Marketing Automation Buyers Survey

by Dan Freeman 
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Over half of companies considering purchasing marketing automation systems are worried they don’t have the in-house skills to make it work. Another half aren't sure they have the budget and are concerned that marketing automation won’t deliver on its many promises.  These are some of the the preliminary results of a marketing automation buyer and user survey we are conducting with VentureBeat. Here are some more highlights…

What motivates businesses to invest in marketing automation? It's about LEADS, SALES, and MARKETING PROCESSES. 

Marketers’ top considerations when determining whether or not to invest in Marketing Automation Software are ranked as follows

1. Need to generate better quality leads 
2. Need to track/score leads
3. Need to automate marketing processes 
4. Need to improve sales effectiveness 
5. Need to generate more leads 

Well be be publishing more results in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.    

SKILLS, RESULTS, COSTS: The top 3 reasons marketing automation scares companies

Top concerns about implementing marketing automation software

1. Whether we have the in-­house skills to effectively implement 58%
2. Budget; not sure we can afford it 54%
3. Concern over software’s ability to produce real results 51%

COST AND EASE OF USE top selection criteria.

Three considerations stood out among buyer when selecting a marketing automation platform

1. Total cost of service 
2. Ease of Use 
3. Monthly Price 

These beat out considerations such as Features, Integration with CRM, Start-up Time, and others. Of note: Recommendations from experts like Gartner, Forrester, came in last!

Of those respondents who do not use marketing automation currently, 46% use an email marketing service (MailChimp the most mentioned) and 60% use a CRM (Salesforce the most mentioned).

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Marketing Growth Strategies LLC has been engaged in research, analysis, lead generation, and client implementation in the Marketing Automation sector since 2009 and has recently revised its highly successful 2014 Marketing Automation eBook.

Are you a marketing automation vendor? Learn about the capturing up to 500 fresh Marketing Automation leads.

Considering implementing marketing automation? Download the 2014 Marketing Automation eBook