CRM - March 2008 - (Page E10)

10 March 2008 Sponsored Content CMO’s Road to Customer Centricity leads Down Digital Highway MARKETERS LOOK FOR CRM TO INTEGRATE DATABASE AND ANALYTICS TO DRIVE ONLINE GROWTH Online marketing growth in 2008 is likely to match or exceed the record-setting growth experienced in 2007. In the recently released Alterian survey of almost 900 marketers and providers of marketing services including systems integrators (SIs), agencies, and database marketing service providers (MSPs), a strong 84% of respondents plan to increase their online spend in 2008. ONLINE SPENDING PREDICTIONS 2008: PERCENTAGE OF ONLINE BUDGETS OVER $1 MILLION: (One third of marketers now have an online marketing budget over $1M dollars, up from just 23% last year) (Alterian Annual Survey, The Road to Customer Centricity, January 2008, 852 respondents, to download complete survey results please visit www.alterian.com/surveybrief) However, the most interesting survey analysis was the identification of a concerning paradox for the CMO. The road to customer centricity appears to be heading down the digital highway. With increasing online budgets it seems the CMO can continue to rely on the agency to drive, as the survey also revealed agencies control most of the online spend in companies. However, the paradox emerges from the fact that database marketing and analytics is the most sought after skill by the marketing department today. Many agencies simply do not have these skills to offer the CMO. WHERE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ARE BEING ALLOCATED IN 2008: Similarly, in a recent survey conducted by BtoB Magazine, 2008 Marketing Priorities and Plans, the average percentage of the overall marketing budget spent next year on online marketing is predicted to be 33.8%, up from 26.5% in 2007. And according to Gartner ‘Predicts 2008, CRM Investments Will Shift to Fuel Increased Return on Investment’ (by Kimberly Collins et al, November 2007). “By 2011, 15% of traditional media advertising investments will be redirected to building online customer experiences with established customers.” And despite some critics that attribute online growth rate to a growing number of smaller companies getting online with smaller budgets, the surveyed revealed a significant increase in larger online budgets of $1 million dollars or more. far greater than it has ever been, as this survey validated. The connected world we live in today is giving marketers access to more data than they have ever had. We know that this information can help our programs be more effective and critical in improving the customer experience. However, we also know that our competitors have access to the same information and channels. The CMO’s battle is in the trenches; turning the connected world, and the vast amounts of data it gives us, into value for both the company and the customer. The competitive war is less over product, price, promotion, and placement. Our connected world has turned those traditional strategies into commodities. While what waits at the end of the marketer’s journey may not be clear to us, this survey strongly indicates that the beginning of the marketer’s journey has a definite starting line. Developing a strong competency in database marketing and analytics will not only make our online strategies (and increasing spend) more effective, but it could give the CMO their most competitive marketing weapon today. The results of this survey clearly indicate that over the next 12 months agencies, MSPs and SIs offering online marketing services driven by an integrated database and analytics foundation, are likely to enjoy customer acquisition and retention success. ABOUT ALTERIAN Alterian helps marketers improve results through its enterprise marketing software platform and global partner community of over 70 leading marketing services providers, agencies and systems integrators. By combining database, digital, and operational marketing applications on a shared data infrastructure, the Alterian Marketing Services Platform makes it practical and cost effective for marketers to gain actionable insight and use this to execute an integrated marketing strategy across online and offline channels. Visit www.alterian.com for more information. This explains why CRM systems integrators and Database Marketing Providers with strong analytical skills are growing despite the decrease in many CRM functions and offline direct marketing spending. It seems that the online world needs database marketing and analytics as much as the offline world did. In fact, the need for database marketing and analytics is http://www.alterian.com/surveybrief http://www.alterian.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - March 2008

CRM - March 2008 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Re-shoring Contact Centers NetSuite’s Sweet Ride Takes Another Turn SaaS X.0? destinationCRM Dashboard Retailers Dream Big Detroit: Driven to Distraction Required Reading The Markets Within the Masses In Search of... Selling CRM to Your Sales Force Quixtar’s Quick Fix Travelocity’s New Traveling Companion Chasing Down First-Call Resolution Governing Better Marketing Secret of My Success Re: Tooling Connect Pint of View

CRM - March 2008

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