2013 Marketing Automation Trends Benchmark Study

1
2013 Marketing Automation Trends
Marketing executives at major financial instiutions
weigh in on evolving technologies and strategies

2
Technological advances are completely reinventing the ways people bank. Prospects and customers
alike research your products when ever they choose, across a wide range of mediums, and access
offers with the click of a mouse. Customers connect with their banks online anytime, anywhere,
leaving digital footprints and behavioral clues that offer a wealth of information. Banking industry
professionals are struggling to stay abreast of this flood of data at their fingertips.
There are enormous opportunities for companies looking to capitalize on this development. In
tandem with the actions customers take online, parallel technologies are emerging that enable
financial institutions to capture and harness the big data that results from those actions, to achieve
business objectives ranging from lead generation to customer retention.
According to a 2012 Oracle survey of more than 300 US and Canadian C-level executives: 93% of
respondents believe they’re losing revenue because they aren’t able to access or act on information
already available to them. One of the biggest challenges will continue to be turning this unstructured
data into structured, measurable data.
Achieving this goal requires skill sets not found in a typical marketing department and great effort.
Increasingly, financial companies are filling the gap with tools such as marketing automation, which
allows businesses to analyze data, leverage it, and gain actionable insight on website visitors. It
allows the capture of more response data, enables lead scoring, creates individual activity histories
for unique prospects, fuels behavioral segmentation, allows pin-point timing for triggered messages,
and saves time by automating much of each process.
For the financial industry, the biggest difficulty lies in finding the transparency, resources, and time to
create and execute personalized customer acquisition and retention strategies. Given that marketing
automation tools can scale process down to a granular level to engage individuals — and scale up to
manage large populations and aggregate data — it’s no surprise that industry experts foresee major
growth in adoption in the years ahead.
NetFinance, the Digital Marketing Conference for Financial Marketing Executives, has compiled its
2013Trends Report to further evaluate current needs, risks, and opportunities for institutions and
professionals in the marketing automation realm.This report compiles the responses of 100
participants from the 2013 NetFinance conference held in April of 2013. Professionals from
companies including Bank Of America, AllState, Wells Fargo, Moven, BlackRock and more
contributed to the survey’s results.
Marketing Automation Trends
2013 NetFinance
#
*
Introduction ....................................................................................................................2
Research Findings ....................................................................................................3-18
About NetFinance ........................................................................................................19
About WBR/WBR Digital ..............................................................................................20
About Act-On ..............................................................................................................21
Table of Contents
When you see this symbol; it signifies a key finding
to pay attention to.
2013 NetFinance Marketing Automation Trends

3
Q1
How important is the 360-degree view
of the customer?
64% Very important, but we are having a hard time getting results and reconciling behavioral data
22% Very important and we can consolidate and report with confidence on the results of our
programs
13% Somewhat important and we are dedicating budget and resources this year towards
improving our view
1% Not important, we let the customer choose their channel and we rely on that channel to
communicate efficiently with them
of those surveyed consider
the 360-degree view of the
customer very important, but
find it difficult to get the
accurate results and
behavioral data.
64%
““My answer isn't just one of these, but a combination of
several. [The 360-degree view of the customer] is somewhat
important, but I would have a very hard time getting data. I am
not surprised that the majority chose [the first option]. It seems
this view is hard for everyone, just due to the nature of bank
core systems and segments.”
Kristy Brandon,Vice President, eBanking Channel at Comerica

4
Q2
What are your biggest marketing
challenges? (Check all that apply)
55% Resources needed to build more sophisticated campaigns like triggered and nurturing
based on segment
45% Not enough time – too many things to prioritize
44% Technology and solutions are disparate and difficult to juggle – they create manual processes
38% Lack of budget to launch more programs
37% Ability to quantify campaign results
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
AttendeeResponse(%)
Biggest marketing challenges
37%
38%
55%
45%
44%
of respondents find that their
biggest marketing challenge is
having the resources needed
available in order to build more
sophisticated campaigns, like
triggered campaigns and nurturing
campaigns based on segment.
More than half
As is true in many industries, the ability to acquire the data that will lead to your
potential buyer can often be fragmented and complicated. The findings suggest that
the lack of resources indicates a need for more productive tools.To manage the
complexity of data and streamline the results, programs like marketing automation have
been implemented as key time-saving features, that would manage and coordinate
multiple-point tools such as (but not limited to): marketing campaigns, channel
management, reporting, analytics, email and webinar management applications, and/or the
need to integrate such tools with contact management and CRM platforms and programs.
The “ability to quantify” is an overarching issue for the industry, proved later in the report
when examining data segmentation (Q10) and tool management (Q13).

