The marketing automation process has dozens of components, trends and statistics that regularly confuses many but the most savvy marketers, with new trends and technologies being added almost constantly. It’s important to know what the trends and statistics are so that each marketer understands not just what’s out there, but also which of those trends and technologies are most appropriate to their marketing methodologies.
As with most things, knowledge is power and not every methodology will be appropriate to every company but it’s always helpful to start with the big picture of what’s going on out there.
Trends and Statistics by the Numbers
- 72% of companies are successful with marketing automation
- 87% of marketing teams are currently using or plan on using automation software
- A third of marketing professionals say lack of know-how is their biggest barrier to automation adoption
- 83% of marketers think social media marketing is perfect for automation
- More than three-quarters of companies see a marketing ROI within one year of implementing a marketing automation platform
- The average marketing automation ROI is 544%
- 20% of businesses struggle to find the right marketing automation tool
- Lead generation and conversion are ranked as the most profitable uses of marketing automation
- Automated emails are opened 76% higher open rates
- 56% of marketers are concerned with keeping up with marketing automation innovation
- 9 in 10 CMOs were already using or planned on using marketing automation by the end of 2023
- Nearly half of marketers believe automation improves customer relationships
- There’s a clear correlation between using marketing automation and getting more repeat customers
- 67% of marketers view their email marketing automation efforts as being “very” or “quite” successful
- 85% of marketers believe marketing automation is effective
Digital marketing and specifically marketing automation took a huge leap forward during the Covid years but investing in marketing automation can be a big step. Marketers have all heard the hype about automation, but before taking the plunge, they understandably want to take a look at the numbers, but what do these marketing automation statistics say?
There are enough recent, reputable marketing automation statistics out there to make it pretty clear that marketing automation technology has value, and the automation trend isn’t going anywhere.
How Big Is the Marketing Automation Software Market?
Estimates vary, but many sources seem to agree that as of 2022 (the end of Covid), the marketing automation industry was worth somewhere between $5 billion and $20 billion. Some worth estimates put the number at $30 billion by 2028, and the long-term growth trajectory predicted by marketing automation industry experts varies greatly.
Part of the reason there’s such a wide range in valuation is that it’s not always clear precisely what counts as a quality automation system, and different research partners define the tools differently. For example, is a sales automation tool considered a marketing automation solution? What about (for example) B2B marketing automation platforms that include both marketing and sales-facing features?
One thing that virtually all marketing automation statistics agree on, however, is that the value of the marketing automation software market is rising, and it’s expected to keep rising swiftly. Many marketing automation analysts believe this market is worth USD $6.85 billion in 2024 and projects it’ll be worth USD $15.36 billion by 2029.
How Many Companies Are Using Marketing Automation?
According to a 2019 statistic, 75% of companies were using automation software as part of their marketing effort. That number has almost certainly grown now. However, most companies likely still haven’t implemented a complete marketing automation strategy. Only 25% of companies are making extensive use of marketing automation, according to one recent study.
Automation statistics have shown that the most popular use case for marketing automation so far is email marketing, with social media not far behind. This likely has much to do with ease of adoption; virtually all companies are already sending marketing emails using some kind of tool, and most email marketing tools now include some features for sending automated emails.
Email marketing thus provides an easy entry point for this new marketing technology, particularly for small businesses that may not have a lot of a marketing automation budget to throw around. It’s also a familiar place to start for older companies that are already familiar with direct mail and interested in dipping their toes into new marketing technology.
So, while most companies may be using automation to do things such as instantly sending welcome emails to new users or automating subject line A/B tests for open rate, far fewer have implemented holistic automation solutions. Fewer still are taking advantage of this new marketing technology in their content marketing, despite the fact that content marketing automations have the potential to substantially increase the ROI of content creation.
What Was the Percentage Increase in Revenue Generated From Marketing Automation?
According to a market report, the average company can expect automation to increase revenues by about 34%. Of course, this is just an average. The real number will be highly dependent on the specifics of a particular business, and the types of automation it pursues. For example, a company using automation purely to schedule social media posts isn’t likely to see a massive boost in revenue.
However, a company with a full-on marketing automation strategy aimed at increasing customer engagement throughout the funnel while following best practices every step of the way will likely see a much greater impact.
How Does Marketing Automation Impact Sales Productivity?
According to research and consulting firms, marketing automation typically increases sales productivity. In part, this is because automation reduces the manual, repetitive tasks that can be associated with the sales process, enabling the sales team to spend less time entering data and more time closing deals.
Marketing automation also contributes to sales productivity by generating a greater volume and a higher quality of leads and assisting with lead management. Automation statistics, for example, show that automation leads to a 32% increase in qualified leads from marketing to sales. And further research shows that using automation can result in a 10% increase in sales pipeline.
