Delivering value to customers has become a paramount objective for marketers in today’s rapidly evolving business environment. ROI is something that gets thrown around a lot yet sometimes it isn’t at the heart of strategy and plans. The Salesforce State of Marketing Report provides valuable insights into the strategies and trends that marketers are adopting to maximize value and foster stronger customer relationships. In this blog post, we will explore the key findings from the report, highlighting how marketers are effectively utilizing existing tools, redefining customer engagement, driving cross-channel experiences, establishing trust, prioritizing data and analytics, embracing AI, leading with values, and investing in skill development.
Prioritizing Value: Maximizing Existing Tools and Investing in Automation
Although economic instabilities have teams examining their budgets and fine-tuning their techstack, marketers remain determined in the face of change. 87% of marketers say their work provides greater value now than it did a year ago. The report emphasizes that marketers are prioritizing value by leveraging their existing tools and technologies. They are focusing on driving maximum value from their current investments while strategically allocating resources towards automation and productivity. By harnessing automation, marketers can streamline processes, optimize efficiency, and deliver personalized experiences at scale.
Redefining Customer Engagement
Omnichannel Strategies:
Marketers are redefining customer engagement by investing in a combination of channels and technologies. The report reveals that 83% of marketers engage customers in real-time across one or more marketing channels. This insight underscores the importance of building a robust omnichannel strategy to engage customers seamlessly across multiple touchpoints.
Real-Time Interactions:
Across every stage of the funnel, marketers are tracking more metrics year over year than ever before. Speed to insight remains a competitive advantage, with 72% of high-performing marketers able to analyse marketing performance in real-time.
By leveraging real-time interactions, marketers can deliver personalized and timely messages, fostering lasting relationships with their audience. Real-time interactions provide valuable customer feedback and insights, and by engaging with customers in real-time, marketers can gather immediate feedback, opinions, and preferences. This feedback can inform product development, campaign optimization, and overall marketing strategy. Real-time interactions also enable brands to identify emerging trends, sentiments, or issues, allowing them to proactively address customer needs and concerns.
B2B Marketers and Account-Based Marketing (ABM): Coordinating Multichannel Experiences
Salesforce highlights that 80% of marketers are leading customer experience initiatives across various departments, including marketing, sales, service, and commerce. To deliver unified end-to-end experiences, 89% of B2B marketers are utilizing account-based marketing (ABM) platforms.
However, establishing successful ABM campaigns requires comprehensive, data-driven strategies. The challenge lies in sharing a unified view of customer data across business units, which is reported as a concern by 31% of B2B marketers. But why is this important? By overcoming this challenge, marketers can create seamless and personalized journeys for B2B customers. B2B marketing organizations are allocating an average of 15% of their budget to account-based marketing (ABM), emphasizing the value of personalized messaging and engagement that has spread from B2C to B2B strategies.
Accurate attribution of marketing efforts and measuring return on investment (ROI) becomes possible when data is shared across channels and is invaluable for optimizing marketing budgets, identifying high-performing channels, and allocating resources effectively.
Trust: The Foundation of Customer Relationships
Unsurprisingly building trust has been highlighted as a top priority for marketers. The report emphasizes that 88% of customers believe trust becomes more important during times of change. Marketers can prioritize building trust by being transparent, authentic, and empathetic in their communications and interactions. By demonstrating clear values, addressing customer concerns, and consistently delivering on promises, marketers can cultivate strong and lasting relationships with their customers.
In a crowded and competitive B2B marketplace, trust can be a key differentiator. Trust is crucial for customer retention and maximizing customer lifetime value (CLV). When B2B buyers trust a supplier, they are more likely to continue doing business with them, leading to higher customer retention rates. Trust builds loyalty, reduces customer churn, and increases the likelihood of repeat purchases or upselling opportunities. B2B marketers who prioritize trust can cultivate long-term, profitable relationships with their clients.
Data and Analytics: Driving Informed Decision Making
Marketers are increasingly relying on data and analytics to inform their strategies and measure success. The report underscores the importance of prioritizing data-driven decision-making and investing in tools and technologies that enable effective data collection, analysis, and action. By harnessing the power of data, marketers can gain valuable insights into customer behaviour, preferences, and trends, enabling them to optimize campaigns and enhance overall marketing effectiveness.
Despite marketers’ clear need for high-quality data and analytics, many lag behind in their investment in the people, tools, and processes that make it possible. Only 51% of marketing teams currently have employees dedicated to analytics. Even fewer have resources dedicated to analytics technology, or the practices –such as data integration and preparation – that are key to measuring and optimizing marketing success. Still, marketers intend to catch up: about two in five marketers say they plan to invest in these areas.
Data analytics allows B2B marketers to measure and optimize the performance of marketing channels and campaigns. By tracking key metrics such as conversion rates, click-through rates, cost per acquisition, and return on investment (ROI), marketers can identify high-performing channels and campaigns. This information helps in allocating resources effectively, optimizing marketing budgets, and focusing efforts on activities that deliver the best results.
AI Applications: Augmenting the Customer Journey
No blog post on current trends would be complete without acknowledging the buzzword of the moment: “AI” or Artificial Intelligence. The report reveals that 68% of marketers now have a fully defined AI strategy, indicating a growing awareness of the benefits of AI. Marketers are leveraging AI applications to resolve customer identities, deliver real-time personalized offers, and bridge online and offline experiences. While digital channels are preferred by a majority of customers, 43% still express a preference for non-digital channels.
Marketers Leading with Values
Today’s customers want their values reflected in the brands they buy from, and marketers are responding. 85%of marketers say their external messaging reflects corporate values.
Customers are increasingly inclined to support companies that align with their values and prioritize ethical, social, and environmental objectives. The report highlights that 66% of customers have stopped buying from companies whose values do not align with theirs. Marketers recognize this unique opportunity and are embracing values-based messaging. By clearly stating their values and demonstrating them in their actions, marketers can attract and retain customers who share their beliefs.
Future Success: Skill Development and Continuous Learning
Looking ahead, marketers recognize the importance of improving skills in content marketing, campaign strategy, and data analytics. The report emphasizes the need for marketing leaders to upskill their teams, retain top talent, and create future-forward career paths. By investing in skill development and embracing lifelong learning, marketers can stay ahead of industry trends, drive innovation, and position themselves for long-term success.
Conclusion
The Salesforce State of Marketing Report provides valuable insights into how marketers are striving to deliver more value to their customers. By focusing on maximizing existing tools, redefining customer engagement, driving cross-channel experiences, building trust, and investing in skill development, marketers can navigate the evolving landscape and create meaningful connections with their target audience. Adopting these strategies will allow marketers to unlock new opportunities, drive growth, and achieve long-term success.