Salesforce Research Sixth Edition State of Marketing

Insights and trends from nearly 7,000
senior marketers leading through change

A Note From Stephanie Buscemi State of Marketing 2
Salesforce Chief Marketing Officer
Our worlds have been turned upside down. We made this decision because the report
The health and safety of our families, friends, and demonstrates the values that will remain critical
communities is top of mind, but most of us are as marketers and their businesses recover:
also wondering, “Where do we go from here?”
For marketers, that’s a multifaceted question. As • Relentless focus on the customer experience
ambassadors to the public, we must ask • Unwavering commitment to helpfulness,
ourselves how to best reposition our brands. As a relevancy, and trustworthiness
line of communication to customers, we must • Continuous pursuit of innovation
Stephanie Buscemi ask ourselves how we can be more empathic and
Chief Marketing Officer, understanding. As partners to the business, we The insights in this report demonstrate the
Salesforce must ask ourselves how to best collaborate with importance of these values and what top
our colleagues in sales, customer service, and marketers do to live by them. As we look toward
beyond as we seek a return to growth. — and get to work building — better times ahead,
I hope you find this year’s “State of Marketing” to
Salesforce collected data from marketing leaders be a helpful guide.
across the globe for this “State of Marketing”
report just as the COVID-19 crisis emerged. Onward,
When the scope of the crisis became clear, we
asked ourselves, “Will this report provide
relevance and value to our customers?”.
Ultimately, after carefully dissecting survey Stephanie Buscemi
results, we deemed the answer to be “yes.”
Salesforce Research
What You’ll Find in This Report State of Marketing 3
For the sixth edition of our “State of Marketing” report,

Salesforce Research surveyed nearly 7,000 marketing
leaders worldwide to discover:
• Changing definitions of marketing success

• Shifts in engagement standards and privacy practices
• Evolving marketing skill sets and processes
• Unfolding data management strategies and tactics
Data in this report is from a double-blind survey

conducted from January 8 through February 11, 2020,
that generated 6,950 responses from full-time marketing
leaders — those holding a manager or higher leadership
role. Respondents include marketers from B2B, B2C, and
B2B2C companies across North America, Latin America,
Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
All respondents are third-party panelists (not limited

to Salesforce customers). For further survey
demographics, see page 87.
Due to rounding, not all percentage totals in this report

equal 100%. All comparison calculations are made
from total numbers (not rounded numbers).
Salesforce Research provides data-driven insights to help

businesses transform how they drive customer success.
Browse all reports at salesforce.com/research.
Salesforce Research
What You’ll Find in This Report State of Marketing 4
Distribution of Marketing Performance Levels

Throughout this report, we classify survey respondents across the following three tiers of
marketing performance.
Moderate performers
all other marketers
71%
Underperformers High performers
moderately or less satisfied completely satisfied with their
with their overall marketing overall marketing performance
performance and the outcomes and the outcomes of their
of their marketing investment marketing investments
14% 15%
* For further survey demographics, see page 87. Salesforce Research

Contents State of Marketing 5
Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................................... 06
Introduction....................................................................................................................................................... 07
01 Marketing Transformation Takes On New Urgency......................................................................... 10
02 Customer Data Sets the Stage for Empathetic Marketing ............................................................. 17
03 Marketers Double Down on Business Value .................................................................................... 22
Look Ahead: The Next Decade of Marketing Innovation ........................................................................... 26
Country Profiles................................................................................................................................................. 27
Industry Profiles................................................................................................................................................ 54
Appendix............................................................................................................................................................. 69
Survey Demographics...................................................................................................................................... 86
Salesforce Research
Executive Summary State of Marketing 6
As technology drives customer Marketing Transformation Takes On New Urgency

expectations to new heights, 01 (See page 10)
marketers have emerged as not
just messengers, but engagers The expectations and behaviors of consumers, businesses, and society at large are shifting with
who foster meaningful customer unprecedented speed and magnitude. Marketers are under tremendous pressure to overhaul their
relationships well beyond the organizational models and use of technology to provide differentiated, digital-first customer
first purchase. engagement. Innovation is marketing leaders’ number one priority.
In the wake of the COVID-19 Customer Data Sets the Stage for Empathetic Marketing
pandemic, standards of customer 02 (See page 17)
engagement are shifting yet again,
and marketers are on the forefront As customers navigate a series of “new normals,” personalized, empathetic engagement has never been
of innovation. more important. Delivering messages and offers that resonate with an individual’s unique needs and
expectations requires deep insights. Marketers are shifting how they source and manage customer data
and ramping up use of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) that help them make the most of it.
Marketers report a 186% increase in AI adoption since 2018.
Marketers Double Down on Business Value

03 (See page 22)
As businesses shift from crisis triage to recovery and adaptation, marketers have a unique opportunity
to turn trusted customer relationships into business value. Marketers increasingly track metrics like
customer satisfaction, digital engagement, and lifetime customer value to gain a holistic picture of
what’s working and what isn’t across the customer journey. B2B marketers have a particularly strong role
in business growth through account-based marketing (ABM). Ninety-two percent of B2B marketers
have an ABM program.*
* Includes B2B2C marketers. Salesforce Research

Introduction State of Marketing 7
Customer Experience and Innovation Put Marketers Under Pressure
As companies look to connect and build trust

in uncertain times, customer experience has
become more important than ever.
84% of customers say the experience

a company provides is as important as its
products and services — up from 80% in 2018.*
The share of marketers leading the customer Customer Experience Aspiration Is Rising Faster
experience charge has skyrocketed over the
Than Operationalization
past two years. Eighty-eight percent of high
performers lead customer experience
initiatives across their organizations,
compared to 68% of underperformers.
Marketers Who Agree with the Following
But shifting mindsets and on-the-ground We lead customer experience initiatives across the organization
execution are two very different things, and
many marketers struggle to match operations 79%
to aspirations. Fewer than half of marketing 45%
organizations track customer lifetime
We track customer lifetime value (LTV)
value (LTV).
48%
43%
2020 2018
* ”State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, June 2019. Salesforce Research
Introduction State of Marketing 8
Customer Experience and Innovation Put Marketers Under Pressure
Innovation fundamentally means adaptation to Innovation, Real-Time Engagement, and Privacy Drive Marketing
change, making it nothing short of critical under Agendas and Pain Points
current circumstances. Even before the COVID-
19 pandemic, marketers recognized innovation
as their top priority. Given the speed of change Marketers’ Top Priorities
today, real-time engagement is well-positioned
as job number two.
1 Innovating
2
Innovative, trusted, real-time engagement
Engaging customers in real time
is no easy feat, and so improved tools and
technologies round out the top five
marketing priorities of 2020. However,
marketers recognize that reaching their
3 Complying with privacy regulations
ambitious goals will be challenging. Unifying

and operationalizing customer data to create 4 Improved use of tools and technology
the cohesive journeys that customers want

is particularly daunting. 5 Modernized tools and technology
Marketers’ Top Challenges
1 Engaging customers in real time
2 Innovating
3 Creative cohesive customer journeys across channels and devices
4 Unifying customer data sources
5 Sharing a unified view of customer data across business units
New to top 5 for 2020 Carryover from top 5 in 2018
See page 70 for additional data segmentations. Salesforce Research

Practitioner Perspective State of Marketing 9
Marketers Re-Evaluate Budgets for a New Era
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, marketing budgets represented a diverse array of initiatives far beyond advertising. Like all business leaders, CMOs
are now reevaluating where to spend.
“Now is the time to reaffirm your brand fundamentals to the “Every leader must be adaptable in unprecedented times times like these
consumers who trusted you prior to COVID-19. This is what when thinking about strategy and budget. As business buyers reevaluate
should drive any budget strategy and adjustment decisions. their purchase and growth plans for the year, our focus has to reflect that
Where time must be spent — and potential adjustments and adjust to changing buying cycles. In the short-term, tactics like trade
made — are in the messages you send and the channels shows and some advertising might be reduced or paused, but investment
through which you deliver them.” in tactics like ABM, content marketing, and critical technology remains key.”
Doug Zarkin Phil B. Clement
Chief Marketing Officer, Pearle Vision Chief Marketing Officer, Johnson Controls
6% 6%
18%
23% 16%
18%
B2C B2B
Marketing Budget Marketing Budget
Allocations Allocations* 17%
16% 14%
21%
14% 14%
17%
Advertising Technology People Research Content Account-based marketing Other
* Includes B2B2C marketers.

Data was collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and does not represent any changes in budget allocations that may result.
Base: CMOs and VPs of marketing. Salesforce Research
01 Marketing Transformation Takes On New Urgency State of Marketing 10
A lot of attention is placed on the changing Marketing Is Both a Science and an Art
role of technology. However, the people
behind this technology remain the
foundation of any marketing organization. Marketers Who Rate Their Team’s Skills as Advanced
The definition of a good marketer in 2020 Communication 60%

is expanding in a big way. In addition to their
creativity and ways with words, today’s top
marketers are data-savvy collaborators who Creativity 58%
capture, organize, and activate insights
that foster the connected journeys
Data analysis 57%
customers expect.
Marketers generally rate their teams as Collaboration 56%

advanced across a wide array of skills, with
particular confidence in their communication,
creativity, and data analysis abilities. While Digital proficiency 55%
coding and data science rank near the
bottom of marketers’ self-assessment, the
most soft skill of all — emotional intelligence Agility/adaptability 53%
— needs the most work at a time when it is
most needed.
Data science 49%
Coding/software development 48%
Emotional intelligence 48%

