mobile Marketing Benchmark Survey and completed
interviews with 271 marketing and sales decision-makers and practitioners from around the world. We thank those busy
professionals for sharing their valuable insights with us.

In this edition of our study, Mobile Marketing: Benchmarks by Revenue Attainment, the charts and graphs compare the
strategies and practices of companies that have succeeded in achieving or exceeding 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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ACHIEVING REVENUE GOALS
Figure 1: Revenue Goal Achievement

Revenue Goal Achievement

18% This report compares the mobile marketing strategies and

Exceeding
29% revenue goals
practices of companies that are achieving or exceeding
their revenue attainment goals with those that are not.

Achieving The survey response data charted in this report represent

revenue goals the segments presented in Figure 1.

Not achieving From the organizations surveyed in this report, 71% of

revenue goals respondents are achieving or exceeding revenue goals.
Alternatively, 29% of respondents are not achieving
53% revenue goals.

Mobile Marketing Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, June 2014, n=271

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USAGE OF MOBILE FOR MARKETING
Figure 2: Usage of Mobile for Marketing Purposes
Usage of Mobile for Marketing
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals
60%
At the onset of this study, we identified organizations that
are using mobile marketing as a strategy for marketing
Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals
purposes and those that are not. Figure 2 illustrates the
responses obtained from this inquiry.

57% From the graph, we see that companies not already

achieving their revenue goals are more likely to be in
50% 50%
the mobile marketing planning stages rather than
40% 43% already implementing mobile as a strategy.

Revenue goal achievers are equally split between those

20% already using mobile marketing and those planning to use
mobile in the future.

Clearly, many organizations, regardless of revenue

0% attainment, are still in process of implementing mobile
Yes, currently using mobile No, but WE ARE PLANNING TO in the in order to drive their overall marketing goals. As
future
mobile usage by the masses continues to grow, it is
imperative that organizations are prepared to deliver
Mobile Marketing Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, June 2014, n=271
messages and information via mobile devices.

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MOBILE MARKETING OBJECTIVES
Figure 3: Most Important Mobile Marketing Objectives for the Upcoming Year
Most Important Mobile Marketing Objectives
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals
Increase customer engagement
Increase lead generation
Increase website traffic
Increase brand awareness
Increase sales transactions
Improve customer service
19%
Increase email opt-in list
15%
19%
8%
Increase SMS opt-in list
9%
0% 20%
Mobile Marketing Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, June 2014, n=271
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This study attempted to understand what companies were
striving to achieve with their mobile marketing strategies.
Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals
For this reason, respondents were asked what their top
objectives were for mobile marketing initiatives in the
57% upcoming year. Respondents were asked to choose all the
55%
38%
options that applied to their strategy and the responses are
51% presented in Figure 3.
36%
40%
36%
The top mobile marketing objective reported from all
47% respondents is to increase customer engagement,
33% which will enable consumers and businesses to
30%
interact with companies more frequently and
30%
effectively.
Those organizations achieving or exceeding revenue goals
identified the majority of the remaining response options as
equally important for the upcoming year. Those
40% 60%
organizations not achieving revenue goals answered
that increasing lead generation, website traffic and
brand awareness are more important objectives for
them than their achieving counterparts.
CURRENT MOBILE MARKETING SUCCESS
Figure 4: Self-Assessment Ratings for Current Mobile Marketing Objective Success
Study participants were asked to make a self-assessment
Ratings for Current Mobile Marketing Success of their current mobile marketing success. The data from
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals this inquiry is shown in Figure 4.
80%
Not surprisingly, companies that are achieving or
exceeding revenue goals are 36% more likely to rate
70% their mobile marketing efforts as “Very successful”
60% 65% compared to those companies not achieving revenue
goals.
40%
The majority of companies, regardless of revenue
attainment, lie in the middle of the curve, responding that
30% their mobile marketing strategies are “Somewhat
20%
22% successful” at the present moment.
3%
9% On the other end of the spectrum, companies that are
0%
Very successful Somewhat successful Not successful not achieving their revenue goals are three times as
likely to rate their mobile efforts “Not successful” than
their achieving counterparts.
Mobile Marketing Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, June 2014, n=271
Still, it seems that many companies believe they are
achieving some level of success with mobile initiatives.
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OBSTACLES TO MOBILE MARKETING SUCCESS
Figure 5: Most Challenging Obstacles to Mobile Marketing Success
Obstacles to Mobile Marketing Success
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals
Lack of in-house expertise
Measurement/accountability
Budget limitations
Adopting mobile practices
Cross-channel integration
Lack of an effective strategy
19%
Lack of mobile website
23%
Privacy concerns
16%
13%
0%
Mobile Marketing Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, June 2014, n=271
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This study also sought to identify why some organizations
are successful with mobile marketing programs and why
Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals
some are not. This was best understood through identifying
33% obstacles and constraints.
53%
32%
26%
Study participants were asked to select all options that
32% applied to their strategy. Figure 5 illustrates the responses
43% obtained for this inquiry.
31%
30%
27%
For organizations achieving or exceeding revenue goals, it
25% seems many of the obstacles to mobile marketing success
27% were all rated equally as challenging. Conversely,
43%
organizations not meeting revenue goals found a few
of these obstacles to be more challenging than others.
Interestingly, the top three mobile marketing challenges for
20% 40% 60% companies not already achieving or exceeding their
revenue goals are interrelated: the lack of in-house
expertise and the inability to create an effective
strategy are often the result of budget limitations.
MOBILE MARKETING BUDGET
Figure 6: Changes in Mobile Marketing Budget Over the Past Year