- 72% Of Successful Companies Are Using Automation.
One study of 402 Swiss marketers (most of them from B2B companies) found that successful companies were several times more likely to be using marketing automation than unsuccessful companies.
72% of successful companies were using marketing automation, compared to just 18% of unsuccessful ones. Similarly, 84% of successful companies were using CRM/sales automation, while just 42% of the unsuccessful companies were. This gap may be related to another one found by the same study. 82% of successful companies were using digital analytics tools such as Google Analytics, whereas just 27% of unsuccessful companies were engaged in digital analytics.
The study compared successful and unsuccessful firms across a number of different sales and marketing activities, and the gaps between them weren’t always so broad. For example, 95% of successful companies are using email marketing, but so are 85% of unsuccessful ones.
The largest gaps between successful and unsuccessful firms were in marketing automation for lead gen (58% more of the successful companies were doing it), marketing analytics (55% more), and general marketing automation (54% more).
- 87% Of Companies Are Using or Plan to Use Marketing Automation Software
Only 25% of companies say they were making extensive use of marketing automation software as of 2021, per the same study of Swiss companies. This suggests that while almost every company recognizes the value of marketing automation, actually implementing it into a marketing campaign can still be a major differentiator, as most companies haven’t yet been able to fully integrate automation into their marketing operations.
That window of opportunity likely won’t be around for long. Very few marketing professionals (fewer than 10%) felt that marketing automation would lack value for their company. Just 2% said that marketing automation wasn’t a part of their company’s future.
- Lack of Know-How Is the Biggest Barrier to Adoption of Marketing Automation Tools.
Companies reported a variety of barriers to the adoption of marketing automation software, but the top three were lack of internal expertise (33%), poor or insufficient data (24%), and lack of prioritization from the company (24%). Among these, lack of expertise is the biggest barrier across companies of all sizes, according to the Swiss study. Companies with small, medium, and large marketing budgets all reported that a lack of internal expertise was their biggest barrier to adoption. One in five companies also cited the technical complexity inherent in implementing automation as a barrier to adoption.
- 83% Of Marketers Say Social Media Is Ripe for Automation
There are a wide variety of use cases for marketing automation software, but according to a 2019 report that surveyed marketers, social media posting is one of the ripest areas for automation. 83% said that they thought social media posting was well-suited for automation. Besides that, automation can be used to perform basic social media customer service tasks, curate content, and respond to social media user inquiries.
And from an analytics standpoint, automation can be used to help brands figure out what is and isn’t working with their social media campaign. Email marketing was also close to the top of the list, with 75% of marketers saying that email automation was worth pursuing. In terms of what’s actually in use, though, email marketing automation is actually more widely used than any other form of marketing automation, including social media.
- 76% See ROI From Automation Within One Year
Marketers typically don’t have to wait long to see their investment in marketing automation pay off. More than three-quarters of marketers say they see a positive ROI within the first year after implementation. In fact, nearly half of them (44%) say that they see a positive ROI within the first six months. The quality, ease of use, and variety of marketing automation software have skyrocketed in just the past few years.
- Marketing Automation Generates ROIs of More Than 500%
When public case studies of marketing automation were reviewed from just a few years ago, they found that on average, for every dollar spent on marketing automation, companies could expect a return of $5.44 over the first three years. In other words, companies that practiced optimizing marketing automation were generating an average return of 544%. That’s impressive, particularly considering that the nature of averages means that some companies were generating even stronger ROI. Where are those returns coming from?
According to the research, marketing automation provides benefits including more efficient digital marketing operations and campaigns, more productive marketing team members, cost savings, improved engagement from leads and prospects, and a better customer experience.
- 20% Of Companies Say Finding the Right Marketing Automation Tools Challenging
Although there are a wide variety of marketing automation platforms and tools on the market, one in every five companies struggles to find the right tool for the job, according to a 2019 report. This likely has less to do with the lack of quality or available automation tools and more to do with the challenges that companies face in choosing between so many options.
The best marketing automation tools aren’t always the most popular ones, either. The fact that a lack of internal expertise in marketing automation is the biggest single barrier to adoption that companies face is probably also a factor here. Companies that are struggling to choose tools may not even have the internal know-how to effectively compare their options.
- B2B Marketers Say the Most Profitable Uses of Automation Are Lead Generation (80%) And Conversion (71%)
Companies may not all be on the same page about actually implementing automation, but among B2B marketers, there’s a strong consensus that it adds a ton of value and should be part of any forward-thinking marketing strategy. Specifically, 80% B2B marketers say they see the potential profitability of automation as coming from an increase in quality lead generation. 71% said the same thing about sales conversion.