Now more than ever, it’s critical for marketers Marketing Is a Team Effort Across the Customer Journey
to have a cohesive understanding of a
customer’s full journey. Today’s marketers are
applying their expertise at every stage from Extent to Which Individual Marketers Are Involved in the Following
branding to acquisition to retention and
advocacy. Traditional marketing roles focused 41% 58% 1%
on specific stages of the sales funnel, or on Brand building
tactics like email or social media, are falling
out of favor. 32% 65% 2%
Lead generation
69%
34% 63% 3%
Customer acquisition
of marketers say traditional 29% 65% 5%

marketing roles limit customer engagement Upselling
— up from 37% in 2018.
35% 61% 4%
Customer retention
It’s now the exception to the rule for 34% 62% 5%

marketers to “own” a given stage of the Customer advocacy
customer journey. Instead, most collaborate
with peers on building cohesive experiences Own exclusively Co-own or contribute Not involved
from the moment a prospect discovers their
brand to when they post a rave review and
beyond. Hardly any marketers describe
themselves as detached from a given stage
of the customer journey.
Salesforce Research
Today, customers seek more and new types Cross-Functional Collaboration Is Table Stakes
of information from businesses through more
and new types of channels. Marketers have
forged new processes and relationships with
cross-functional colleagues to take on this
challenge. Sixty-nine percent of customers
expect connected experiences.*
81%
of marketers
80%
of marketers
share goals and share goals and
metrics with sales metrics with service
Se
*
63%
colleagues colleagues
**
r vi
s
le
ce
Sa
of marketers use the same
CRM system as sales and service departments.**
The vast majority of marketing teams share 81% 64%

of marketers
common goals and metrics with colleagues in of marketers suppress marketing
sales, ecommerce, and customer service. work with sales when there’s an
teams on ABM open service case
What’s more, they collaborate through strategic programs****
initiatives like account-based marketing (ABM)
programs, or through tactics like factoring a
customer’s unresolved service tickets when
sending marketing communications.
81% 80%
of marketers
of marketers
have synced share goals and
social media with metrics with
commerce ecommerce
systems colleagues
Ecommerce
See page 72 for additional data segmentations.

* ”State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, June 2019. *** Base: B2B and B2B2C marketers.
** Base: Marketers who use a CRM system. **** Base: B2B and B2B2C marketers with an ABM program. Salesforce Research
Many marketers — and high performers in AI, Social Tools, and Analytics Are Most Primed for Expanded Roles
particular — are increasingly turning to an array
of digital tools and platforms to engage Marketers Planning to Increase Use of the Following over the Next Year
customers at precisely the right moment, on
the right channel.
High Performers vs.
Underperformers
Marketers are particularly keen to expand
56%
their use of artificial intelligence (AI). Tools
that optimize social media, mobile, and video 47%
Artificial
intelligence
46% 1.3x
more likely
41%
marketing are also increasingly prominent as
customers shift to digital channels. Analytics Social marketing 53%
and measurement tools that let marketers 45%
tools (listening,
publishing)
44% 1.2x
more likely
gauge what’s working and what isn’t are also 42%
being used more heavily. Marketing
analytics/ 51%
43%
measurement
tools
42% 1.3x
72%
39% more likely
50%
of marketers say they are aligned
with their IT organizations, yet IT leaders rank 42%
Video
marketing tools 41% 1.5x
more likely
13%
insufficient business unit alignment as a
top challenge.* 48%
38%
Customer data
platform
38% 1.5x
more likely
31%
Marketing
automation/ 47% 1.5x
38%
account-based
37% more likely
marketing platform
31%
43%
34%
Voice
technology
33% 1.7x
more likely
26%
High performers Moderate performers Underperformers
* “Enterprise Technology Trends,” Salesforce Research, May 2019.

See page 75 for additional data segmentations. Base: Marketers who use the indicated technology. Salesforce Research
Omni-channel marketing is not new, but it’s Marketers Continue Expansion Across Digital Channels
never been more relevant. Today’s customers
— whether buying for themselves or on behalf Marketers Using the Following Customer/Prospect Communication Channels 2018–2020
of their companies — hop from channel to Growth Rate
channel throughout their days.
Website
88% +7%
82%
Marketers are meeting the challenge by
increasing their adoption of various digital Social publishing/advertising
(paid or non-paid)*
83% +32%
63%
touchpoints. Search engine marketing,
customer communities, and mobile apps 82% +11%
are experiencing particularly dramatic Email 74%
increases in use.
Display/banner ads
79% +17%
67%
Mobile app
72% +34%
54%
Customer communities
(e.g., online forums)
72% +35%
53%
Mobile messaging
(e.g., SMS, push group messaging)
69% +31%
53%
57%
of marketers
Search engine marketing (SEM) 53%
67% +40%
use audio
Video/OTT
40% 66% +21%
54%
2020 2018
68%
of marketers
* 2018 adoption rate is the average of social publishing and social advertising, which were distinct survey response options.
use inﬂuencers
Salesforce Research
Customers expect companies to engage with Cross-Channel Marketing Is Catching Up with Customers
them across channels in a dynamic manner –
in which brand messages and content on Marketers Who Describe Their Cross-Channel Coordination as Follows
one channel are tailored based on their actions
on another channel. Case in point: 54% of
customers say they get annoyed if they are
targeted with an ad for something they’ve
already bought. With 71% of customers
29%
having used multiple channels to start and 31%
complete a single transaction, marketers face
2018
a vexing challenge.*
Over the past two years, marketers have made

great strides in meeting customer expectations
for dynamic content across channels. For the
first time, more than half of marketers describe
their cross-channel content as dynamic — up 39%
from less than a third in 2018. The share of
marketers with siloed cross-channel content,
in which channels have no coordination,
dropped from 29% to 15%.
15%
2020 53%
32%

* ”State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, June 2019. Dynamic Duplicated Siloed Salesforce Research
Marketing transformation involves more than improved collaboration and additional ways to connect. Over the past year, marketers have taken
steps to boost audience segmentation and personalization across their touchpoints. The channel-agnostic nature of today’s customers has made
full digital experiences the focus over individual touchpoints. It’s logical, then, that marketers have spread these efforts across their websites, social
channels, and mobile properties, among others. Improved in-channel user functionality initiatives, such as headless commerce, are also common.
All in all, the majority of marketers are using their channels differently than they were a year ago.
Marketers Are Using Channels in More Sophisticated Ways

How Marketers Have Changed Their Use of Channels over the Past Year
Improved audience segmentation Improved personalization Expanded user functionality No change in channel use since last year
64% 65% 65%

56% 60% 55% 59% 61%
48% 57% 64%
44% 47% 50%
43%
22% 19% 18%

16% 16%
Display/banner ads Email Video/OTT Social publishing/advertising Mobile messaging

(paid or non-paid) (e.g., SMS, push
group messaging)
66%
62%
67% 68%
62% 59% 69%
45% 53% 64%
57% 60%
46%
50% 49%
16% 15% 18%

14% 13%
Search engine Audio Mobile app Website Customer communities

marketing (SEM) (e.g., online forums)

Base: Marketers using the indicated channel. Salesforce Research
02 Customer Data Sets the Stage for Empathetic Marketing State of Marketing 17
Marketers have long recognized the Ranked Popularity of Customer Data Sources
importance of data in understanding and
engaging customers as individuals. But as
customers’ circumstances and needs evolve
rapidly, building a clear understanding of
1 Transactional data 6 Second-party data
them is nothing short of essential. Seventy-

eight percent of marketers describe their 2 Declared interests/preferences 7 Inferred interests/preferences
3 8
customer engagement as data-driven.
Known digital identities Non-transactional data
Marketers expect to turn to an increasing
number of data sources moving forward.
Transactional data, declared interests and
4 Offline identities 9 Third-party data
preferences, and known digital identities are

particularly popular. 5 Anonymized digital identities
Median Number of Data Sources Used by Marketers
2021
projected
12
2020 10
2019 8

Data, in and of itself, isn’t useful. Its impact is Putting Marketing Data to Work Remains Challenging
realized when the insights it holds are unlocked.
And those insights are only valuable if the data Marketers Who Are Completely Satisfied with the Following Aspects
is accurate, timely, and permissible to use in the of Their Customer Data
desired manner. High Performers vs.
Underperformers
Overall, few marketers are completely satisfied 61%
with their customer data, calling into question 37% Quality/hygiene 37% 5.5x
more likely
whether they can use it to its full potential. 11%
High-performing marketers — those most
58%
satisfied with their investments and outcomes
— are far and away more satisfied with their 34% Timeliness 34% 5.1x
more likely
11%
customer data on multiple fronts.
57%
34% Integration 34% 4.8x
more likely
The average enterprise has 900 different 12%
applications, an average of only 28% of
57%
which are integrated.*
34%
Consent
management 33% 4.3x
more likely
13%
58%
33%
Identity
reconciliation
32% 4.8x
more likely
12%
* “Mulesoft Connectivity Benchmark Report,” Salesforce Research, February 2020. Salesforce Research
Marketers cite data unification and Marketers Continue Their Search for the Right Data
activation among their top five challenges. Management Solution
Their discontent may be tied to a fragmented
data management technology landscape.
Ranked Popularity of Marketing Data Management Solutions
As we found in 2018, no clear winner
among many competing solutions has
emerged. Today, marketers are turning to
1 Customer relationship management (CRM) platform
even more complex combinations of data

management technologies to build a cohesive 2 Email service provider (ESP)
3
understanding of their customers.
Advertising platforms
4 Data management platform (DMP)

Average Number of Data Management Tools Used
5 Customer data platform (CDP)
6 6 Marketing automation platform
7 Consent management platform
3 8 Homegrown solution
2018 2020

Once data is sourced, integrated, and Top AI Use Cases in Marketing

managed, it’s time for it to go to work. Artificial
intelligence (AI) is the rising star in this effort,
with a whopping 84% of marketers reporting
its use — up from 29% in 2018.
1 Personalized experiences in individual channels
Whether this surge in marketers claiming AI

2 Improved customer segmentation/lookalike modeling
use is due to net new adoption or increased

knowledge of the role AI has played all along is 3 Surfaced insights from data
4
unknown. In any event, marketers are turning
to AI for various use cases, with personalization, Drive next best actions (e.g., offers)
segmentation, and deep data insights being
particularly popular. Marketers with AI have
an average of seven use cases, up from
5 Automated customer interactions
six in 2018.
Use of AI in Marketing Has Surged

Marketers Claiming a Fully Defined AI Strategy
Marketers Reporting AI Use
High Performers 84%
70%
Underperformers
35%
CMOs
64%
Marketing Managers
29%
49%
Enterprise
58%
SMB
49% 2018 2020

See pages 78 and 79 for additional data segmentations. Salesforce Research
Spotlight Marketers Take Stock of Rising Privacy Standards
State of Marketing 21
Privacy Initiatives Stem from Marketers Who Agree with the Following
More Than Regulations
We’re more mindful of balancing
Today, customer trust is built in no small part personalization with customer
comfort levels than we were two 81%
through empathy, but privacy remains a critical years ago
part of the equation. As such, marketers are 51%
taking steps to not just comply with regulations
We go beyond regulations/industry
like GDPR, but exceed them. standards to protect and respect 57%
customer privacy
44%
58% of customers are comfortable

with their data being used transparently, but
We are completely satisfied with our
ability to balance personalization
with customer comfort levels
28%
30%
only 63% say companies are generally 2020 2018
transparent about how their data is used.*
84%
As marketers raise their standards for data
stewardship, their satisfaction in their
performance has decreased slightly, and a
divide between top marketers and the rest
has emerged. Fifty-six percent of high
performers are completely satisfied with
their ability to balance personalization
with customer comfort, versus 4%
of underperformers.

