Findings Point to an Urgent Need for More Effective, Integrated
Content Marketing Strategies; Expert Panel to Discuss Mid-Size
Marketing Challenges -- and Opportunities -- in Webinar on May 15
SAN MATEO, CA--(May 5, 2014) - A first-of-its-kind
study released today shows that in-house marketers at mid-sized
companies are literally drowning in a sea of vendors, technologies and
complexity. They are in so deep that the majority are interested in
bringing on a "mini chief information officer" who can help them deal
with and integrate myriad apps, platforms and cloud-based software
solutions. The study, "Marketing Got Complicated: Challenges (and
Opportunities) for Marketers at Mid-Size Companies," was commissioned by
marketing software company DNN
to better understand the challenges facing marketers at companies in
the mid-sized segment, defined as those with 50 to 5000 employees.
More than half of the study's respondents (53%) use five or
more discrete marketing technology solutions such as marketing
automation software, CRM, email marketing and social media tools,
etc. Fifteen percent use a mind-boggling 10 or more different
technologies for their daily work activities. Perhaps most telling of
all is that, in a still-shaky economy, survey respondents seem to have
difficulty prioritizing marketing activities, identifying five out of
seven common marketing tasks as high or very high priority activities.
"The cry for help from mid-market marketing professionals is
loud and clear," said Navin Nagiah, president and CEO, DNN. "They have
greater and more direct responsibility for revenue in a market where
there is a content glut, an over-abundance of software and technology
from a multitude of vendors, and a plethora of online social channels to
manage. Their jobs have never been more difficult. Ruthless
prioritization, a focus on quick and measurable ROI, and embracing data
are the needs of the hour."
The study, conducted in conjunction with Lawless Research,
analyzed input from more than 300 marketing executives at US companies
during February 2014. Its findings point to an urgent need for more
effective, integrated content marketing strategies. It recommends that
marketers with limited resources must hire wisely, focus on strategy
first and execution second in order to ensure they are focusing where it
will matter most, and explore integrated technology suites that will
maximize resources.
Additional key findings include:
- The top three marketing priorities for mid-sized
companies in 2014 are to acquire new customers (87%), increase customer
retention (86%), and increase brand awareness (80%).
- 79% of marketing executives say it's a challenge to get (and hold)
the attention of target customers, and 72% say it's difficult to find
their target audiences online.
- 70% agree that marketing has become more challenging, despite (or,
perhaps, because of) the wide range of technology solutions available to
them.
- 53% of mid-sized companies use five or more marketing technology solutions. 15% use 10 or more.
79% of respondents somewhat or strongly agree that online
communities are a "critical channel" for their marketing efforts. By the
end of the year, 77% of respondents say their companies plan to have
online communities in place, 90% of them including customers, 77%
including employees.
About DNN
DNN provides a suite of solutions that make designing,
building and managing feature-rich sites and communities fast, easy and
cost-effective. The DNN Platform CMS is the foundation for over 750,000
websites worldwide and powers Evoq Content. Evoq Social, our newest
solution, enables businesses to create immersive, interactive
communities. Thousands of organizations like Bank of America, Aetna,
True Value Hardware, Whirlpool, the National Football League (NFL), the
US Department of Defense (DoD) and Sports Direct have leveraged DNN to
deploy highly engaging business-critical websites. Our rapid growth in
product sales and deployments resulted in DNN being named one of the
fastest growing private companies in America by Inc. Magazine in 2011
and 2012.
Get started building your online community today -- call us at (650) 288-3150.
DotNetNuke® and DNN® are registered trademarks of DNN Corp.
All other registered and unregistered trademarks in this document are
the sole property of their respective owners.
Related Infographic
View our infographic, which includes key findings and data points from the report:
Contact Information
Dennis Shiao
DNN
917-903-8764
dennis.shiao@dnnsoftware.com