Ovum issues warning: Ignore marketing automation at your peril

The global analyst firm is witnessing a critical mass of businesses making a leap of faith to invest in marketing automation, as internal pressures to automate marketing and fears of competitive disadvantage grow.

New research* from Ovum's Digital Marketing and Connected Customer practice reveals that a cadre of enlightened CEOs and CMOs will drive the digital agenda and adoption of marketing automation. "Marketing professionals that ignore the significance of automation in the face of stakeholder pressure to be accountable, measurable, and transparent do so at their own peril," warns Gerry Brown, senior digital marketing analyst at Ovum. "Automation can provide a much-needed boost to marketing's credibility. It can change the common perception of marketing being a cost centre to becoming a valued source of incremental revenue, profit, and customer loyalty."

Organisations will need to adapt to accommodate digital marketing

According to the report, users will develop a taste for marketing innovation using marketing automation technology tools. Improved industry benchmarks, campaign experimentation, and revenue predictions will encourage "what if" scenario planning and real-time, event-driven decision-making within marketing.

Organisations will need to adjust their structure to accommodate digital marketing, replacing traditional hierarchies with more collaborative models that cut across organisational silos. Organisations will also need to recruit a different mix of analytical, technical, and creative talents within marketing to exploit fully the opportunities offered by digital marketing.
"However, while marketing automation technology is showing explosive growth, it's not for the fainthearted. Marketing automation also requires dedication and sustained resource commitment to make it fly, especially in the area of data management," concludes Gerry Brown.

*Marketing Automation Technologies: What's Next for Vendors and Customers?