* ”State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, June 2019. Salesforce Research
03 Marketers Double Down on Business Value State of Marketing 22
The definition of marketing success is evolving Marketers Slowly Expand Their KPIs
as customer experience, joins business value as
the profession’s north star. In addition to tried- Marketers Who Track the Following Metrics
and-true KPIs like revenue growth and sales
effectiveness, marketers are increasingly Revenue
70%
embracing customer satisfaction metrics, as 74%
well as associated signs of success such as Sales effectiveness (e.g., funnel
65%
referral rates and customer lifetime value (LTV). engagement, rep performance)
64%
As touchpoints multiply and attention spans Web/mobile analytics
62%
shorten, marketers are also delving deeper into (e.g., page views, time on page) *
55%
web and mobile analytics, social analytics, and
Customer satisfaction
digital engagement metrics. 62%
(e.g., CSAT, NPS)
60%
72% Customer retention rates

61%
59%
of high performers can Digital engagement rates
59%
analyze performance in real time, versus (e.g., opens, clicks)
54%
49% of underperformers.
Social analytics
(e.g., reach and engagement)
58%
54%
Marketing leads
58%
59%
(e.g., MQL, conversion rates)
55%
of marketers track
Customer acquisition costs
58%
campaign ROI 51%
Customer referral rates

53%
52%
58% Lifetime customer value (LTV)

48%
43%
of marketers track
2020 2018
channel ROI
See pages 80, 81, and 82 for additional data segmentations.

* Web analytics and mobile analytics were distinct categories in 2018. Salesforce Research
Marketers aren’t just tacking on metrics — they are being more strategic about where in the customer journey to scrutinize them. For branding
building purposes, for example, marketers are less focused on generating leads and more concerned about showcasing customer satisfaction.
Customer acquisition cost analysis is supplementing more traditional lead generation and acquisition metrics, and referrals play an outsized role
in retention and advocacy.
Most Valuable Metrics by Customer Journey Stage
Brand Building Lead Generation Customer Acquisition Upselling Customer Retention Customer Advocacy
Customer Marketing Customer Sales Customer Customer

1 satisfaction leads acquisiton costs effectiveness retention satisfaction
Sales Sales Customer Customer Customer

2 2 effectiveness effectiveness satisfaction Revenue satisfaction referrals
Social Customer Sales Marketing Customer Customer

3 2 analytics 2 acquisition costs 2 effectiveness 2 leads 1 referrals 3 retention
Social Customer Customer Customer Social

4 2 Revenue analytics 1 referrals satisfaction 1 lifetime value 1 analytics
Marketing Web/mobile Customer Campaign Customer Customer

5 2 leads 1 analytics 1 retention 2 ROI acquisition costs 1 lifetime value
Base: Marketers tracking the indicated metric. : Increase in ranking from 2018 : Decrease in ranking from 2018 : No change since 2018 Salesforce Research
Similar to metrics, the relative value of engagement channels shifts as customers move across their journeys. Websites — the front door of any brand
— are valued across each stage, as are traffic drivers such as email and social. Customer communities, either owned or third-party, continue as the
favorite medium for acquisition, retention, and advocacy, and have also surged in popularity during the brand building stage. Despite their status
as relative newcomers to the marketing world, influencers now make an appearance among the five most valuable channels for any stage.
Most Valuable Channels by Customer Journey Stage
Brand Building Lead Generation Customer Acquisition Upselling Customer Retention Customer Advocacy
Customer Customer Customer

1 Website N/A Influencer communities Website communities communities
Social publishing/ Social publishing/

2 N/A Influencer
advertising 1 advertising Email Email Website
Social publishing/
3 1 advertising 2 Website N/A Influencer N/A Influencer Website 1 Email
Social publishing/ Social publishing/

4 3 Email 1 Email 2 Website 1 advertising advertising N/A Influencer
Customer Search engine Customer Social publishing/

5 communities 1 marketing (SEM) 1 Email 1 communities Mobile app 2
advertising
Base: Marketers using the indicated channel. : Increase in ranking from 2018 : Decrease in ranking from 2018 : No change since 2018 N/A : Not included in 2018 survey Salesforce Research
Spotlight State of Marketing 25
Account-Based Marketing
Becomes Standard
in B2B Organizations
Customers expect empathy, tailored
engagement, and value regardless of whether
they’re buying for themselves or on behalf of
their employers. Eighty-two percent of high
performers say B2B and B2C marketing
tactics are converging, versus 67% of Account-Based Marketing Programs Reach Maturity
underperformers. Age of Account-Based Marketing Programs
Account-based marketing (ABM) programs are

B2B marketers’ response to elevated business
buyer expectations, and represent a new level
of collaboration with sales teams. Eighty-nine
percent of B2B marketers have an
ABM program.*
43%
High-performing B2B marketers
dedicate 18% of budgets to ABM, 28%
versus 14% for underperformers.
19%
ABM programs are a relatively new
phenomenon — 64% of them were started 7%
within the past five years — but have quickly 1% 1%
grown more sophisticated. Sixty-eight
percent of ABM programs use automation.* Less than More than
1 year,
More than
3 years,
More than
5 years,
More than
10 years
Not sure
a year
less than 3 less than 5 less than 10
* Includes B2B2C marketers. Base: B2B and B2B2C marketers with an ABM program. Salesforce Research
Look Ahead State of Marketing 26
The Next Decade of Marketing Innovation
At the time of this writing, marketers — Technology, Legislation, and Societal Shifts Set to Further
along with the rest of the world — are facing Transform Marketing
a crisis. But as time goes on, business will
recover, confidence will increase, and a Degree of Impact on Marketing Expected from the Following over the Next Decade
newfound appreciation for innovation
will take root. Marketers expect the next 60% 35% 5%
Expanded online population
10 years to bring transformational
impacts from new technologies and
60% 33% 7%
societal developments. 5G
From a technological standpoint, marketers 55% 35% 10%

Virtual reality
expect 5G wireless networks to have the
greatest impact on their work over the next 53% 41% 5%
10 years. However, nothing more is New regulations
anticipated than the new customers and
prospects brought online as digital life 51% 39% 10%
Augmented reality
permeates the global population even
more than now. 50% 39% 11%
Smart homes
76%
49% 41% 10%
Voice technology
of high performers say they
do a great job at innovating marketing 46% 43% 11%
Wearables
technology, tactics, and strategies, versus 47%
of underperformers.
46% 40% 14%
Smart cars
46% 43% 11%

Blockchain
Major impact Moderate impact Minor or no impact

COUNTRY PROFILES
* Please keep in mind that cultural bias impacts survey results across regions. Salesforce Research
Country Profile State of Marketing 28
Australia/New Zealand (300 marketing professionals)
Marketing Transformation Takes On New Urgency Customer Data Sets the Stage for Empathetic Marketing
Marketers’ Top Priorities Median Number of Customer Data Sources Used by Marketers
1 2 3 5 5 7
Balancing personalization
2020
2019
2021
Improving marketing ROI/ with customer comfort projected
Innovating attribution levels data sources data sources data sources
Marketers’ Top Challenges Marketers’ Top AI Use Cases
1 2 3 1 2 3
Sharing a unified view
Insufficient organizational of customer data across Engaging with Personalize individual Programmatic advertising
structure and processes business units customers in real time channel experiences and media buying Resolve customer identity
6%
13%
17%
23%
14%
15%
15%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
17%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
75%
of marketers share
71%
of marketers share
70%
of marketers share
common goals and common goals and common goals and
17% metrics with metrics with metrics with
sales teams service teams ecommerce teams
16%
15% 15%
16%
Technology People Research Other

Account-based marketing Advertising Content
Marketers Double Down on Business Value The Next Decade of Marketing Innovation
Marketers’ Top Success Metrics Technologies/Developments Expected to Have the Greatest Impact on Marketing by 2030
1 3 1 2 3
Virtual reality AND
Sales effectiveness AND Expanding online
Customer referral rates (tie) Marketing leads 5G Augmented reality population (tie)
* Data was collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and does not represent any changes
in budget allocations that may result. B2B budget data includes B2B2C respondents. Salesforce Research
Belgium (200 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 12 15 22
2020
2019
2021
Modernizing tools Hiring or projected
Innovating and technologies developing talent data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3 1 3
Creating cohesive
Insufficient organizational Engaging customers in customer journeys across Personalize individual channel experiences AND
structure and processes real time channels and devices Bridge online and offline experiences (tie) Surface data insights
3% 6%
14% 19% 22%
18%
16%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
81%
of marketers share
83%
of marketers share
82%
of marketers share
17%
18% sales teams service teams ecommerce teams
17% 14%
19%

