52% of Digital Marketers Solely Focused on Reach Rather Than ROI

Digital marketers are now using a wide range of channels to reach their target audience. However, new research indicates that they are finding it challenging to measure the return-on-investment (ROI) of channels, such as email, social media marketing, and search.

Nielsen recently published its “Annual Marketing Report” for 2023, and statistics suggested that globally, only 48% of marketers are focused on both their reach/frequency and ROI. The majority of respondents (52%) stated that they are only focusing on their reach and frequency at this time.

“Practically speaking, marketers without dependable measurement data won’t be able to make fully informed media mix decisions,” concluded the researchers behind the report. That could limit their ability to plan for their primary business objective for the year: customer acquisition.”

Most marketers (61%) are “very” or “extremely” confident in their ability to measure the ROI of social media initiatives. About 59% said the same about search, and 53% claimed that they were “very” or “extremely” confident in their measurement of email.

Marketers’ Confidence in Social Media Measurement Grows

Although marketers are now becoming more confident in their use of social media, previous research indicates that they weren’t always comfortable leveraging this digital channel.

Hootsuite released its “Social Media Trends 2023” report, and data suggested that most marketers (40%) are at least “confident” in the ROI social media delivers. However, only 37% said they were “extremely confident,” and 20% admitted they were just “somewhat confident.” Nearly 4% admitted that they weren’t at all confident.

“Our survey found that, when it comes to social media, seniority has a major impact on how individuals perceive and demonstrate the value of social,” concluded the researchers behind the report.