5
Q3
What types of solutions and partners are
you currently using?Typesofsolutionsandpartnerscurrentlyusing
Attendee Response (%)
62% CRM
59% Marketing Database
58% ESP (Email Service Provider)
50% Sales/Transactional Database
45% Digital Marketing Agency
44% Free Google Analytics
38% Paid Analytics (not Google)
36% Marketing Automation
23% Email Software Solution Installed
In-House
21% Webinar
62% CRM
59% Marketing Database
58% ESP (Email Service Provider)
50% Sales/ Transactional Database
45% Digital Marketing Agency
44% Free Google Analytics
38% Paid Analytics (not Google)
36% Marketing Automation
23% Email Software
21% Webinar
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
62%of those surveyed
named CRM as the top solution they are using. A close second; 59%
of respondents reported using marketing databases, followed by
58% who used email service providers, and 50% who are integrating
sales/transactional databases into their marketing campaigns.

6 2013 NetFinance Marketing Automation Trends
The findings suggest that financial institutions today are
serious about customer response and lead management,
and finding the right person to manage that lead tunnel is
a top concern. By sifting through the responses on the top
tools and solutions currently implemented at firms, our results
indicate that there is an opportunity for better segmentation.
As the survey suggests, there is a need for better tools that
could not only automate processes, but could also improve
the cohesiveness between departments by repairing the
operational rift between sales and marketing teams. Stronger
collaboration and transparency with regards to data collection
between departments could help move the needle toward
better conversion rates of qualified leads. Solutions are
evolving to provide deeper segmentation with help from
behavioral response data from outbound programs, tied to
inbound areas of interest.

7
Q4
If you could consolidate [marketing]
vendors and get the same or better
marketing execution and improve ROI –
would you?
73% Yes
27% No
YES
NO said that they would
consolidate vendors if they
could get the same or
better marketing execution
and improve ROI.
73%
“78% of Fortune 1000 CMOs say the #1 challenge marketers face is
technology eats too many resources.”
- CMO Magazine
The majority of respondents said they would consolidate vendors if they could get the same
ROI. However, a few respondents still find value in keeping functions separate.Their responses
suggest that they are skeptical that this is possible.Those who opted not to consolidate
vendors cited concerns that:
However, this directly contradicts a recent article in CMO magazine which said
“Too many business units and systems to consolidate.”
“Variety from multiple vendors”
“I don't believe it would be the same
ROI or better.”
“Kristy Brandon,Vice President, eBanking Channel, Comercia, said, “It is
almost always better to consolidate to become more efficient unless there
is a differentiating factor that would outweigh such a decision.” Responses
show that most people agree.
Kristy Brandon,Vice President, eBanking Channel, Comerica

8
Q5
What role does IT play with marketing
databases and technology solutions that
are implemented?
52% Ongoing support
28% Consultative only
20% Decision making
said that ongoing support is
needed to enable error-free
reference data workflow
across their companies.
52%
Our findings suggest that our survey population calls for ongoing technical
support. Marketing automation software can often negate the need for custom
integration, and frees up time for the IT department to focus on more crucial
matters like making sure companies' website performance is stable and can
handle high volumes of inbound traffic. For our respondents, ongoing support is
important, but the decision making capabilities for these databases do not lie with
IT. In other words, marketers recognize the need for technical support, but they still
hold the decision making power and control their marketing campaigns.
In question four of this study, 73% of firms reported that they would consolidate
vendors if they could get the same or better marketing execution and improve
their ROI. Marketing automation software can allow that possibility to become a
reality; by eliminating the need for multiple vendors and streamlining the
marketing and lead management processes.