1 Customer satisfaction 2 Web/mobile analytics AND

Social analytics (tie) 1 5G 2 New regulations 3 Expanding online
population
Brazil (300 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 11 16 23
2020
2019
2021
Modernizing tools Engaging customers in projected
Innovating and technologies real time data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3 1 2 3
Automate customer
Engaging customers in Unifying customer interactions over social Drive next best actions Personalize individual
real time Innovating data sources channels or messaging apps in real time channel experiences
6% 4%
17%
23%
15%
22%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
17% B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
92%
of marketers share
90%
of marketers share
90%
of marketers share
14%
14% common goals and common goals and common goals and
metrics with metrics with metrics with
13%
19%
22%

1 Revenue 2 Sales effectiveness 3 Web/mobile analytics 1 5G 2 Expanded online

population 3 Wearables
Canada (300 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 4 5 6
2020
2019
2021
Complying with Unifying customer data projected
privacy regulations Innovating sources data sources data sources data sources
Marketers’ Top Challenges Insufficient human Marketers’ Top AI Use Cases

resources AND
1 2 3 1 2 3
Creating cohesive
Insufficient organizational customer journeys across Personalize individual Personalize the overall
structure and processes Innovating channels and devices (tie) Surface data insights channel experiences customer journey
6% 7%
18% 18%
13%
19%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
16%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
82%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
16% 20%
15%
16%
24%

1 Revenue 2 Digital engagement rates 3 Sales effectiveness 1 Expanded online

population 2 5G 3 New regulations
France (300 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 7 10 11
2020
2019
2021
Engaging customers in Modernizing tools projected
real time Innovating and technologies data sources data sources data sources
Marketers’ Top Challenges Marketers’ Top AI Use Cases Improve customer

segmentation/lookalike
1 2 3 1 2 3
Creating cohesive modeling AND
Engaging customers in customer journeys across Drive next best actions Personalize the overall Personalize individual
real time Innovating channels and devices in real time customer journey channel experiences (tie)
9% 5%
17%
22%
14% 17%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
13% B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
86%
of marketers share
82%
of marketers share
82%
of marketers share
20%
14%
18% 20%

1 Sales effectiveness 2 Revenue 3 Campaign ROI 1 5G 2 Voice technology 3 Smart homes
Germany (300 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 6 8 11
2020
2019
2021
Complying with Engaging customers in projected
privacy regulations real time Innovating data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3 1 2
Drive next best actions in real time AND
Complying with Personalize the overall customer journey AND
privacy regulations Innovating Budgetary constraints Surface data insights Programmatic advertising and media buying (tie)
6% 7%
18%
20%
12%
18%
10%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
12%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
79%
of marketers share
69%
of marketers share
75%
of marketers share
17%
24%
26%

1 Revenue 2 Web/mobile analytics 3 Customer satisfaction 1 Expanded online

Hong Kong (200 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 7 10 15
2020
2019
2021
Engaging customers in Improving marketing Modernizing tools projected
real time ROI/attribution and technologies data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3 1 2 3
Improve customer
Measuring marketing Ineffective use of tools Programmatic advertising Personalize individual segmentation/lookalike
ROI/attribution and technologies Budgetary constraints and media buying channel experiences audience modeling
3% 5%
17%
19%
15% 20%
17%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
17%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
92%
of marketers share
87%
of marketers share
84%
of marketers share
17%
14%
19%

1 Revenue 2 Web/mobile analytics 3 Social analytics AND

Sales effectiveness (tie) 1 5G 2 Virtual reality 3 Augmented reality
India (300 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 20 20 25
2020
2019
2021
Engaging customers in Improving marketing projected
Innovating real time ROI/attribution data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3 1 2 3
Sharing a unified view Creating cohesive Improve customer
Insufficient organizational of customer data across customer journeys across Programmatic advertising Bridge online and segmentation/lookalike
structure and processes business units channels and devices and media buying offline experiences audience modeling
8% 12%
19% 22%
11%
17%
12%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
10%
91%
of marketers share
88%
of marketers share
88%
of marketers share
17%
19%
11% 22%

1 Marketing leads 2 Social analytics 3 Sales effectiveness 1 Expanded online

population 2 Augmented reality 3 Voice technology
Ireland (200 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 15 19 24
Creating cohesive Unifying customer
2020
2019
2021
customer journeys across Improving marketing data sources AND projected
channels and devices ROI/attribution Innovating (tie) data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3 1 2
Creating cohesive Drive next best actions in real time AND
Engaging customers in customer journeys across Insufficient organizational Personalize the overall Improve customer segmentation/lookalike audience
real time channels and devices structure and processes customer journey modeling (tie)
2% 5%
14% 19% 27%
16%
17% B2B Marketing

Budget Allocations* 18%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
76%
of marketers share
69%
of marketers share
78%
of marketers share
20% 13% sales teams service teams ecommerce teams
17% 13%
20%

1 Customer satisfaction 2 Digital engagement rates 3 Revenue 1 Expanded online

population 2 5G 3 Virtual reality
Israel (150 marketing professionals)
1 3 20 26 32
2020
2019
2021
Unifying customer data sources AND projected
Innovating (tie) Increasing budgets data sources data sources data sources
Marketers’ Top Challenges Marketers’ Top AI Use Cases Drive next best actions
in real time AND
1 2 1 2 3
Engaging customers in real time AND Automate customer Improve customer
Insufficient organizational Creating cohesive customer journeys across interactions over social Bridge online and segmentation/lookalike
structure and processes channels and devices (tie) channels or messaging apps offline experiences audience modeling (tie)
4% 5%
17%
21%
16%
21%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
17%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
74%
of marketers share
76%
of marketers share
80%
of marketers share
15% 15%
22%
15% 15%
16%

1 Customer satisfaction 2 Digital engagement rates AND

Customer referral rates (tie) 1 Expanded online
population 2 New regulations 3 Virtual reality
Italy (300 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 14 15 20
2020
2019
2021
Complying with Improving our use of projected
Innovating privacy regulations tools and technologies data sources data sources data sources
1 Innovating 2 Engaging customers in

real time 3 Complying with
privacy regulations 1 Personalize the overall
customer journey 2 Surface data insights 3 Drive next best actions
in real time
5% 7%
17%
21%
17%
14%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
12%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
93%
of marketers share
85%
of marketers share
86%
of marketers share
11%
16% 16% common goals and common goals and common goals and
14%
24% 25%

1 Revenue 2 Sales effectiveness 3 Customer retention rates 1 Expanded online

population 2 Virtual reality AND
5G (tie)
Japan (300 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 20 25 30
2020
2019
2021
of customer data across projected
Hiring or developing talent business units Innovating data sources data sources data sources
1 2 1 2 3
Improve customer
Engaging customers in Sharing a unified view of customer data across business units AND Drive next best actions segmentation/lookalike
real time Balancing personalization with customer comfort levels (tie) Surface data insights in real time audience modeling
2% 4%
10%
20%
24% 16%
14%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
82%
of marketers share
72%
of marketers share
74%
of marketers share
18%
26%
10%
24%

1 Revenue 2 Customer retention rates 3 Customer satisfaction 1 5G 2 Expanded online

population 3 Augmented reality
Mexico (200 marketing professionals)
Improving our use of
1 2 3 6 10 12
tools and technologies
2020
2019
2021
Modernizing tools AND Engaging customers projected
Innovating and technologies in real time (tie) data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3 1 2 3
Improve customer
Engaging customers in Measuring marketing Drive next best actions segmentation/lookalike Programmatic advertising
Innovating real time ROI/attribution in real time audience modeling and media buying
4% 4%
16% 18%
16% 19%
12%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
14%
15%
B2C Marketing
87%
of marketers share
86%
of marketers share
85%
of marketers share
20% 18%
26%

1 Revenue 2 Marketing leads 3 Sales effectiveness 1 5G 2 Virtual reality 3 Expanded online

population
Netherlands (300 marketing professionals)
1 3 10 15 20
Creating cohesive
2020
2019
2021
Innovating AND customer journeys across projected
Complying with privacy regulations (tie) channels and devices data sources data sources data sources
1 3 1 2 3
Engaging customers in real time AND Automate customer Improve customer
Creating cohesive customer journeys across Complying with interactions over social segmentation/lookalike Personalize individual
channels and devices (tie) privacy regulations channels or messaging apps audience modeling channel experiences
6% 5%
15%
21%
15% 19%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
16%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
75%
of marketers share
77%
of marketers share
73%
of marketers share
20%
13%
20% 18%

1 Revenue 2 Social analytics 3 Digital engagement rates 1 Augmented reality 2 New regulations 3 Virtual reality
Nordics (300 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 9 10 10
2020
2019
2021
Improving our use of tools with customer comfort projected
Innovating and technologies levels data sources data sources data sources
1 Insufficient organizational
structure and processes 2 Innovating 3 Insufficient human
resources 1 Programmatic advertising
and media buying 2 Personalize individual
channel experiences 3 Bridge online and
offline experiences
6% 3%
17% 14% 25%
13%
15%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
15%
16% B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
72%
of marketers share
73%
of marketers share
71%
of marketers share
20%
13%
22%
21%

1 Digital engagement rates 2 Web/mobile analytics 3 Sales effectiveness 1 Virtual reality 2 New regulations 3 Expanded online
population
Philippines (200 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 4 5 6
2020
2019
2021
Improving our use of Revamping organizational projected
tools and technologies Increasing budgets structure and processes data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3 1 2 3
Sharing a unified view Improve customer Resolve customer identity
Unifying customer of customer data across Insufficient organizational segmentation/lookalike Personalize the overall AND
data sources business units structure and processes audience modeling customer journey Surface data insights (tie)
7%
15%
15% 18%
14%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
20%
16% B2C Marketing
77%
of marketers share
67%
of marketers share
72%
of marketers share
15%
17%
14% 16%
16%

