SAN MATEO, Calif., March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Lattice Engines announced findings from an independent survey that highlights how Big Data and predictive analytics can help companies grow revenue by solving the ongoing lead generation battle between sales and marketing. Conducted by CSO Insights, a leading sales and marketing effectiveness research firm, the survey of more than 1,200 corporate and sales executives reveals that while the gap between sales' expectations for lead generation and what marketing delivers continues to exist, Big Data and predictive analytics technology can close it by predicting the previously unpredictable: buyer intent.

Top Findings:

Big Data and predictive analytics bridge the 70 percent lead generation gap between sales and marketing

• In many organizations, marketing supplies only 30 percent of the leads. Sales is left struggling to make up the remaining 70 percent to meet quota despite investments in CRM, marketing automation and other technologies.
• Capitalizing on the wealth of information available today to deliver the required number of quality leads and the necessary insight to close them requires a new approach designed for a Big Data world.
• Sales and marketing organizations using Big Data and predictive analytics technology analyze data from a variety of internal and external sources including marketing automation, CRM, past purchase history, social media, government filings and news alerts and more to quickly predict which customers and prospects have the greatest propensity to buy.

68 percent of companies report struggling with lead generation, blaming marketing for not providing enough quality leads

• Nearly half believe the quality and quantity of marketing generated leads needs improvement.
• Sales reps at some organizations are executing their own rogue activities including lead generation with one-off email campaigns, building micro-sites and leading webinars. 

Sales organizations are not keeping up as companies increase their revenue targets

• Revenue targets were up 16 percent in 2012, the largest increase since the 2008 recession.
• 65 percent identified new customer acquisition as their top priority for the first time since the recession, along with increasing sales effectiveness (52 percent) and increasing existing account penetration (36 percent).
• While revenue targets are up, forecast accuracy is poor: less than two-thirds of sales reps made quota in 2012, and less than 57 percent of companies made their revenue targets.

Sales reps are wasting time trying to figure out which customers and prospects to call

• 42 percent of sales reps feel they do not have the right information before making a call.
• 45 percent report needing help figuring out which accounts to prioritize.
• Sales reps are spending 20 percent of their time doing their own research, therefore taking time away from selling.

Comments on the news

• "Although progress has been made the past couple years to more closely align sales and marketing, there is still plenty of work to do," said Barry Trailer, co-founder, CSO Insights. "Big Data has the potential to begin closing this gap by providing sales and marketing with buying signals they may not even know exist."
• "Big Data and predictive analytics are the next frontier for marketing," said Shashi Upadhyay, CEO of Lattice. "Sales organizations have made it clear that they are not getting what they need to be successful in today's environment. Businesses embracing Big Data are achieving higher levels of success by empowering marketing to deliver a previously unattainable level of insight to sales, focusing them on the opportunities with the greatest revenue potential."

More information on the CSO Insights survey

• A total of 1,200 respondents worldwide completed the annual CSO Insights Sales Performance Optimization Study, a portion of which was sponsored by Lattice Engines. 
• Respondents included CEOs, CSOs, sales executives and managers across a variety of company sizes and industry verticals. 
• For more information, view the infographic, video and ebook titled Grow Revenue with Big Data.

About CSO Insights

CSO Insights (http://www.csoinsights.com) is a sales and marketing effectiveness research firm that specializes in measuring how companies are leveraging people, process, technology, and knowledge to improve the way they market to and sell to customers. For 19 years, CSO Insights' surveys of over 12,000 sales effectiveness initiatives has been the standard for tracking the evolution of the role of sales, revealing the challenges that are impacting sales performance, and showing how companies are addressing these issues.

About Lattice Engines

Lattice is revolutionizing sales and marketing through the power of Big Data. The company's Big Data for Sales platform, salesPRISM, delivers real-time, predictive and actionable insight to sales and marketing professionals wherever they are so they can engage the most receptive customers in the most compelling ways. Fortune 5000 companies such as ADP, Dell, EMC and SunTrust rely on Lattice to generate 75 percent more pipeline, triple conversion rates, and double win rates. Lattice is privately held and backed by NEA and Sequoia Capital with headquarters in San Mateo, CA. Learn more at www.lattice-engines.com and follow @Lattice_Engines.

SOURCE Lattice Engines