9
Q6
Which functional groups manage your
B2C and/or B2B marketing programs?
48% Departmental or
Channel
42% Corporate
10% Field or Division
Branch Level
of companies surveyed
manage their B2C and/or
B2B marketing programs
remotely, through field or
division departments; in
other words, at the
branch level.
Only 10%
Our findings suggest that those surveyed did not have a “one-size-fits-all”
option in regards to B2B and B2C marketing management at their firms.
They also suggest that very few financial institutions are handling marketing at
the branch level.This points to the need for a common denominator, particularly
for firms that are dealing with both B2B and B2C marketing efforts, and
sometimes within the same department.
More automated solutions can lead to better efficiency for marketers trying to
consolidate their departments’ efforts. Unlike vendors who tailor their software
to customer-centric or B2B marketers, implementing a data management tool
could provide companies the capability to manage both through one program.
Automation tools provide lead management, but also the ability to manage
content marketing, automated campaign design and management, and
personalized messaging, all of which can benefit both B2C and B2B efforts.

10
Q7
Are you currently implementing nurturing
campaigns that provide information about
your products to potential leads and
existing customers?
47% Yes
27% No - it's not a priority
26% No - but it's on the plan for this year
YES
NO
NO
but it's on the
plan for this year
it's not a priority
of those surveyed
are currently
implementing.
Almost
50%
Lead nurturing campaigns are making inroads at many financial
companies, with 47% currently using lead nurturing programs in some form
and another 26% evaluating platforms to adopt. Advances in technology are
simplifying the process for businesses to create mechanisms to nurture their
prospects and current customers.

11
52% Yes, customers heavily researching product before they buy
37% Maybe, customers heavily researching product before they buy but not sure
11% No, customers not heavily researching product before they buy
89%
Q8
Are your customers heavily researching
your product before they buy?
““Customers are going online to research products before buying. I would
be curious to take this one question further, and ask if after researching,
is the customer buying online, calling, or going into a branch to purchase?”
52% surveyed said that their customers are heavily researching their products
before they buy. This data points to the need for companies to implement a
strategic triggered marketing campaign, including tools that will enable them to
engage their site visitors proactively and capitalize on a sales-ready lead. New
emerging tools help companies see a complete report of customer behavior,
including which referring sites, search engines, and organic visits garner the
highest volume of visitors.
YES
NO
MAYBE
said that their
customers are, or
might be, heavily
researching their
product before
they buy.

12
84%
84% Visiting our website
80% Web
65% Email
53% Direct Mail
46% Social Media (including our
presence on social media sites)
24% Webinars
84% Visiting Our Website
80% Web
65% Email
53% Direct Mail
46% Social Media
24% Webinars
Q9
How are customers receiving research
information from you?
Methodsofreceivingresearchinformation
Attendee Response (%)
0 20 40 60 80 100
of those surveyed said
customers find information
by visiting the company
website, followed by 65%
who acquire research
information via email and
53% who receive their
information from direct mail.
““I think there is some good potential in webinars or similar technology that
isn't being utilized as effectively as it could and should be.”
Kristy Brandon Vice President, eBanking Channel at Comerica
The proliferation of social media and online tools has enabled customers to
research products on their own time through a variety of mediums. To
decipher the seemingly insurmountable amount of data, companies are turning to
solutions that allow businesses a deeper insight into their web visitors than ever
before. Such tools enable comprehensive data capture, lead scoring and the
tracking of activity history.

13
Q10
How heavily are you using behavioral
response data to segment your database?
33% Not going beyond basic segmentation
27% Heavily segmenting
25% Segmenting somewhat based on intial response/purchase data
15% Segmenting somewhat based on prospect stage
of those surveyed
are not going beyond
basic segmentation
when attempting to
segment their
database.
33%
““I think everyone wants to get here, and conducts
surveys/research to try and get there.The practical deployment
hasn't happened universally yet.”
In the past, segmentation was complicated and marketers were forced to
execute at a basic level due to complexity, time, and resources not being
aligned. Analytics and data crunching was only possible through outside vendors
with expertise, and was managed by business analysts. Fast forward to today:
marketing automation tools capture and bring together multi-channel campaign
response data enabling deeper segmentation in turn fostering highly relevant
marketing campaigns.