1 Customer satisfaction 2 Revenue 3 Customer retention rates 1 Virtual reality 2 Voice technology 3 New regulations
Poland (300 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 9 10 15
2020
2019
2021
privacy regulations Innovating real time data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3 1 2 3
Improve customer
Engaging customers in Complying with Personalize individual Drive next best offers segmentation/lookalike
Budgetary constraints real time privacy regulations channel experiences in real time audience modeling
8% 3%
18% 16%
17%
13%
12%
B2B Marketing
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
14%
88%
of marketers share
89%
of marketers share
85%
of marketers share
16%
16% 25%

1 Revenue 2 Sales effectiveness 3 Campaign ROI 1 Expanded online

population 2 Virtual reality 3 5G
Singapore (200 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 8 10 12
2020
2019
2021
Unifying customer of customer data across projected
Innovating data sources business units data sources data sources data sources
1 2 1 2 3
Unifying customer data sources AND Improve customer
Engaging customers in Creating cohesive customer journeys across segmentation/lookalike Programmatic advertising
real time channels and devices (tie) Surface data insights audience modeling and media buying
4% 7%
14% 18% 22%
19%
17%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
13% B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
74%
of marketers share
80%
of marketers share
76%
of marketers share
17% 17%
20%

1 2 3 1 2 3
Customer retention rates
AND Expanded online
Revenue Sales effectiveness Channel ROI (tie) 5G population New regulations
South Africa (200 marketing professionals)
1 4 5 6
Innovating AND
2020
2019
2021
Sharing a unified view of customer data across business units AND projected
Modernizing tools and technologies (tie) data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3 1 2 3
Balancing personalization Improve customer
Unifying customer with customer comfort Drive next best actions Personalize individual segmentation/lookalike
data sources levels Innovating in real time channel experiences audience modeling
13%
14% 14%
19%
14% 15%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
16%
B2C Marketing
73%
of marketers share
77%
of marketers share
76%
of marketers share
14% 15%
14%
13% 21%

1 Web/mobile analytics 2 Campaign ROI 3 Sales effectiveness 1 New regulations AND

Expanded online population (tie) 3 Wearables
South Korea (200 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 12 15 20
2020
2019
2021
Engaging customers in Improving marketing projected
Innovating real time ROI/attribution data sources data sources data sources
1 2 1 2
with customer comfort Innovating AND Bridge online and Programmatic advertising and media buying AND
levels Engaging customers in real time (tie) offline experiences Surface data insights (tie)
5% 2%
14%
20%
17% 23%
12%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
17%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
11% 88%
of marketers share
84%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
12%
24%
28%

1 Customer retention rates 2 Revenue 3 Web/mobile analytics 1 Virtual reality AND

Expanded online population (tie) 3 5G
Spain (300 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 10 13 16
2020
2019
2021
1 2 3 1 2 3
Improve customer
Engaging customers in Complying with segmentation/lookalike Drive next best actions
Innovating real time privacy regulations Surface data insights audience modeling in real time
4% 5%
19% 18%
15%
16%
11% B2B Marketing

Budget Allocations*
15%
12%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
84%
of marketers share
79%
of marketers share
82%
of marketers share
15%
20%
26%

1 Revenue 2 Sales effectiveness 3 Campaign ROI 1 5G 2 Smart homes 3 Smart cars
Switzerland (200 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 14 20 24
2020
2019
2021
Engaging customers in of customer data across projected
Innovating real time business units data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3 1 2 3
Creating cohesive Automate customer
customer journeys across Engaging customers in Insufficient organizational Personalize individual interactions over social Drive next best actions
channels and devices real time structure and processes channel experiences channels or messaging apps in real time
5% 1%
17% 16%
15% 26%
15%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
17% 19%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
78%
of marketers share
74%
of marketers share
78%
of marketers share
16%
15% 15%
21%

1 2 3 1 2
Voice technology AND
Expanded online Wearables AND
Customer retention rates Customer satisfaction Revenue population Virtual reality (tie)
Thailand (200 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 10 12 15
Creating cohesive
2020
2019
2021
customer journeys across Improving our use of projected
Innovating channels and devices tools and technologies data sources data sources data sources
Marketers’ Top Challenges Marketers’ Top AI Use Cases Automate customer

interactions over social
1 2 3 1 2 3
Creating cohesive Improve customer channels or messaging apps
Engaging customers in customer journeys across Drive next best actions in segmentation/lookalike AND Bridge online and
Innovating real time channels and devices real time audience modeling offline experiences (tie)
4% 6%
15%
13% 21%
16%
15% B2B Marketing

Budget Allocations*
21%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
90%
of marketers share
89%
of marketers share
86%
of marketers share
13%
18% 15%
30%

1 Sales effectiveness 2 Revenue 3 Web/mobile analytics 1 5G 2 Expanded online

population 3 Virtual reality
United Arab Emirates (200 marketing professionals)
1 3 10 10 10
Improving our use of tools
2020
2019
2021
Hiring or developing talent AND and technologies AND projected
Engaging customers in real time (tie) Improving marketing ROI/attribution (tie) data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3 1 2 3
Balancing personalization Improve customer
Measuring marketing Complying with with customer comfort segmentation/lookalike Personalize individual
ROI/attribution privacy regulations levels Resolve customer identity audience modeling channel experiences
6% 6%
17%
21%
15%
20%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
18% 78%
of marketers share
79%
of marketers share
77%
of marketers share
13% 14%
17% 14%
30%

1 Revenue 2 Sales effectiveness AND

Marketing leads (tie) 1 Expanded online
United Kingdom (300 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 7 8 9
2020
2019
2021
Automate customer
Marketers’ Top Challenges Marketers’ Top AI Use Cases interactions over social
channels or messaging
1 2 3 1 2 3
Creating cohesive Improve customer apps AND
Unifying customer customer journeys across Engaging customers in Personalize individual segmentation/lookalike Personalize the overall
data sources channels and devices real time channel experiences audience modeling customer journey (tie)
7% 4%
17% 22%
13% 19%
B2B Marketing
Budget Allocations*
14% B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
77%
of marketers share
79%
of marketers share
77%
of marketers share
14%
15%
20%
26%

1 Revenue 2 Web/mobile analytics 3 Sales effectiveness 1 5G 2 Expanded online

population 3 New regulations
United States (700 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 8 10 14
2020
2019
2021
Complying with Engaging with projected
Innovating privacy regulations customers in real time data sources data sources data sources

Measuring marketing
1 2 3 1 2 3
ROI/attribution AND
Engaging customers in Personalize individual Personalize the overall Programmatic advertising
Budgetary constraints Innovating real time (tie) channel experiences customer journey and media buying
3% 4%
14% 19% 20%
16%
15% B2B Marketing

Budget Allocations*
15% 12%
B2C Marketing
Budget Allocations*
82%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
19%
20% 15%
30%

1 Revenue 2 Web/mobile analytics 3 Digital engagement rates 1 Expanded online

INDUSTRY PROFILES
Salesforce Research
Industry Profile State of Marketing 55
Automotive (464 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 6 7 9
2020
2019
2021
Modernizing tools Unifying customer projected
Innovating and technologies data sources data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3
Creating cohesive
customer journeys across Engaging customers in Insufficient organizational
channels and devices real time structure and processes
6%
16%
4% 86%
of marketers share
80%
of marketers share
79%
of marketers share
21%
B2B Marketing 18% B2C Marketing

Budget Allocations* Budget Allocations*
15%
14% 18%
Marketers Who Describe Their Cross-Channel Coordination as Follows

12%
18% 26% 63% 20% 17%
Dynamic Duplicated Siloed

1 Revenue 2 Sales effectiveness 3 Customer satisfaction 1 5G 2 Expanded online

population 3 Virtual reality AND
Smart homes (tie)
Communications (329 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 10 12 16
2020
2019
2021
Engaging customers in Complying with projected
Innovating real time privacy regulations data sources data sources data sources
1 3
Creating customer
Innovating AND journeys across
Engaging customers in real time (tie) channels and devices
8%
17%
5% 81%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
82%
of marketers share
23%
14% 20% metrics with metrics with metrics with

15%
16% 18%
14% Marketers Who Describe Their Cross-Channel Coordination as Follows

18% 18% 62% 25% 13%

1 2 3 1 2 3
Revenue AND
Web/mobile Expanded online
Customer satisfaction Sales effectiveness analytics (tie) population 5G Smart homes
Consumer Goods (882 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 6 8 10
2020
2019
2021
Engaging customers in Improving our use of projected
Innovating real time tools and technologies data sources data sources data sources

real time 3 Unifying customer
data sources
6%
17%
5%
19%
81%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
79%
of marketers share

14% Budget Allocations* Budget Allocations*
16% 19%

14%
19%
25% 52% 34% 14%

1 Revenue 2 Sales effectiveness 3 Web/mobile analytics 1 Expanded online

population 2 5G 3 Virtual reality
Energy and Utilities (395 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 8 10 12
2020
2019
2021
Modernizing tools Improving our use of projected
and technologies Innovating tools and technologies data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3
Ineffective use of with customer comfort
tools and technologies levels Innovating
7%
17%
8% 78%
of marketers share
75%
of marketers share
75%
of marketers share
21%
B2B Marketing B2C Marketing

18%
15%
18%
17%

14%
16% 50% 31% 19%
20%

1 Revenue 2 Customer retention rates 3 Customer satisfaction 1 5G AND

Virtual reality (tie) 3 Augmented reality
Financial Services (764 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 10 10 15
2020
2019
2021
Innovating privacy regulations real time data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3
Creating cohesive
Engaging customers in customer journeys across
real time Innovating channels and devices
4% 5% 77%
of marketers share
78%
of marketers share
79%
of marketers share
18% 22%
16%
16% B2B Marketing B2C Marketing