Since many participants in this study rated budget as one of

Changes to Mobile Marketing Budget
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals
80%
the largest obstacles to mobile marketing success, this
Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals
study also asked participants how their mobile marketing
budgets would be changing in the upcoming year.

Figure 6 illustrates the respondents’ choices to either

60% 66% “Major increase,” “Minor increase,” “Minor decrease,” or
58% “Major decrease” in budget allocations.

40% 94% of organizations achieving or exceeding revenue

36% goals and 91% of organizations not achieving revenue
goals responded that their mobile marketing budgets
20% 25% would be increasing either slightly or significantly in
5% 6% the next year.
2% 4%
0% Evidently, budget limitations will be less of a constraint in
Major increase Minor increase Minor decrease Major decrease
mobile marketing success in the year ahead with the vast
majority of companies reporting budget increases and only
a very small percentage reporting budget decreases.
Mobile Marketing Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, June 2014, n=271

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TYPES OF MOBILE MARKETING USED
Figure 7: Types of Mobile Marketing Used or Planned

In order to understand the overall mobile marketing

Types of Mobile Marketing Used
landscape, it is important to identify what applications,
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals
programs and initiatives are being used by companies.
Mobile-optimized website
53%
53% Study participants were asked to choose all options that
Mobile apps
35%
38% related to their current mobile marketing strategy. Figure 7
Mobile social media
34% presents the data retrieved from this inquiry
28%
Mobile-optimized email
31%
36% For over half of all respondents, achieving and under-
26%
Mobile advertising
25% achieving, developing mobile-optimized websites is the
Geo-targeting
22% most commonly used or planned type of mobile
15%
22%
marketing program. The second most commonly used or
SMS messaging
23% planned program, developing mobile apps, is rapidly
Mobile search
19% emerging as an important mobile marketing initiative for
26%
QR codes
12% both revenue achievers and non-achievers alike.
11%
0% 20% 40% 60% Creating and implementing QR codes falls at the
bottom of the list for both segments studied in this
report. However, as mobile apps continue to emerge,
Mobile Marketing Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, June 2014, n=271
creating QR codes will become more imperative.

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RESOURCES USED FOR MOBILE MARKETING
Figure 8: Resources Used for Mobile Marketing Planning & Execution

Figure 8 addresses the internal and external resources that

Resources Used for Mobile Marketing
organizations are using to develop mobile strategies,
Achieved or Exceeded Revenue Goals Did Not Achieve Revenue Goals applications and content.
50%
50% 49% Overall, about two-thirds of all companies, regardless
of revenue attainment, are currently choosing to
40%
outsource all or part of their mobile marketing
36% programs.
30%
29% Companies using outside agencies and consultants can
20% gain mobile marketing expertise not found internally,
21% resulting in higher levels of performance.
10% 15%
It is interesting to note that organizations achieving or
exceeding revenue goals are more likely to outsource
0%
Outsourced to an agency or Combination of outsourced and In-house resources only mobile marketing initiatives to agencies or
consultancy in-house resources
consultants; while, organizations that are not yet
achieving revenue goals are more likely to use only in-
house resources for mobile marketing programs.
Mobile Marketing Benchmark Survey, Demand Metric and Ascend2, June 2014, n=271

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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 Mobile Marketing Benchmark Survey was administered online in June 2014. During this
period, 271 responses were collected for inclusion in the analysis.

Summarized below is the basic categorization data collected about respondents:

Primary Role of Respondent: Employee Size:

 Owner or Officer (39%)  More than 1000 (25%)

 Marketing or Sales Management (38%)  101 to 1000 (16%)
 Marketing or Sales Staff (9%)  10 to 100 (27%)
 Other (14%)  Fewer than 10 (33%)

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 Benchmark Report

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