14
Q11
What types of marketing does your
organization spend its time on?
Please rate 1 to 4 (1 being highest priority).
Companies surveyed ranked acquisition marketing, including brand,
thought leadership, and content marketing as a top priority. Given that the
average ranking for social media marketing came in at 3.5, we can deduce that
marketers still are not prioritizing this at their financial institutions.
AVERAGE
RATING:
1.6
AVERAGE
RATING:
1.9
AVERAGE
RATING:
3
AVERAGE
RATING:
3.5
1
2
3
4
Acquisition marketing including
brand, thought leadership, and
content marketing?
Customer retention
marketing including upsell,
loyalty and promotion?
Training and
educational
marketing
Social
media
marketing

15
Q12
What percent of prospects and customers
are interacting with you in your mobile
channel? How do you see this changing
in 12 months?
Responses to this question varied significantly.
Here is a sampling of responses:
Mobile has transformed the way in which consumers access information.
Smartphones have not only changed the way people connect; the ubiquity of
mobile devices has also transformed the way in which people handle the routine
of the day-to-day: how they shop, organize, and increasingly, how they bank. Using
mobile apps, consumers can check their statements, pay their bills and deposit
their checks with the snap of a picture.The convenience of mobile has brought
finance to the masses, and this research confirms that it’s catching on.
Prospects can't interact in the
mobile channel; we don't look at
customers on an individual level,
as not all have accounts
accessible through mobile. We do
expect an increase in mobile
interactions, as consumer
purchases through smartphone
and tablets increase.
25%
10% AND
INCREASING
OVER 12
MONTHS
0%; mobile capabilities
not a planned project
at this point
65%
35%
100%
Only via
mobile
banking
90%
UNKNOWN
Unknown. Not
something I am
actively engaged in
under my product set.
In the next 12
months should
be 50%+
80%
Not developed;
have ITconsultant
working on a proposal
for mobile devices.
<20%
DON'T
KNOW

16
“ “Twenty eight percent of all
mobile phone users and 48
percent of smartphone users
had used mobile banking in the
past 12 months.”This was an
increase of seven percentage
points from December 2011.
During the same period,
consumers using phones to
purchase items tripled to
six percent.
Federal Reserve Board on Nov. 2012 Industry Statistics

17
Q13
What are your top two concerns with
tools you are currently using?
45% Ease and consolidation of tracking, reporting, analyzing
29% Time involved to manage them*
27% Resources needed to manage them*
27% Management by different departments such as IT, corporate, divisional or functional
21% Management of too many systems*
20% Cost
50
40
30
20
10
0
AttendeeResponse(%)
Top two concerns with tools you are currently using
21%*
20%
29%* 27%* 27%
When listing their concerns with the
tools being used at their respective
companies, 45% cited a product’s
ease of use as the top priority.
Ease of use:
““Consolidation and insight is definitely the most important, everything
else is pretty even. It shows the need for insight out of data.”
Dan Latimore, SVP Banking Group, Celent Research
45%
77% of those surveyed find that the amount of systems, lack of
time and lack of resources to manage data are a top concern.

18
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
AttendeeResponse(%)
Q14
How sophisticated are your paid search
strategies?
35% Basic key word buying/managing results by clicks
26% No paid search - Just organic or non-paid search
22% Some level of optimization based on conversion
17% Full usage of automated bid mangement tools and full ROI outcomes
Paid Search Strategies
ONLY
17%
of respondents are using sophisticated paid search
strategies, like bid management tools and full ROI outcomes,
as part of their marketing strategy.
17% 22% 26% 35%
This suggests that the general perception does not reflect the reality of where
financial institutions stand with paid search strategies.

19
Q15
On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate
your online marketing programs today?
Respondents ranked their marketing programs from 1-10;
1 needing the most improvement, 10 being the best it could be.
1-3
4-6
7-9
10
ONLY
3%
rated their current online marketing programs as
a 10. Therefore, the majority of those surveyed see
their online marketing programs as an area in need
for improvement.
““I was surprised and (somewhat happy) to see that the majority of
respondents are struggling in areas where I am as well. For example,
everyone finds that their online marketing programs have room for
improvement (most people rated them at a 6). It seems like many others are
having concerns with the ease and consolidation of tracking, reporting and
analyzing using their current tools. In short, I think it is interesting that across
industries and organizations of varying size, we all seem to be struggling
with similar issues facing the industry today.”
MelinaYoung, Director of Marketing,Verity Credit Union
18%
52%
27%
3%
Satisfactory
Above Average
Perfect
Needs The Most
Improvement

