New Study: Despite Benefits, Most Marketers Still Not Capitalizing on Behaviors

ATLANTA, July 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- A new commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Silverpop^™, the only digital marketing technology provider that unifies marketing automation, email, mobile and social, reveals that while marketers who leverage buyer insight in their campaigns experience significant business benefits above their peers, behavioral data still remains the greatest untapped marketing asset.

The May 2013 study surveyed 157 U.S.-based marketing professionals on their use of behavioral marketing  automation to enable communication strategies and deliver campaigns. As campaign effectiveness is increasingly derived from customer insights, Forrester analyzed how marketers are powering automation with buyer behavioral data to drive engagement across multiple touchpoints and channels.

The study found that marketers who have adopted behavioral marketing practices and technologies have  achieved significant results ranging from higher return on marketing investment (ROMI) to higher contributions to sales pipelines, as well as revenue.

"Today's buyer demands more personalized attention, and to be more personal the marketer must be more automated," said Lori Wizdo, principal analyst with Forrester Research, Inc., in the October 2012 blog post entitled "Buyer Behavior Helps B2B Marketers Guide the Buyer's Journey."  "Marketing automation captures buyer behavior – the greatest untapped asset that marketers have. Marketing automation lets us know which specific content buyers are consuming. Marketing automation tells us where customers are finding our content. Marketing automation tells us what they do next.  With this data, and the knowledge it drives, marketers can provide targeted content and offers which serve to both improve buyer engagement and increase conversion rates."

Findings in the study, "Use Behavioral Marketing To Up The Ante In The Age Of The Customer," include:

• Behavioral marketing boosts revenue and customer experience/loyalty: When asked to assess the potential gain of taking specific actions with prospective customers based on their behaviors across channels, return on marketing investment and customer satisfaction/loyalty topped the list of overall perceived benefits for marketers, with 44 percent and 42 percent.
• Behavioral marketers are seeing an impact on sales pipelines and revenue: Forrester found that behavioral marketers are simply getting better results, with B2B behavioral marketers attributing 34 percent of their total sales pipeline to behavioral marketing—nearly 10 percent higher than their peers at 26 percent. Similarly, B2C behavioral marketers attributed 26 percent of their revenues achieved to their behavioral programs, with peers at just 21 percent.
• Buyer behavioral data remains the greatest untapped marketing asset: In the age of the customer, buyer information is critical. With customer behavioral data, marketers can provide targeted content to drive buyer engagement and increase conversion rates. However, Forrester found that only 45 percent actually collect and consolidate it within a single, integrated database. While data—the lifeblood of effective marketing automation—is important, consolidating it into a single database makes it actionable in a very efficient way.

"While marketers have come a long way in automating their efforts, not all are using marketing automation at its full potential and incorporating buyer behavior into their campaigns in order to deliver the most personal and engaging customer experiences possible," said Bryan Brown, Silverpop director of product strategy. "Data is the fuel that powers today's digital marketing campaigns and no insight is more valuable than what buyers tell you based on the actions they take. By capturing and then quickly acting on this behavioral data, marketers can form very rewarding individual relationships that lead to revenue and a deep sense of loyalty that can last a lifetime."

The full commissioned study and its findings can be accessed by clicking here.

About Silverpop:

Silverpop is the only digital marketing technology provider that unifies marketing automation, email, mobile, and social. Its customers achieve superior Return on Relationship by uniquely engaging each individual based on their behaviors and then automating personalized experiences that increase revenue, improve ROI, and deepen brand loyalty. Silverpop's commitment is to offer a platform that is complete, not complex—so that marketers from any size organization can easily achieve digital marketing success. The company offers a world-class services team, 24/7 customer support and a network of partners to ensure that every client gets the right mix of solutions for their specific digital marketing needs. Silverpop is trusted by more than 5,000 brands around the globe.  Visit us at silverpop.com. 

Media Contacts:
Stacy Kirk
Manager of Corporate Communications-Silverpop
[email protected]
770-661-0633

SOURCE Silverpop