Digital marketing strategies not clearly defined

A quarter of UK businesses feel that a lack of a clearly defined

digital marketing strategy is the biggest barrier to effectively running customer-facing campaigns, according to research released today.

A study from e-commerce analysts Econsultancy and cross-channel marketing solutions specialists Responsys found that only 32 per cent of digital marketers across the retail and general business sectors consider themselves ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ at driving co-ordinated marketing campaigns across multichannel platforms. “This research points to a staggering gap between what digital marketers in the UK know they should be doing, and what is actually happening on the ground,” said Simon Robinson, Senior Marketing and Alliances Director for Responsys EMEA.

“The results are clear – companies that integrate channels as part of a coordinated marketing strategy see significant payback, especially in the areas of display, social and mobile, and those that do not, risk losing out to the competition.”

Earlier this week, experts pointed out that retailers not offering online recommendations to their customers are losing out on potential £9 billion in additional online revenue. As online retail spend is set to increase from £68.2 billion last year by 13 per cent over 2012, retailers must better their understanding of the benefits of an omnichannel offering. Robinson concluded: “To get ahead in today’s environment, marketers need to do more than just adding new channels to innovate, they must think strategically about how they work together to be effective.”