16%
Budget Allocations* 14% Budget Allocations*
16%

19% 15%
27% 50% 32% 17%

1 Revenue 2 Web/mobile analytics 3 Sales effectiveness 1 5G 2 Expanded online

population 3 New regulations
Government (93 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 10 10 15
Innovating AND
2020
2019
2021
privacy regulations Hiring or developing talent real time (tie) data sources data sources data sources
1 2
Sharing a unified view of customer data across business units
Engaging customers in AND
real time Complying with privacy regulations (tie)
8%
16%
9%
89%
of marketers share
71%
of marketers share
71%
of marketers share
23%
16% 13% metrics with metrics with metrics with
12%
18%
12%
23%
19%
25% 65% 11%
18%
1 Customer satisfaction 2 Social analytics 3 Web/mobile analytics 1 5G 2 New regulations 3 Expanded online
population
Healthcare (469 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 7 9 10
2020
2019
2021
Improving our use of Improving marketing projected
Innovating tools and technologies ROI/attribution data sources data sources data sources
Marketers’ Top Challenges with customer comfort
levels AND
1 2 3
Sharing a unified view Creating cohesive customer
Engaging with of customer data across journeys across channels
customers in real time business units and devices (tie)
5% 6% 81%
of marketers share
77%
of marketers share
77%
of marketers share
18% 20%
21%
B2B Marketing 15%

B2C Marketing
16%
18%
16%
14%
18% 45% 37% 18%
18%

1 Revenue 2 Sales effectiveness 3 Customer satisfaction 1 Expanded online

Life Sciences or Biotechnology (231 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 8 10 15
2020
2019
2021
Complying with Unifying customer projected
Innovating privacy regulations data sources data sources data sources data sources
1 3
Creating cohesive
Sharing a unified view of customer data across busines units AND customer journeys across
Engaging customers in real time (tie) channels and devices
5% 3% 81%
of marketers share
73%
of marketers share
76%
of marketers share
20% 22%

17%
19%
20%

16%
15% 55% 34% 11%
18%
Sales effectiveness AND
1 2 3 1 2 3
Customer satisfaction
AND
Customer retention rates Revenue Channel ROI (tie) 5G Virtual reality Augmented reality
Manufacturing (1,010 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 8 10 12
2020
2019
2021
Engaging customers in Modernizing tools projected
Innovating real time and technologies data sources data sources data sources
1 Engaging customers in
real time 2 Innovating 3 Complying with
privacy regulations
5% 5% 84%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
83%
of marketers share
13% 19% 21%
18%

17%
19%

17%
15%
20% 54% 36% 10%

1 Revenue 2 Sales effectiveness 3 Customer retention rates 1 5G AND

Expanded online population (tie) 3 Virtual reality
Media and Entertainment (337 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 12 13 20
2020
2019
2021
1 Budgetary constraints 2 Engaging customers in

real time 3 Innovating
7%
15%
6% 82%
of marketers share
82%
of marketers share
85%
of marketers share
19%
21%
14%
12% Budget Allocations* Budget Allocations* 17%
13%
16% Marketers Who Describe Their Cross-Channel Coordination as Follows

21%
24% 56% 35% 9%


Nonprofit (52 marketing professionals)
1 2 5 6 8
2020
2019
2021
Engaging customers in Innovating AND projected
real time Complying with privacy regulations (tie) data sources data sources data sources
1 Budgetary constraints 2 Innovating 3 Outdated tools

and technologies
10% 12%
4% 95%
of marketers share
85%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
14% 18%
18% 13% sales teams service teams ecommerce teams
7%
18% 18%
20% 38%
8% 27% 54% 19%

1 Revenue 2 Web/mobile analytics 3 Social analytics 1 Expanded online

population 2 New regulations 3 Voice technology
Retail (926 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 7 8 10
2020
2019
2021

real time 3 Measuring marketing
ROI/attribution
6% 5% 77%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
16% 22%

15% Budget Allocations* Budget Allocations*
13%
17%

15%
17%
24% 50% 31% 19%

1 Revenue 2 Customer satisfaction 3 Web/mobile analytics 1 Expanded online

population 2 5G 3 Augmented reality
Technology (687 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 12 16 20
2020
2019
2021
Complying with Improving our use of projected
Innovating privacy regulations tools and technologies data sources data sources data sources
1 2 3
Creating cohesive
Engaging customers in customer journeys across
Innovating real time channels and devices
6% 7% 83%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
79%
of marketers share
20% 23%

14%
14%
16%

18% 13%
24% 61% 26% 13%


Transportation and Hospitality (202 marketing professionals)
1 2 3 10 14 15
2020
2019
2021
Engaging customers in Improving our use of projected
real time Innovating tools and technologies data sources data sources data sources
1 Engaging customers in
real time 2 Budgetary constraints 3 Innovating
9%
4% 9%
17%
85%
of marketers share
79%
of marketers share
79%
of marketers share
22%
15%

18%
11%
24%
17%
30% 51% 37% 12%

1 Revenue 2 Web/mobile analytics 3 Customer satisfaction 1 Expanded online

APPENDIX
Salesforce Research
Appendix State of Marketing 70
Priorities and Challenges
Marketers’ Top Priorities
High Performers Moderate Performers Underperformers B2B* B2C
1 Innovating 1 Innovating 1 Complying with

privacy regulations 1 Innovating 1 Innovating
2 Improving our use of

tools and technologies 2 Engaging customers in real time 2 Innovating 2 Complying with
privacy regulations 2 Engaging customers in real time
Complying with
3 Complying with
privacy regulations 3 Modernizing tools
and technologies 3 Engaging customers in real time 3 Complying with
privacy regulations
3 4 4 4 4
privacy regulations
AND Engaging customers in real Improving our use of Improving our use of Improving our use of Modernizing tools
time (tie) tools and technologies tools and technologies tools and technologies and technologies
5 Improving marketing
ROI/attribution 5 Modernizing tools
and technologies 5 Engaging customers in real time 5 Improving marketing
ROI/attribution 5 Improving our use of
tools and technologies
High Performers Moderate Performers Underperformers B2B* B2C
1 Engaging customers in real time 1 Engaging customers in real time 1 Budgetary constraints 1 Engaging customers in real time 1 Innovating
2 2 2 2 2
Creating cohesive customer
journeys across channels
and devices Innovating Innovating Innovating Engaging customers in real time
3 3 3 3 3
Creating cohesive customer Creating cohesive customer
journeys across channels journeys across channels
Innovating and devices Insufficient human resources and devices Budgetary constraints
4 4 4 4 4
Creating cohesive customer Creating cohesive customer
journeys across channels Insufficient organizational journeys across channels
Unifying customer data sources Unifying customer data sources and devices structure and processes and devices
5 5 5 5 5
Sharing a unified view of
Insufficient organizational customer data across Measuring marketing Balancing personalization with
structure and processes business units ROI/attribution Unifying customer data sources customer comfort levels
Salesforce Research
Skill Sets
Marketers Who Rate Their Team’s Skills as Advanced, by Company Performance
High Performers Moderate Performers Underperformers
Communication Communication Communication

71% 62% 39%
Creativity Creativity Creativity

71% 60% 38%
Data analysis Data analysis Data analysis

75% 59% 31%
Collaboration Collaboration Collaboration

70% 58% 34%
Digital proficiency Digital proficiency Digital proficiency

74% 56% 29%
Agility/adaptability Agility/adaptability Agility/adaptability

70% 55% 29%
Data science Data science Data science

67% 50% 23%
Coding/software development Coding/software development Coding/software development

68% 50% 22%
Emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence

65% 49% 28%
Salesforce Research
Cross-Functional Collaboration
87%
of marketers share
81%
of marketers share
75%
of marketers share
sales teams sales teams sales teams
85%
of marketers share
80%
of marketers share
70%
of marketers share
service teams service teams service teams
85%
of marketers share
80%
of marketers share
71%
of marketers share
ecommerce teams ecommerce teams ecommerce teams
Salesforce Research
Channel Adoption
Marketers Using the Following Customer/Prospect Communication Channels
Company Performance Company Size Business Type

88% 92%
87% 87% 86%
Website 90% Website 86% Website 91%
80% 65%
74% 73% 72%
Mobile app 59% Mobile app 75% Mobile app 73%
77% 64%
Mobile messaging (e.g., 70% Mobile messaging (e.g., 70% Mobile messaging (e.g., 69%
SMS, push, group messaging) 55% SMS, push, group messaging) 69% SMS, push, group messaging) 68%
76% 62%
Search engine 68% Search engine 68% Search engine 69%
marketing (SEM) 58% marketing (SEM) 69% marketing (SEM) 65%
83% 74%
79% 80% 78%
Display/banner ads 76% Display/banner ads 80% Display/banner ads 81%
75% 53%
Video/over-the-top (OTT) 66% Video/over-the-top (OTT) 66% Video/over-the-top (OTT) 67%
media (e.g., YouTube, Hulu) 54% media (e.g., YouTube, Hulu) 70% media (e.g., YouTube, Hulu) 62%
Social publishing/ 89% Social publishing/ 85% Social publishing/

advertising (paid or 83% advertising (paid or 84% advertising (paid or 82%
non-paid) 79% non-paid) 81% non-paid) 85%
85% 85%
81% 82% 80%
Email 82% Email 80% Email 85%
81% 68%
Customer communities 73% Customer communities 74% Customer communities 74%
(e.g., online forums) 59% (e.g., online forums) 70% (e.g., online forums) 69%
70% 46%
Audio (e.g., podcasts, 58% Audio (e.g., podcasts, 58% Audio (e.g., podcasts, 60%
streaming audio ads) 40% streaming audio ads) 59% streaming audio ads) 51%
Influencer (e.g., thought 79% Influencer (e.g., thought 62% Influencer (e.g., thought
leaders, social media 69% leaders, social media 68% leaders, social media 70%
influencers, industry analysts) 53% influencers, industry analysts) 71% influencers, industry analysts) 65%
High performers Moderate performers Underperformers SMB Midmarket Enterprise B2B* B2C
Company size: SMB (21–100 employees), Midmarket (101–3,500 * Includes B2B2C marketers. Salesforce Research
employees), Enterprise (more than 3,500 employees)
Channel Coordination
Marketers Who Describe Their Cross-Channel Coordination as Follows, by Company Performance and Business Type
High Performers
66% 23% 12%
Moderate Performers
54% 31% 15%
Underperformers
35% 48% 17%
B2B*
55% 29% 16% * Includes B2B2C marketers.
B2C
50% 39% 11%
Salesforce Research
Changes in Technology and Channel Use

