Digital ad expectations based on guesswork

Marketers are eager to jump on the digital advertising bandwagon but not enough are using analytics to measure the efficiency of their online strategy according to a survey carried out by WebTrends.

The online data company adds that the expectations of marketing departments are based more on guesswork than proper evaluation.

The survey, which questioned 200 marketers, has also found that 89% say they have met or exceeded expectations for their overall marketing strategy in the past 12 months although 24% say performance evaluation is a major objective over the next year and in the future. WebTrends says that the survey shows that very few marketers can actually demonstrate why their marketing strategy has been effective and too many companies have a “rudderless” online strategy.

The report, Marketing in the Dark, says such self-confidence is widespread, with 83% of online marketers saying they are confident they can maintain a similar level of performance over the next 12 months.

Nick Sharp, vice-president and general manager WebTrends EMEA, says: “A significant number of organisations are not measuring performance, which suggests that any confidence expressed in the marketing function is more likely to be based on strong company performance overall, than specific marketing metrics. In this respect it appears that a great deal of marketing strategy is effectively rudderless.”

The report also found that 85% of respondents consider an effective Web presence to be important in achieving sales and marketing objectives. Yet just 56% of those surveyed measure even the most rudimentary metric of capturing page impressions and 39% run no form of analytics software at all.