State of Marketing Executive Summary 5 Four Key Takeaways Today’s companies compete 01 Marketers Move to Evolve Journeys, but Data Woes Linger on the basis of customer (See page 8) experience — and marketers On the path to delivering connected customer experiences, marketers continue to wrestle with gaining feel called to lead the charge. a single view of the customer and leveraging data from different sources. The difficulty of gaining this But what does it take to single customer view is compounded by elevated customer expectations and the tremendous growth of newer marketing channels. While high-performing teams are better at coordinating marketing across deliver a well-executed channels, a majority fail to evolve their message from one channel to the next. customer experience? Shifting Priorities Spark Organizational Change A majority agree this is 02 (See page 14) the endgame, but progress With the rising flood of available customer data, companies are rethinking everything from job roles to toward that goal runs how marketing functions in the broader organization. From account-based marketing to closer alignment the gamut. with customer service, top marketers are change agents staying ahead of the curve. Here’s an overview of 03 Marketing Tech Makes Waves (See page 19) how emerging marketing Marketers expect that usage of marketing technologies — from IoT/connected devices to lead scoring channels, organizational tools — will skyrocket over the next two years. High-performers tend to be heavier tech users, with most changes, and technologies reporting that their current tech stack aids collaboration, increases productivity, and drives a more are disrupting the status quo. cohesive view of customer data. Top teams also cite data management platforms as the most essential tool for 1-to-1 marketing across every touchpoint. 04 Marketing Embraces the AI Revolution (See page 23) Artificial intelligence (AI) is the leading technology where marketers expect the most growth in the next two years. Internally, marketers view AI as a means of creating more efficiency in their operations. For customers, most marketers see it as a way to get more from their data and ramp up personalization without burdening their teams. Salesforce Research