Press Releases

Digital Spending Black Hole Causes Headaches for Marketers

Windsor, UK., January 19, 2009 – A significant 79 per cent of online retailers in the UK are suffering from digital marketing headaches, signaling an industry-wide need for greater education into marketing campaign analysis. New in-depth industry research, commissioned by Coremetrics, the leading provider of online marketing and business optimisation solutions, has found that the biggest marketing headaches are deciding where to spend marketing budget, for nearly a third of respondents, and knowing how to determine ROI on elements of their marketing mix, for 29 per cent.

The other main marketing headaches include:

• Comparing campaigns across vendors and channels (32 per cent)
• Information overload about digital marketing initiatives (23 per cent)
• Understanding relationships between campaigns (14 per cent)
• Understanding which campaigns are driving customer acquisition (9 per cent)

These headaches are unsurprising, as a shocking 96 per cent of marketers in the retail sector are not measuring ROI across all of their marketing tactics. Furthermore, an astonishing 25 per cent do not measure ROI across any online marketing tactics at all.

Richard Sheppard, VP, EMEA, Coremetrics, comments: “To cure these marketing headaches it is important that marketers understand and measure how each tactic interlinks and influences purchase decisions, known as value attribution. As well as ensuring that each marketing element is pulling its weight individually, marketers must look at campaigns holistically to make sure the different channels interact effectively. Web analytics technology provides this data, delivering clear and tailored analysis of online campaigns, so budget can be traced, rather than disappearing into a spending black hole.”

Despite this lack of understanding of how to measure integrated marketing techniques, a third of respondents are expecting to add further online tactics to their marketing mix in 2009. In a bid to entice thrifty shoppers, special offers were the top tactic expected to be implemented in the coming year. However, special offers were the least measured tactic by those who already use it, with 90 per cent not measuring ROI on their efforts.

Richard Sheppard adds: “Tellingly, all the UK retail companies that have collapsed over the past month have all had a poor web presence, showing that digital is a key weapon in retailers’ arsenal. Having a strong and informed web presence, to capture customers that are abandoning the high street, is crucial for retail success in 2009.”

Coremetrics takes the guesswork out of digital marketing with a range of applications and services to get inside customer’s heads and provide targeted marketing strategies. For example:

• Coremetrics Analytics™ captures every click of every web visitor in
  LIVE¹ Profiles
• Coremetrics Benchmark™ accurately measures marketing results against
  the competition
• Coremetrics Explore™ provides insights into business trends, such as
  visitor engagement
• Coremetrics LIVEmail™ data fuels the engine that powers your outbound
  email campaigns
• Coremetrics Intelligent Offer™ drives product promotions, based on
  visitor behaviour
• Coremetrics Search™ guides marketers in PPC search by tying bids to
  specific metrics

About the Research
‘The Eyes & Ears of Digital Marketing Survey’ was conducted by Dynamic Markets, on behalf of Coremetrics in November 2008. The survey examined the effectiveness of the digital marketing formulas adopted by European online retailers, as well as the effectiveness of those campaigns in the eyes of consumers. The digital marketing survey was conducted amongst middle and senior marketing managers responsible for e-commerce sites of large retail and wholesale companies with more than 250 employees. 100 respondents were surveyed in the UK, France and Germany, totaling 300 respondents. The consumer survey was conducted among 1,000 adult consumers, aged 18+, in the UK, France & Germany, totaling 3,000 respondents.

About Coremetrics
Coremetrics is the leading provider of online marketing and business optimisation solutions. Its products help businesses increase revenues and find and retain their most profitable customers by maximising every online interaction. More than 1,500 online business sites globally, transacting more than $15 billion this year, use Coremetrics’ Software as a Service (SaaS) to optimise their online marketing. Coremetrics’ solutions encompass advanced online analytics and integrated precision marketing applications, including search engine bid management, email targeting and cross sell recommendations to acquire customers more cost effectively, increase conversion rates, and increase lifetime customer value. Coremetrics is consistently recognised by industry analysts and thought leaders, and in 2008 was named to Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 Program for Silicon Valley Internet, Media, Entertainment and Communications companies. The company is privately held with funding from 3i, Accel Partners, FTVentures, and
Highland Capital Partners. Coremetrics Europe is headquartered in Windsor, Berkshire and corporate headquarters is located in San Mateo, California. To learn more about Coremetrics, visit www.coremetrics.co.uk or call 01753 272 220.

Coremetrics has strongly supported online privacy since its inception. To learn more, visit http://www.coremetrics.co.uk/company/privacy.php.

For more information please contact:
Louise Greeves / Nina Howse
Midnight Communications
Tel: 01273 666200
Email: coremetrics@midnight.co.uk

¹LIVE = Lifetime Individual Visitor Profiles

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