- Automated Emails Have 70.5% Higher Open Rates and 152% Higher CTR
Technology solutions firms that sends hundreds of millions of emails each year have shared data on the performance of their automated email marketing in comparison with other messages. On the whole, triggered messages — automated messages sent as the direct result of a user action — have 76% higher open rates. This makes sense, given that using automated triggers to respond instantly is a powerful form of customer engagement.
It was also noted that when click-through rates drop, it can be because some customers don’t want to make certain types of purchases on mobile devices. There, automation can be used for retargeting to re-engage these users when they’re on a desktop or laptop.
- 56% Of Marketers Doubt Their Company Can Keep Up With the Innovation in Marketing Automation
According to research, most marketers are concerned that their companies aren’t willing or able to keep up with the fast pace of growth and development in the marketing automation industry. That’s a worrying marketing automation trend but could be a good area of differentiation for companies looking to set themselves apart from the pack when hiring marketers and marketing automation users.
Implementing a holistic, forward-thinking marketing automation strategy may make it easier to source and win quality marketing hires, in addition to the benefits it can provide in terms of revenue.
- 90% Of CMOs Planned to Use Marketing Automation by the End of 2021
It’s not just the on-the-ground marketers who are sold on the benefits of marketing automation software. Their bosses are very interested in it too! Dun & Bradstreet surveyed more than 250 Chief Marketing Officers across eight industry sectors in India in 2021 and found that 90% were already using automation or had plans to start using it before the end of the year.
- 48% Of Marketers Say Automation Strengthens Relationships With Customers
One recent automation statistics study looked into how sales and marketing automation have affected companies’ relationships with customers in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced traditionally offline brands to focus more on fostering digital customer engagement. 48% of respondents said that automation efforts such as content marketing automation weren’t just helping them improve their company’s bottom line, it was actually helping their brands create a better customer experience and build closer relationships with customers.
- Marketing Automation Can Generate Repeat Customers
A recent study of more than 300 Chinese “digital native” consumers found that marketing automation techniques such as chatbots enhanced customer engagement and ultimately contributed to a more positive customer experience that led to repeat sales. This demonstrates that marketing automation isn’t just an important tool for attracting new customers or generating leads, it’s an important tool for turning one-time buyers into loyal fans of the brand, too.
- 67% Of Marketers Say Their Email Marketing Automation Is “Very” or “Quite” Successful
Of marketers who try email marketing find success, 67% of them said their email marketing was “very” or “quite” successful. Perhaps relatedly, 66% of respondents said that automation was the most important feature they looked for in an email marketing tool.
- 85% Of Marketers Say Their Automation Is Effective
A 2018 marketing automation trends survey asked 350 B2B marketing professionals across North America and Europe about their experiences with automation. A strong majority, 85%, said their marketing automation work was effective. Perhaps even more tellingly, the vast majority — a whopping 98% — agreed that marketing automation was critical to the long-term success of their businesses. Clearly, automation has an important role to play in the B2B marketing funnel.
Conclusions
When you review marketing automation statistics, the conclusion becomes clear fairly quickly: marketing automation works. At the same time, though, it’s also clear that many marketers think their companies aren’t doing enough, and many companies think they lack the internal skills required to implement marketing automation effectively for long-term success. So getting the most out of your marketing automation tools comes down to the amount of preparation your team does to understand:
- Your ideal clients: are they other businesses or the general public? It matters because where you go to connect with your customers depends more on this distinction than many others.
- Consider the top 5-10% of customers your company has and ask yourself what they have in common. Are they from the same industries, related industries, age groups or gender?
- Can your sales team tell you what they buy, what their sales process is and who the key decision makers are? Do these customers incrementally make lots of smaller purchases or tend to maker fewer, higher volume purchases?
- How long of a sales cycle is generally involved and how long does it take for your sales team to complete their discovery and quoting process?
- If you provide technical products and services, at what point does that team get involved?
Clearly, every company will have a unique journey with regard to marketing automation and we’re honored to have provided some of the ‘food for thought’ regarding that journey. If your current marketing software is older than 5-7 years it’s probably worth a second look, or if you have a CRM system that makes minimal use of automation it’s certainly worth a deeper dive into what’s possible regardless of the budget your company has in mind. And as we’ve already discussed, every tool isn’t necessarily a good fit for every company’s marketing efforts. If we’ve peaked your interest on this subject, or for additional information and to continue this conversation please contact khermes@thebestsolution.com or rnovia@thebestsolution.com it would be our pleasure to answer any questions you may have!
