
By Jenna Bessemer, KoMarketing Associates
A recent Forrester Consulting survey commissioned by EverString found that predictive marketing analytics use correlates with better B2B business results and metrics.
In fact, the data shows that predictive marketers are 2.9 times more likely than companies that haven’t implemented predictive marketing analytics to report revenue growth at rates higher than the industry average.
In addition to better business results, predictive marketers are generally more effective at balancing the full customer life cycle compared to marketers who do not use predictive marketing. Seventy percent of “retrospective marketers” ranked discover-stage activities (such as defining target audiences) among the top three activities they do best, whereas 49 percent of predictive marketers ranked discover stage activities among the best. The remaining 51 percent of predictive marketers ranked full life-cycle activities, such as managing end-to-end customer experiences, as business strengths.
Predictive marketers also use advanced technologies and tactics more than retrospective marketers. Around two-thirds of predictive marketers strongly identified with a series of “modern marketing” statements, such as “One of marketing’s primary responsibilities is to increase the volume, velocity, and value of leads from early stage through sales qualified.”
Also based on the results, predictive marketers are more than twice as likely to use account-based marketing technologies.
According to the surveyors, “Modeling and predicting specific outcomes helps predictive marketers execute account-based marketing (ABM) strategies, enabling them to drive more buyer engagement and, ultimately, increase revenue opportunities from target accounts.”
PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS GOES MAINSTREAM
Another recent survey found that the majority of B2B marketers are currently integrating or expanding predictive analytics efforts within their overall strategies. Roughly 61 percent of marketers surveyed said they had already implemented predictive marketing analytics systems and another 37 percent are interested in implementing them.
Nearly 83 percent said they see “considerable” or “very high” business impact by using these analytics systems, and 86 percent claimed that predictive analytics helps them evaluate opportunities to enter new markets.