Marketers Planning to Increase Use of the Following How Marketers Have Changed Their Use of Channels
Technologies over the Next Year, by Company Performance over the Past Year, by Company Performance
67% 57% 43% 75% 65% 46% 57% 50% 45% 9% 17% 32%
47% Artificial intelligence (AI) 41%

46%
56% Website
45% Social marketing tools

(listening/publishing) 42%
44%
53%
67% 60% 43% 74% 69% 54% 55% 53% 45% 11% 12% 27%
43% Marketing analytics/

measurement tools 39%
42%
51%
Mobile app
65% 57% 44% 73% 68% 57% 51% 51% 41% 13% 15% 26%
43% Mobile marketing tools 38%

42%
49%
Mobile messaging
(e.g., SMS, push, group messaging)
42% Video marketing platform 34%

41%
50%
72% 62% 51% 72% 67% 49% 50% 47% 34% 10% 15% 29%
41% Customer relationship

management (CRM) system 38%
40%
51%
Search engine marketing (SEM)
67% 56% 42% 71% 61% 41% 43% 56% 32% 11% 20% 39%
41% Web analytics tools 38%

40%
50% Display/banner ads
39% Virtual/augmented reality 33%

38%
48%
Video/over-the-top (OTT) media
69% 60% 56% 75% 66% 56% 47% 45% 56% 11% 56% 17%
38% Customer data platform (CDP) 31%

38%
48%
(e.g., YouTube, Hulu)
69% 61% 49% 75% 66% 53% 51% 48% 34% 11% 15% 29%
38% Advertising platforms 30%

38%
46%
Social publishing/advertising
(paid and non-paid)
38% Data management platform (DMP) 32%

37%
47%
67% 55% 44% 72% 65% 49% 51% 35% 56% 12% 17% 33%
38% Marketing automation/account-based

marketing (ABM) platform 31%
37%
47%
Email
69% 61% 46% 75% 69% 57% 54% 50% 42% 8% 12% 25%
36% Content management platform 29%

35%
44%
Customer communities
(e.g., online forums)
34% Voice technology 26%

33%
43%
Audio
70% 62% 49% 71% 68% 51% 49% 36% 56% 11% 15% 28%
33% Email service provider (ESP) 26%

33%
43%
(e.g., podcasts, streaming audio ads)
Improved Improved Expanded No change in
33%
audience personalization user channel use since
33% segmentation functionality last year
Consent management platform 21% 43%

Base: Marketers using the indicated channel. Salesforce Research

Data Sources
Median Number of Data Sources Used by Marketers
8 10 14
2020
2019
2021
projected
High Performers data sources data sources data sources
8 10 12
2020
2019
2021
projected
Moderate Performers data sources data sources data sources
7 10 11
2020
2019
2021
projected
Underperformers data sources data sources data sources
8 2020
10 15
Company size: SMB (21–100 employees),
2019
2021
projected Midmarket (101–3,500 employees),
SMB data sources data sources data sources Enterprise (more than 3,500 employees)
8 10 13
2020
2019
2021
projected
Midmarket data sources data sources data sources
8 9 10
2020
2019
2021
projected
Enterprise data sources data sources data sources
8 10 12
2020
2019
2021
projected
B2B* data sources data sources data sources * Includes B2B2C marketers.
8 10 13
2020
2019
2021
projected
B2C data sources data sources data sources
Salesforce Research
Data Management Solutions
Ranking of Most Common Technologies for Marketing Data Management, by Company Performance
1 Customer relationship management (CRM) system 1 Customer relationship management (CRM) system 1 Customer relationship management (CRM) system
2 Customer data platform (CDP) 2 Email service provider (ESP) 2 Email service provider (ESP)
3 Advertising platforms 3 Advertising platforms
3 Advertising platforms AND

Data management platform (DMP) (tie) 4 Data management platform (DMP) 4 Data management platform (DMP)
5 Marketing automation/
account-based marketing (ABM) platform 5 Customer data platform (CDP) 5 Homegrown solution
6 Email service provider (ESP) 6 Marketing automation/

account-based marketing (ABM) platform 6 Customer data platform (CDP)
7 Consent management platform 7 Consent management platform 7 Marketing automation/

account-based marketing (ABM) platform
8 Homegrown solution 8 Homegrown solution 8 Consent management platform
Salesforce Research
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Adoption and Use Cases
Marketers Reporting AI Use This Year, by Company Performance
52% 32% 9% 39% 34% 12% 28% 28% 11%
Increase use Maintain use Decrease use Increase use Maintain use Decrease use Increase use Maintain use Decrease use
7 7 6
Average number of Average number of ways Average number of ways
ways a high-performing a moderate-performing an underperforming
company uses AI company uses AI company uses AI
Marketers’ Top AI Use Cases, by Company Performance
1 Improve customer segmentation/

lookalike audience modeling 1 Personalize individual channel experiences 1 Personalize individual channel experiences
2 Personalize individual channel experiences 2 Surface data insights 2 Surface data insights
3 Automate customer interactions over

social channels or messaging apps 3 Drive next best actions in real time 3 Improve customer segmentation/
lookalike audience modeling
4 Bridge online and offline experiences 4 Improve customer segmentation/

lookalike audience modeling 4 Personalize the overall customer journey
5 Drive next best actions in real time 5 Automate customer interactions over
social channels or messaging apps 5 Drive next best actions in real time
Base: Marketers who use artificial intelligence (AI). Salesforce Research

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Adoption and Use Cases
Marketers Reporting AI Use This Year, by Business Type
B2B* B2C
40% 35% 12% 38% 29% 11%
B2B* B2C
7 7
Average number of Average number of
ways a B2B ways a B2C
company uses AI company uses AI
Marketers’ Top AI Use Cases, by Business Type
B2B* B2C
1 Improve customer segmentation/

lookalike audience modeling 1 Personalize individual channel experiences
2 Personalize individual channel experiences 2 Surface data insights
3 Surface data insights 3 Drive next best actions in real time
4 Drive next best actions in real time

Automate customer interactions over social
channels or messaging apps
5 4
AND
Improve customer segmentation/lookalike
Personalize the overall customer journey audience modeling (tie)

Base: Marketers who use artificial intelligence (AI). Salesforce Research
Metrics Across the Journey

Top-Ranked Overall Marketing Program Success Metrics,
Metrics Currently Tracked, by Company Performance by Company Performance
70% Revenue 69%

71%
72%
Total
65% 1 3 4 5
66%
Sales effectiveness 58% 70%
62% Web/mobile analytics 58%

62%
68%
Sales effectiveness
AND Revenue (tie)
Customer
satisfaction
Marketing leads Social
analytics
62% Customer satisfaction 52%

62%
70%
61% Customer retention rates 53%

61%
67% High Performers
59% 60%
1 2 3 4 5
Digital engagement rates 51% 66%
59% Campaign ROI 47%

61%
65% Sales Customer Revenue Social Web/mobile
58% Social analytics 48%

59%
69%
effectiveness satisfaction analytics analytics
58% Marketing leads 44%

59%
71%
Moderate Performers
58% 48%
58%
66%
1 2 3 4 5
58% Channel ROI 47%

61%
66%
53% 54% Sales Revenue Customer Marketing leads Social

effectiveness satisfaction analytics
Customer referral rates 39% 64%
48% Lifetime customer value (LTV) 33%

49%
59%
High performers Underperformers
1 2 3 4 5
Moderate performers
Underperformers
Revenue Sales Marketing leads Campaign Customer

effectiveness ROI satisfaction
Salesforce Research
Metrics Currently Tracked, by Business Type Top-Ranked Overall Marketing Program Success Metrics, by Business Type
70% Revenue 73% 77%

Total
65% Sales effectiveness 65% 66%

1 3 4 5
62% Web/mobile analytics 61% 64%
Sales effectiveness
AND Revenue (tie)
Customer
satisfaction
analytics
62% Customer satisfaction 61% 62%
61% Customer retention rates 60% 62% B2B*

59%
1 2 3 4 5
59% Campaign ROI 60% 59% Revenue Marketing leads Sales Campaign Customer
58% Social analytics 58% 59%

effectiveness ROI satisfaction
58% Marketing leads 57% 59%

B2C
58% 57% 58%
1 2 3 4 5
58% Channel ROI 57% 58%
53%
Marketing leads Revenue Sales Customer Campaign
effectiveness satisfaction ROI
48% Lifetime customer value (LTV) 45% 50%
B2B* B2C
Salesforce Research
Metrics Currently Tracked, by Company Size Top-Ranked Overall Marketing Program Success Metrics, by Company Size
70% Revenue 69%

70%
73%
Total
65% Sales effectiveness 65%

66%
66%
1 3 4 5
62% Web/mobile analytics
61%
61% 64%
Sales effectiveness
AND Revenue (tie)
Customer
satisfaction
analytics
62% Customer satisfaction 60%

61%
64%
61% Customer retention rates 58%

61%
62% SMB
59% 60%
1 2 3 4 5
59% Campaign ROI 53%

60%
61% Marketing leads Revenue Campaign Web/mobile Sales
58% Social analytics 54%

59%
60%
ROI analytics effectiveness
58% Marketing leads

49% 59%
61%
Midmarket
58% 52%
58%
59%
1 2 3 4 5
58% Channel ROI 52%

58%
59%
53% 53% Marketing leads Revenue Sales Customer Campaign

48% Lifetime customer value (LTV) 39%

49%
51%
SMB Midmarket Enterprise Enterprise
Company size: SMB (21–100 employees),

