Eloqua Publishes First Ever Modern Marketing Study

Eloqua, the marketing system of record for modern marketers, today announced results from a comprehensive survey of U.S.-based B2B marketers, which was published in a report entitled “Defining the Modern Marketer: From Real to Ideal.” The report,* created in conjunction with BtoB Magazine, Crain Communications offers in-depth insight into how marketing's role has evolved to include both art and science and more specifically, what skills and technologies marketers need to improve ROI.

Modern Marketer Defined

The study found that the modern marketer persona is ideally three-fold - a hybrid of content marketer, brand marketer and web marketer. These three "marketer types" were chosen by survey participants when asked about the current modern marketer role. Successful marketing, however, includes more than three roles and should factor in the use of marketing technology (CRM systems, marketing automation), analytics, targeting, conversion (prospect to customer) and engagement (the right content through the right channels). These five marketing areas were chosen to make up the ideal modern marketer scorecard. The ideal modern marketer has the optimal percentage of all five skill areas - adding up to 100 percent. However, when it came time for survey respondents to rate themselves based on the five core skills, their current performance was barely passable, adding up to only 65 percent.

The Right Blend of Art and Science

Respondents recognize it’s crucial to have both art and science as part of their marketing efforts. But while today's modern marketer needs to be equal parts creative, analytical, and tech savvy, survey participants feel unprepared to handle the science side of the equation. The scorecard revealed that marketers gave themselves the lowest ratings in the areas of analytics and marketing technology. Marketers need to focus on getting the right tools and technologies in place to address the science of marketing in 2013 and beyond.

Traditional Marketing Tactics Dominate While Content is On the Rise

Despite an onslaught of new vendors in the social media space, B2B marketers today still very much rely on more traditional digital channels, including email and their company websites. When asked to rank the three most important channels for a marketer's organization, the survey found that the company website, email, and face-to-face events topped the list in that order. Content marketing helps provide the right information for these channels and according to the survey results, is still in high demand as respondents declared content marketing as "very important" to their overall marketing mix.

Roadblocks to Become Modern Marketers

The survey also identified the major obstacles marketers face as they try to become more modern. Respondents pointed to lack of budget and poor data analytics infrastructure as the two top roadblocks.

“The B2B buying process has fundamentally changed,” said Joe Payne, CEO, Eloqua. “As prospects conduct the bulk of their research online, sales reps enter the buying cycle much later. The process has become marketing-driven and today's marketing team plays a critical role. Marketing is adopting new digital strategies to improve the buying process and more importantly the overall customer experience. This study presents a deep view of where marketers stand today and where they need to go to be successful.”

According to Bob Felsenthal, publisher of BtoB Magazine, Crain Communications: “The evolution of marketing strategies and tactics in the B2B world has accelerated rapidly in recent years. There is certainly a need for a definition of what makes a modern marketer, and working with our BtoB marketer audience and Eloqua, this study clearly underlines the new attributes of the modern marketer profile.”

As part of “Defining the Modern Marketer: From Real to Ideal” which is available for free download, Eloqua will host a webinar along with BtoB Magazine and an Eloqua customer to discuss the study and survey results in detail. The webinar will take place March 28th. For marketers interested in scoring their own performance to see where they rank, Eloqua's website will host a scorecard simulator in the near future.

About Eloqua

Eloqua, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oracle, is the leading provider of modern marketing automation and revenue performance management software that helps ensure every component of marketing works harder and more efficiently to drive revenue. Eloqua’s software is now the centerpiece of the Oracle Marketing Cloud. Companies across a wide range of industries rely on Eloqua’s cloud-based software, professional services and education programs to help them automate marketing processes across multiple channels, target and nurture prospects and deliver highly qualified leads at a lower cost to sales teams. For more information, visit www.eloqua.com, subscribe to the It's All About Revenue blog, call 866-327-8764, or email [e-mail]

*Research methodology: US-based B2B marketing professionals were invited to participate in an e-mail survey. The final report is based off 556 respondents who are currently using digital marketing technology or are evaluating its use.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130304005971/en/