More than a quarter (26 per cent) of marketers have never heard of marketing automation, according to new research by Adestra.
A further 49 per cent said they were only ‘partly familiar’ with the technology.
These findings are particularly worrying due to the significance of marketing automation in today’s marketing mix.
Sixty per cent of marketers that have implemented marketing automation said it had a positive impact on their marketing communications. Positive results included saving time (cited by 74 per cent of marketers using the software), increased customer engagement (68 per cent), more timely communications (58 per cent) and increased opportunities (58 per cent).
Meanwhile, potential barriers to marketing automation integration included data integration (cited by 34 per cent of respondents), technology shortfall (26 per cent) and a lack of skills or experience (18 per cent) alongside budget and time restrictions.
Of those familiar with marketing automation, 49 per cent said they do not feel they have the level of knowledge required to successfully implement marketing automation, while 57 per cent feel their company does not have sufficient understanding of the software.
Steve Denner, COO of Adestra, said: “It’s astonishing that such a large proportion of senior-level marketers have little or no knowledge of automated marketing technologies. The marketing industry is synonymous with having its ‘finger on the pulse’, and its adoption of technology as a driver for change is well known. I am surprised that there is such a knowledge gap here, with so few marketers having yet to experience the fantastic results that automation can help to achieve.”
