Salesforce has published its ninth edition of the State of Marketing report. The research sought the opinions of marketing leaders worldwide to understand the biggest trends, priorities, and challenges affecting marketers today. The report documents how markets have evaluated the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and implementing it in their operations. In addition, their approach their data acquisition, maintenance and applications strategies to ensure customer trust and security as vulnerabilities increase.
Today, 92% of retailers report they are investing more than ever in AI to improve shopping experiences. 68% of customers report advances in AI make it more important for companies to be trustworthy, cementing the industries’ need for trusted AI implementation.
Salesforce surveyed 4,850 marketers across 29 countries for a pulse check on the state of personalised customer engagement, operational efficiencies, and the use of data, technology, and AI to do it all.
Three types of respondents
The report classified survey respondents into three tiers.
- 22% Underperformers: Moderately or less satisfied with overall outcomes of marketing investment.
- 46% Moderate performers: Highly satisfied with overall outcomes of marketing investment.
- 32% High performers: Completely satisfied with overall outcomes of marketing.
Priorities and challenges for a new marketing era
Marketers are evolving their practices in a highly competitive landscape. They are looking to AI—both generative and predictive—to help personalise at scale and boost efficiency. Marketers rank AI adoption as their number one priority and challenge.
1 Marketers shore up their data foundations
Businesses have long struggled to connect disparate data points to create consistent, personalised experiences across customer journeys. Yet as third-party cookies are depreciated and AI proliferates, that quest is only becoming more critical — and challenging. Only 31% of marketers are fully satisfied with their ability to unify customer data sources.
2 Marketers embrace AI with an eye on trust
Marketers are overhauling their engagement strategies in a highly competitive landscape. They are intent on successfully applying AI in their operations with the right data but are concerned about security and customer trust as adoption ramps up. 32% of marketing organisations have fully implemented AI in their workflows, and an additional 43% are experimenting with it. Enterprises are looking to AI, both generative and predictive, to help personalise at scale and boost efficiency. However, implementation challenges remain.
3 Full personalisation remains a work in progress
What constitutes a “personalised experience” continues to mature. However, there is a stark difference between how the highest- and lowest-performing marketing teams adapt. On average, high performers fully personalise across six channels, compared with underperformers who fully personalise across three.
4 Marketers seek unified analytics
There is no shortage of data sources, but putting that data to work is a challenge. Only 48% of marketers track customer lifetime value (CLV).
5 Deeper relationships emerge with ABM and loyalty programmes
Companies are increasingly turning to strategies like account-based marketing (ABM) and loyalty programs for better customer acquisition and retention. Yet many of these program’s information sources remain disjointed, and so is the resulting customer experience. 39% of marketers say loyalty programme functionalities are accessible across all touchpoints.
AI adoption – #1 priority and their #1 challenge
- 75% of marketers are experimenting with or have fully implemented AI into their workflows.
- High performing marketing teams are 2.5x more likely than underperformers to have fully implemented AI.
- The two most popular AI-use cases among marketers include both predictive (automated customer interactions) and generative (content generation) applications.
Shoring up data foundation
Marketers shore up data foundations to fuel AI, analytics, and growth. There is no shortage of data sources, but putting them to work is a challenge. Businesses have long struggled to connect disparate data points to create timely, consistent, personalised experiences across customer journeys. KPIs that rely on holistic views of data prove difficult to measure.
- Only 31% of marketers are fully satisfied with their ability to unify customer data sources.
- While 57% of marketers have access to real-time data to execute a campaign, 59% need IT’s help to do so.
- Only 48% of markets track customer lifetime value (CLV)
Loyalty programmes driving deeper customer relationships
Companies are increasingly turning to account-based marketing (ABM) and loyalty programs for better acquisition and retention. While marketers are increasingly applying ABM for customer acquisition, fewer are leveraging it to deepen existing customer relationships.
- 39% of marketers say loyalty program functionalities are accessible across all touchpoints.
- 60% of B2B marketers use ABM for customer acquisition. However, less than half use it for upselling and cross-selling (48% and 43%), respectively.
Enterprise Times: What this means for businesses.
Customer expectations for personalisation continue to rise. As a result, marketing teams in businesses are demanding the tools to support the effective delivery of personalised digital experiences. The timing was perfect, as society is in a new wave of the artificial intelligence revolution — catalysed by the generative AI gold rush.
Marketers are leading the charge by embracing rapid advancements in technology to better connect with customers and prospects. But AI is not just marketers’ biggest priority. It is also their biggest challenge. A superior understanding of data is critical to AI success for marketers to bring together customer data for real-time engagement. That is the essential truth from Salesforce’s latest State of Marketing report.
However, a glaring omission in the report is the lack of discussion on social media, particularly its impact on digital marketing. Today’s marketeer cannot afford social media as part of the marketing mix, especially when developing relationships with Gen Z customers. Yet the report barely mentions social media. The report remains a handy guide for any organisation navigating this rapidly evolving landscape.
