Top 11 trends in marketing, and what you should do about them

1. 42% of marketers reported their budgets were holding firm with no change from the previous year.
This seems like a positive economic indicator over the reductions many marketers saw the previous year. It also appears that there is increasing pressure on marketers, as most marketers are working with the same budget as last year.

2. 35% of marketers reported a 2013 budget increase from the previous year.
While most marketers aren’t seeing any change in their budget, a little over 1/3 did have an increase in budget. Only a small percentage of marketers surveyed are seeing a reduction, with 15% reporting a budget decrease. Overall, it feels like there is optimism around marketing budgets.

3. Almost 90% of respondents employ email marketing as a primary channel.
Email is clearly a universal channel that many different marketers are using. It’s no wonder marketers are striving to determine how to ensure ongoing effectiveness of email. I believe there is a direct correlation between the number of marketers using email and their biggest challenge regarding email (see next bullet).

4. Marketers reported “breaking through cluttered inboxes” as their #1 email challenge.
Bonus stat: marketers cited generating click-through as their 2nd greatest email challenge in 2013. The key implication is that marketers need to be sure they are doing everything possible to optimize their email communications. Consideration should be given to testing subject lines, “friendly froms” and other mechanisms to improve open rates as well as applying techniques to optimize performance.

5. Social media has become a mainstay with marketers and ranks as the 2nd most-used tactic in 2013.
75% of marketers claim they are using social media in 2013, making it the 2nd most-used tactic. That means the social media space is going to continue to get more crowded, and marketers are going to need to work harder to differentiate their social media efforts. Once users engage, leverage behavior to develop targeted relevant communications. This can help transform social media to SCRM.

6. Almost half of marketers are using social media to drive sales leads.
More and more marketers are using social media to support lead generation and web traffic goals. Be sure you are employing an inbound marketing strategy that can help you transform your social media efforts into a lead generation machine.

7. Over 50% of marketers are using direct mail, establishing it as a consistent performer and the 3rd most- used tactic.
Direct mail is growing annually, and response rates remain steady. Direct mail actually ranked as the 3rd most-used tactic by marketers. Direct mail is a blend of art and science.

8. Less than 40% of marketers said their marketing efforts are integrated across web, social media, email and direct channels.
Organizational design and functional silos are likely contributing to the fragmentation of marketing communications. With ownership of certain channels, such as the web, spanning across several functional areas in many organizations, it’s not surprising this surfaced as one of the greatest challenges that marketers are facing. The reality is, however, that marketing channels work together. And almost nothing works as a stand-alone vehicle. Check out my blog article “And is better” for tips on improving integration across marketing efforts.

9. 2 out of 3 marketers say customer acquisition is their #1 priority in 2013.
It seems that organizations tend to be more focused on customer acquisition versus customer retention. It’s a known marketing fact that it costs less to retain a customer than to acquire a new one. Marketing and sales organizations still tend to focus more on customer acquisition and lead generation (e.g. growth) over retention.

10. 40% of marketers state too many priorities and not enough time are their biggest challenges in 2013.
It’s not a surprise that managing time and resources was identified as the greatest challenge. With so many channels and most marketing departments not growing in headcount, it’s clear why marketers might feel they have more to do than they have time and resources.

11. 36% of marketers stated they are using some form of mobile marketing* in 2013.
Of those using some form of mobile marketing, mobile optimization of email and landing pages is the number one mobile application. With 78% of mobile marketers saying they are optimizing web pages and email for mobile, marketers appear to be getting on-board with mobile trends. According to Google Think Insights, about 74% of users are reading emails on mobile devices.