The Marketing Technology Suite: A Testament to How Software Usage Has Evolved Over Time

Across the board, the adoption of most software solutions has increased significantly since 2015. This trend can be explained by the rapid growth of different types of marketing channels, such as social media, public relations (PR), and content marketing, necessitating marketers to use a wider range of software tools to engage their target audience.

Due to frequently changing customer demand, it has become increasingly important for marketers to monitor buyer behavior. As a result, we’ve observed a significant rise in the collection of customer insights via customer and market surveys. About 5% of marketers used survey software for studying customer behavior in 2015; the number has increased to 73% in 2020.

We’ve observed an industry-wide increase in the digitalization and formalization of marketing processes, with a significant rise in the percentage of businesses using marketing automation and project management software to manage campaigns. In 2015, only 8% of marketers used project management solutions, whereas 42% use these tools today. Similarly, 62% use marketing automation solutions today compared to only 14% in 2015.

While the use of all other marketing tools increased, customer relationship management (CRM) software adoption fell to 29% in 2020 from 38% in 2015. This trend can likely be attributed to the growing dependency on marketing automation solutions. In 2020, 62% of marketers rely on marketing automation tools to automate their campaigns and sales processes. Also, most of these tools can be integrated with CRM systems, making it nonessential for marketers to directly use a CRM solution.

For B2B and B2C organizations of all sizes, social media marketing, marketing automation, and survey software are the three most used technology tools in 2020. This draws our attention to the following trends across marketing organizations: increased emphasis on social marketing, rising complexity of marketing projects, and higher dependence on customer insights for marketing campaigns.

Across the board, about 25% of marketers use AI-based marketing tools, such as lead segmentation and scoring, in 2020. But what’s interesting to note is the difference in adoption between B2B and B2C marketers: 17% B2B vs. 33% B2C. B2C marketers usually have more customers than B2B marketers. These customers have to be clustered and segmented accurately, and AI-based tools help do that efficiently. Also, due to having more customers, these firms generate a higher volume of transaction data (e.g., website visits, average time on site), which can be analyzed using AI algorithms to understand customer behavior.

Over 2015–2020, survey software was the fastest growing software category. Its adoption increased from 5% in 2015 to 73% in 2020. This can be attributed to rapid demand changes among B2C customers, making it essential to monitor these changes using market surveys. Check out the 10 best free and open source online survey software for marketing firms.

Social media marketing solutions also registered remarkable growth in adoption. While only one-third of B2C marketers used the software in 2015, approximately three-fourths do so in 2020. Over the last five years, social media platforms have evolved from being just a medium of communication to an effective source of sales leads. Several prospects are active on social media, making it essential for B2C marketers to create more social media campaigns and monitor social media sentiments.

Content marketing tools recorded a significant increase in adoption among B2B organizations, up from 3% in 2015 to 48% in 2020. This can be attributed to the increasing effectiveness of content marketing as a lead generation source—costing 62% less than traditional marketing and generating three times as many leads for every dollar spent. Read our article to learn how to create a successful content marketing strategy for your B2B firm.

Digital asset management solutions also registered a considerable rise in adoption, growing from 3% in 2015 to 44% in 2020. This growth can be explained by the greater need for consistent branding among B2B marketers due to their more formal client communication approach. In 2020, B2B firms use digital asset management software to manage digital assets (content, designs, images, fonts, colors, etc.) and marketing touch points as per defined brand guidelines to ensure clients receive consistent brand messages and experiences. Read more about the benefits of digital asset management software for your business.

Among small marketing teams, PR software recorded the fastest growth in adoption from 2015 to 2020. While the adoption rate was nil in 2015, 38% of marketers in small teams use PR tools in 2020. Considering PR tools cost less than other marketing tools and generate as many and sometimes even more leads, they’ve become a lucrative option for small teams, most of which operate on a tight budget.

Survey tools registered the second highest growth in adoption. While only 3% of small teams used these tools in 2015, about 77% use them in 2020. This trend can be attributed to the wide availability of online survey tools, which cost less than other survey methods, such as telephonic and postal surveys. Also, online surveys are less time-consuming and allow access to a wider audience. Responses are automatically processed, and the gathered data is ready for analysis, which helps get results faster.

Due to similar reasons, survey software experienced the highest growth in adoption for midsize teams as well. While adoption was merely 3% in 2015, it stands at 78% in 2020.

The second highest growth in adoption was recorded for content marketing software, which reached 55% in 2020 from just 3% in 2015. This trend highlights the increasing dependence on online content marketing as a lead generation source. In 2020, content marketing is one of the most cost-effective and reliable ways of engaging customers to access qualified leads. Content marketing is no longer just about using content to sell a product; it’s also about using content to shape customers’ perception and improve brand visibility in a crowded marketplace.

While survey software registered the highest increase in adoption among large marketing teams, up from 6% in 2015 to 65% in 2020, its usage is still lower than that in small (77%) and midsize (78%) teams. This indicates that along with conducting surveys in-house, a number of large marketing teams also outsource their research activities for gathering customer insights. Thus, they conduct fewer surveys than small or midsize marketing teams.

Project management software recorded the second highest growth, increasing from 6% in 2015 to 55% in 2020. This growth can be attributed to the rising complexity of marketing projects across large teams, making it essential to use project management tools for task and resource allocation and monitoring. These 10 best free project management software tools will help you overcome your project bottlenecks.

Although CRM software usage reduced overall, its fall among large teams wasn’t as much as that for small and midsize teams. CRM adoption dipped 33% and 45% for small and midsize teams, respectively, but it fell only 8% for large teams. Marketers in large teams tend to rely more on formal tools for organizing and storing information related to campaigns and leads. Thus, they still use CRM systems to manage their marketing campaigns. Check out the top three user-friendly CRM software here.