The 2015 CMO Survey finds opportunities are vast for marketers in 2015, but they need to move forward with goals and data in mind.

2015 promises to be a banner year for digital marketing. According to this year’s CMO Survey of nearly 300 marketers, optimism is at a peak. Respondents across verticals are more confident in the economy and customer outcomes than they’ve been since 2008.

But with potential and high expectations comes great responsibility, and 61 percent of marketers are under pressure to prove the value of their strategies to the C-suite.

Marketers under more pressure to deliver results

Mo’ money, mo’ pressure

The good news first: As economic expectations become rosier, marketing budgets swell. There has been a notable increase in spending throughout the past six months across verticals – both B2B and B2C products and services. And while traditional marketing investment remains stalled, digital spend is on the up-and-up.

marketers spending more in 2015
With bigger budgets and a stronger landscape, marketers are probably excited to bring to life the kind of creative campaigns that will improve customer satisfaction and drive sales (i.e. social ads, video marketing, case studies). Additional funds mean growth opportunities, but conversions will be key because bigger budgets come with strings attached – brands expect the web to become more of a powerhouse this year and into the future.

On average, companies report they expect over 12 percent of their business to come from the internet, up from 9.9 percent the year prior. If marketers can’t prove they’re trailing toward these conversion rates, they may run into challenges and/or repercussions.

On average, companies report they expect over 12 percent of their business to come from the internet this year. 

While 61 percent said they already feel pressure to prove their value to their CEOs and Boards, another 58 percent said that demand is only growing. To answer questions about tangible results, marketers need hard data that proves how well their campaigns are performing.  

Don’t go into the board room without providing real results

In order to prove value, marketers will need reliable information about which marketing campaigns are providing the best results and driving the most sales, conversions, goal completions, etc.

However, that’s still a big problem for most teams.Marketers unceratain about ROI

Brafton recently reported that 33 percent of marketers are uncertain about which marketing channel is their biggest revenue driver.

If marketers can’t quantify the dollar value they receive from each channel to determine the most valuable platform, it will be difficult to prove which strategies are driving results for the business (let alone how much) when they meet with execs.

They need reliable data that tracks back to their goals, and they need marketing analytics that demonstrate their successes in numbers that every decision maker will understand.

Armed with information about how each effort – from SEO strategies to video and social media marketing – compares to company-wide goals, marketers can clearly demonstrate how they’re capitalizing on opportunities in 2015.

Lauren Kaye is a Marketing Editor at Brafton Inc. She studied creative and technical writing at Virginia Tech before pursuing the digital frontier and finding content marketing was the best place to put her passions to work. Lauren also writes creative short fiction, hikes in New England and appreciates a good book recommendation.