Midmarket (101–3,500 employees),
1 2 3 4 5
Enterprise (more than 3,500 employees) Revenue Marketing leads Sales Customer Campaign
Salesforce Research
The Next Decade of Marketing

Technologies and More Anticipated to Have a Major Impact on Marketing over the Next Decade

67% 56%
61% 60% 59%
5G 49% 5G 61% 5G 62%
62% 45%
50% 49% 50%
Voice technology 34% Voice technology 51% Voice technology 47%
66% 54%
55% 55% 54%
Virtual reality 42% Virtual reality 54% Virtual reality 55%
66% 49%
52% 50% 53%
Augmented reality 36% Augmented reality 54% Augmented reality 49%
56% 41%
48% 47% 48%
Wearables 31% Wearables 48% Wearables 44%
59% 45%
51% 51% 52%
Smart homes 39% Smart homes 51% Smart homes 47%
60% 41%
46% 46% 48%
Smart cars 32% Smart cars 47% Smart cars 43%
57% 40%
47% 46% 47%
Blockchain 29% Blockchain 47% Blockchain 43%
71% 64%
Expanded online 59% Expanded online 60% Expanded online 59%
population 52% population 59% population 61%
66% 52%
52% 53% 53%
New regulations 44% New regulations 54% New regulations 53%
Company size: SMB (21–100 employees), * Includes B2B2C marketers.

Enterprise (more than 3,500 employees) Salesforce Research
Agreement
Marketers Who Agree with the Following Statements
Customer experience is 86% Customer experience is 87% Customer experience is

the key competitive 82% the key competitive 82% the key competitive 81%
differentiator 82% differentiator 81% differentiator 85%
Our marketing organization Our marketing organization Our marketing organization
is more mindful about is more mindful about is more mindful about
balancing personalization 84% balancing personalization 85% balancing personalization
with customer comfort 81% with customer comfort 80% with customer comfort 80%
levels versus two years ago 79% levels versus two years ago 80% levels versus two years ago 83%
Our marketing Our marketing Our marketing
organization leads organization leads organization leads
customer experience 88% customer experience 78% customer experience
initiatives across 79% initiatives across 80% initiatives across 78%
the business 68% the business 77% the business 81%
organization engages organization engages organization engages
customers in real time 85% customers in real time 71% customers in real time
across one or more 77% across one or more 76% across one or more 75%
marketing channels 55% marketing channels 75% marketing channels 75%
organization is actively organization is actively organization is actively
mapping the customer 87% mapping the customer 82% mapping the customer
journey across 80% journey across 79% journey across 79%
the company 68% the company 69% the company 81%
B2B and B2C marketing 82% B2B and B2C marketing 76% B2B and B2C marketing
tactics/strategies 77% tactics/strategies 76% tactics/strategies 78%
are converging 67% are converging 76% are converging 74%
Our customer 84% Our customer 77% Our customer

engagement is 78% engagement is 79% engagement is 78%
data driven 72% data driven 77% data driven 79%
Traditional marketing 75% Traditional marketing 65% Traditional marketing

roles limit customer 69% roles limit customer 70% roles limit customer 70%
engagement 65% engagement 70% engagement 68%

Enterprise (more than 3,500 employees) Salesforce Research
Agreement
Marketers Who Agree with the Following Statements
67% 58%
Measurement/attribution 64% Measurement/attribution 62% Measurement/attribution 61%
is an automated process 49% is an automated process 63% is an automated process 64%
We go beyond We go beyond We go beyond

regulations/industry 63% regulations/industry 60% regulations/industry
standards to protect and 57% standards to protect and 57% standards to protect and 55%
respect customer privacy 51% respect customer privacy 55% respect customer privacy 60%
70% 49%
We have a fully defined 59% We have a fully defined 58% We have a fully defined 58%
AI strategy 35% AI strategy 58% AI strategy 56%
We can analyze 72% We can analyze 67% We can analyze

marketing performance 68% marketing performance 66% marketing performance 64%
in real time 49% in real time 64% in real time 68%
We do a great job at We do a great job at We do a great job at

innovating our marketing 76% innovating our marketing 63% innovating our marketing
technology, tactics, 68% technology, tactics, 66% technology, tactics, 67%
and strategies 47% and strategies 69% and strategies 65%
Our marketing team 73% Our marketing team 68% Our marketing team
conducts its ABM 68% conducts its ABM 69% conducts its ABM 68%
program with automation 59% program with automation 64% program with automation 65%
Sales, service, and 64% Sales, service, and 62% Sales, service, and
marketing teams use 63% marketing teams use 64% marketing teams use 62%
the same CRM system 64% the same CRM system 61% the same CRM system 65%

Enterprise (more than 3,500 employees)
Salesforce Research
SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS
Salesforce Research
Survey Demographics State of Marketing 87
INDUSTRY GENERATION COUNTRY

Automotive............................................................... 7% Baby Boomers.......................................................... 4% Australia/New Zealand.......................................... 4%
Communications.................................................... 5% Gen Xers..................................................................44% Belgium..................................................................... 3%
Consumer goods ..................................................13% Millennials/Gen Zers............................................52% Brazil........................................................................... 4%
Energy and utilities.................................................. 6% Canada...................................................................... 4%
Financial services...................................................11% France........................................................................ 4%
Government............................................................. 1% Germany................................................................... 4%
Healthcare................................................................ 7%
Life sciences or biotechnology............................. 3% ROLE WITHIN MARKETING Hong Kong................................................................ 3%
India........................................................................... 4%
Manufacturing.......................................................15% Ireland....................................................................... 3%
Media and entertainment..................................... 5% CMO........................................................................26% Israel........................................................................... 2%
Nonprofit.................................................................. 1% Marketing VP............................................................ 8% Italy............................................................................. 4%
Retail........................................................................13% Marketing director.................................................34% Japan......................................................................... 4%
Technology.............................................................10% Marketing manager..............................................31% Mexico....................................................................... 3%
Transportation and hospitality.............................. 3% Netherlands.............................................................. 4%
Other.......................................................................... 2% Nordics (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden)..................... 4%
Philippines................................................................ 3%
REGION Poland........................................................................ 4%
Singapore.................................................................. 3%
COMPANY TYPE Europe, Middle East, and Africa.........................51%
South Africa.............................................................. 3%
South Korea.............................................................. 3%
Asia Pacific..............................................................27%
Spain.......................................................................... 4%
Business-to-business (B2B)....................................25% U.S. & Canada........................................................14%
Switzerland............................................................... 3%
Business-to-consumer (B2C).................................35% Latin America........................................................... 7%
Thailand..................................................................... 3%
Business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C).......40%. United Arab Emirates............................................. 3%
United Kingdom...................................................... 4%
United States..........................................................10%
COMPANY SIZE
SMB (1–100 employees)...............................................11%
Midmarket (101–3,500 employees)..............................63%
Enterprise (3,501+ employees).....................................26%
Salesforce Research
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Salesforce Research Sixth Edition State of Marketing

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Salesforce Research Sixth Edition State of Marketing

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Insights and trends from nearly 7,000

senior marketers leading through change

Salesforce Chief Marketing Officer

For the sixth edition of our “State of Marketing” report,

• Changing definitions of marketing success

Data in this report is from a double-blind survey

All respondents are third-party panelists (not limited

Due to rounding, not all percentage totals in this report

Salesforce Research provides data-driven insights to help

Distribution of Marketing Performance Levels

* For further survey demographics, see page 87. Salesforce Research

01 Marketing Transformation Takes On New Urgency......................................................................... 10

02 Customer Data Sets the Stage for Empathetic Marketing ............................................................. 17

03 Marketers Double Down on Business Value .................................................................................... 22

Look Ahead: The Next Decade of Marketing Innovation ........................................................................... 26

As technology drives customer Marketing Transformation Takes On New Urgency

Marketers Double Down on Business Value

* Includes B2B2C marketers. Salesforce Research

Customer Experience and Innovation Put Marketers Under Pressure

As companies look to connect and build trust

84% of customers say the experience

Customer Experience and Innovation Put Marketers Under Pressure

ambitious goals will be challenging. Unifying

the cohesive journeys that customers want

Marketers’ Top Challenges

1 Engaging customers in real time

3 Creative cohesive customer journeys across channels and devices

4 Unifying customer data sources

5 Sharing a unified view of customer data across business units

New to top 5 for 2020 Carryover from top 5 in 2018

See page 70 for additional data segmentations. Salesforce Research

Marketers Re-Evaluate Budgets for a New Era

Advertising Technology People Research Content Account-based marketing Other

* Includes B2B2C marketers.

The definition of a good marketer in 2020 Communication 60%

Marketers generally rate their teams as Collaboration 56%

Coding/software development 48%

Emotional intelligence 48%

See page 71 for additional data segmentations. Salesforce Research

of marketers say traditional 29% 65% 5%

It’s now the exception to the rule for 34% 62% 5%

The vast majority of marketing teams share 81% 64%

See page 72 for additional data segmentations.

High performers Moderate performers Underperformers

* “Enterprise Technology Trends,” Salesforce Research, May 2019.

Over the past two years, marketers have made

See page 74 for additional data segmentations.

Marketers Are Using Channels in More Sophisticated Ways

64% 65% 65%

22% 19% 18%

Display/banner ads Email Video/OTT Social publishing/advertising Mobile messaging

16% 15% 18%

Search engine Audio Mobile app Website Customer communities

See page 75 for additional data segmentations.

them is nothing short of essential. Seventy-

preferences, and known digital identities are

Median Number of Data Sources Used by Marketers

See page 76 for additional data segmentations. Salesforce Research

High performers Moderate performers Underperformers

even more complex combinations of data

4 Data management platform (DMP)

6 6 Marketing automation platform