Study: Marketers spending more but not spending efficiently

"Business leaders are aware of the value online marketing provides, but there is a disconnect in that many are not sure they are utilizing it effectively," said John Squire, chief strategy officer, Coremetrics. "Companies that can harness marketing technology can then get the most meaning and value out of the data they collect from it. In turn this enables companies to personalize their marketing efforts and create a competitive advantage."

The study, The Face of the New Marketer, found:

• 81% of marketers want to improve the quality of content and product offerings
• Only 51% use personalization tools
• 45% of marketers are challenged by getting 'integrated views' of customers
• 41% of marketers have problems interpreting marketing data
• 62% of marketers say they may not be tracking the right metrics for peak, online performance

What can be done?

First, marketers need to get comfortable with personalization, and that means contacting an ad firm specializing in personalization (or maybe two firms, for comparison's sake).

Second, marketers need to work with the tools to tweak campaign performance, but first they need to simply get comfortable with interpreting online metrics. That may mean hiring an outsider to explain the differences in metrics.

According to research the online ad space will see increased spending of nearly 70% in 2010. That means the time is now for marketers to start personalizing campaigns and offers to engage consumers.

The study was conducted by Bloomberg BusinessWeek Research Services in conjunction with Coremetrics.

Tags: Coremetrics, email marketing, online advertising, personalization, personalized advertising, personalized messages