BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - January 10, 2008) - As the pressure for companies to increase
top-line revenue growth continues to mount, organizations are focusing on
new ways to bridge the gap that traditionally exists between sales and
marketing departments. In addition to key organizational and performance
management initiatives, companies are integrating sales and marketing
technologies to drive performance in annual revenue, Return on Marketing
Investment (ROMI), and lead conversion rates. By integrating essential
sales and marketing technologies, such as CRM, marketing automation, email
marketing, and web analytics, Best-in-Class companies can predict and
fulfill customer needs with greater accuracy. A recent study, "The
Convergence of Sales and Marketing Technologies," conducted by Aberdeen, a
Harte-Hanks Company (
NYSE:
HHS), revealed that 73% of Best-in-Class
organizations are currently integrating sales and marketing technologies.
The study reveals the measurable strategic value in integrating sales and
marketing technologies.
This integration stems from the expectation that sales and marketing
departments contribute tangible value to a company's bottom line. Survey
respondents identified the need to increase top-line revenue growth and
improve the ROMI as the top two pressures causing companies to focus
resources on integrating sales and marketing technologies, 60% and 58%
respectively. Best-in-Class companies indicated that they currently
utilize lead management solutions (79%), CRM / SFA (76%), email marketing
(88%), and marketing automation (70%) -- and 73% currently integrate one or
more marketing technologies with CRM. Furthermore, Best-in-Class companies
are two-times more likely than Industry Average and Laggards to integrate
marketing campaign data at the customer / account level within CRM.
"The proliferation of marketing and sales channels continues to challenge
every organization to identify the most effective, efficient ways to
leverage the data that is typically spread across multiple disparate
systems," explains Ian Michiels, a research analyst at Aberdeen. "The
opportunity to drive top-line revenue and increase return on marketing
investment lie in the effective integration between disparate information
sources within sales and marketing. In the future, Best-in-Class
organizations will focus on building an integrated sales and marketing
platform through integration and closed-loop practices."
The report demonstrates the value of combining key process organizational
processes, such as formalized processes for sharing data between sales and
marketing, with crucial technology enablers to provide better alignment
between the two departments. By standardizing certain performance metrics,
such as a shared definition for measuring ROI on marketing campaigns (36%),
Best-in-Class companies are able to blend organizational capabilities with
technology implementation to create the "perfect storm" of sales and
marketing effectiveness.
The research educates readers on how to support ROMI initiatives through
technology implementation. The report also provides that results that
Best-in-Class companies achieve across key sales and marketing metrics
after integrating technology enablers and compares these companies to the
Industry Average and Laggards who have not yet pursued a similar strategy.
A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the
following underwriters: Eloqua, Market2Lead, Neolane, and ExactTarget. To
obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=4177.
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market
intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more
than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely
positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating
demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment
analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets,
corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in
context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's
analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of
Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement -
Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role
Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit
Aberdeen
http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more
about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to
http://www.harte-hanks.com.
© 2008 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
260 Franklin Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110-3112
Telephone: (617) 723-7890
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com
Contact Information: Media Contact:
Ian Michiels
Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
(925) 264-1824
Ian.michiels@aberdeen.com