Marketing automation seems to be on everyone’s lips, but exactly how much have marketers adopted it? And how does it affect the way they build their marketing communication strategies?
We surveyed 200 senior-level UK marketers from different sized companies, across a range of industries to find out.
We anticipated two main camps of marketers; those who develop their plans around the technology they have, and those who look to technology only after a plan has been formulated. And to test our hypothesis, we asked them about their perceptions, appetite for and use of technology in conjunction with their marketing strategy.
To our surprise, the research revealed that there are actually three groups of marketers:
- technology reformists
- technology revolutionists
- hybrid technologists
In this post, we’ll explore who the technology reformists are. Download your free copy of the report to meet the other two types of marketers, and read about their experience with adopting marketing automation.
Technology Reformists’ attitude to marketing and technology
These marketers prefer to map out their strategies, and then consider what technology they can use to achieve their goals. Reformists are worried that technology will lead to a loss of personal touch, so they’re typically less interested in automation.
Professional environment
From a professional perspective, they are marketing managers in small businesses (21-50 employees). 41% of Technology Reformists have never used automation before, but 49% of the rest, who have used it, believe it’s had a positive impact on their marketing communication.
Perceptions and barriers to automated technology among marketers
Among the biggest perceived benefits from adopting automation has been customer engagement and increased sales opportunities. However, data integration is considered the biggest barrier to implementing automation (34% of marketers).
Want to know more? Download a free copy the Marketer vs Machine Report. And share your thoughts with us. Are you a reformist, revolutionist or hybrid technologist?