20
Since its launch in 2007, NetFinance has become the industry's #1 multi-channel
marketing conference specially designed for Financial Institutions - 93% of our past
attendees would recommend the event to a colleague. NetFinance has proven to be a
rich industry resource for networking, strategy, and cutting-edge information.
NetFinance is a high level conference that continues to bring together the most senior
level speaker faculty, enabling attendees to hear from the people making real decisions.
In fact, 85% of speakers are at a VP level or above.They have carved out three days in
the midst of a still challenging business environment because the payback is
tremendous at this event. Learning the latest trends in data innovation, mobile, and
cross-channel customer experience will add value to your organization in the long run.
NetFinance combines a large exhibition hall, with unparalleled networking,
benchmarking and learning opportunities to create a first class event.
About NetFinance
“It was beneficial for me to attend NetFinance to gain perspective on how
others are approaching the business, technology and marketing challenges
of our industry. In addition to the presentations, the one-to-one
conversations and relationship building are key takeaways for me.”
Ralph Betters, CIO,Third National Bank

21
WBR is the world’s biggest large-scale conference
company and part of the PLS group, one of the world’s
leading providers of strategic business intelligence with
16 offices worldwide. Our conference divisions
consistently out-perform their industry sector competitors
on the quality of the events we produce and the
relationships we nurture with both attendees and
sponsors.
Every year over 10,000 senior executives from Fortune
1,000 companies attend over 100 of our annual
conferences – a true “Who’s Who” of today’s corporate
world. From Automotive events in Bucharest to Logistics
conferences in Arizona to Luxury conferences in NewYork
and Finance summits in Hong Kong,WBR is dedicated to
exceeding the needs of its customers around the world.
Media Contact
Deanna Gillen
646-200-7950
Deanna.Gillen@wbresearch.com
About Worldwide Business
Research/WBR Digital
In addition to our industry leading conferences, our
professional services marketing division, WBR Digital,
connects solution providers to their target audiences
with year-round online branding and engagement lead
generation campaigns. WBR’s marketers act as an
extension of your team relieving strain on your internal
resources while promoting your brand and solutions to
your prospects. Solution providers can target identified
accounts or relevant industry/function segments of
WBR’s entire global database of over 500K senior-level
decision makers.
“"While we're an innovative B2B company focused on social and mobile commerce,
we still rely on tried and true demand generation tactics. As part of our efforts we're
always testing and learning, trying different ways to get access to and compel digital
marketers at top retail brands to consider our offerings. We've tried many different
tactics and sources of leads and WBR has consistently exceeded response goals
and more importantly, the quality of leads have been outstanding.This year we
committed to a package of activities with WBR including email, webinars, events and
research.The WBR team working on our account has been professional, responsive,
fun and have delivered above and beyond, I couldn't recommend them higher."
Marko Z Muellner , Sr. Director of Marketing, ShopIgniter

22
Act-On Software’s multi-channel marketing automation suite is the foundation of
successful marketing programs; from simple and direct, to sophisticated and globally
executed campaigns. Act-On is a cloud-based solution that features an integrated
marketing platform that enables marketers to tie inbound, outbound and nurturing
programs together in a single dashboard. Bundled together in an intuitive package,
Act-On is fast to implement, easy to use and powerful.
Act-On’s technology features an Instant-On™ database for accelerated campaign
implementation; an easy, highly intuitive user interface; and a comprehensive, feature-
rich solution set.This includes a best-in-class email engine with one-click integration
to leading web conferencing and CRM solutions; tools for website visitor tracking, lead
scoring, lead nurturing and social media prospecting; design tools for web forms,
landing pages and emails; and more.
Act-On is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, with offices in Roseville and
San Mateo, California, and Bangalore, India.
Media Contact
Paige Musto
650-251-4770 x137
paige@act-on.com
About Act-On
SEE MORE ACT-ON IN THE NEWS

23
• After listening to 50+ sessions from more than 60 reference financial service
leaders, you’re bound to come back with take-aways to move your business
forward.
• 85% of speakers are at a VP level or above. Learn best practices from the
leaders of your industry.
• 94% of 2012 attendees said they’d recommend NetFinance to colleagues.
We think that means you’ll like it too.
Call our customer service team to get the best available discounts for your firm
at 1.888.482.6012, or email us at netfinance@wbresearch.com
Why else should you
attend NetFinance 2014?
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW!
Make sure you’re there in 2014.
Be a part of next year’s benchmarking trends study.
Take a stand on the issues that matter to you and your industry. Be a
part of next year’s benchmark report, on-site at NetFinance 2014.

2013 Marketing Automation Trends Benchmark Study

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