More than a third want to introduce marketing automation in the future

In recent years, many companies in Switzerland have mainly focused on automating their supply chains. Now that this process has been completed in many places, the automation of marketing and sales is imminent. atedo AG has been working intensively on these automation processes and is one of the first agencies to present survey results on the use of marketing automation in Switzerland. Alexander Wicki, Senior Digital Marketing & Sales Advisor and member of atedo's Executive Board, surveyed 90 marketers and managing directors as part of his Master's thesis at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

Need to catch up in the area of marketing automation

According to the survey, 34.3 % of respondents are planning to introduce marketing automation in the next one to two years. In addition, there are over 40 % who have not yet made a decision or have not yet given enough thought to the topic. " It is striking that the topic of marketing automation still raises big question marks for many respondents. It is the job of us consultants to inform our customers about the possibilities and potential," says Alexander Wicki.

Marketing automation as a success accelerator

The survey revealed that a lack of expertise, limited human resources and a focus on other marketing areas are the main reasons why companies are still not using marketing automation. In the absence of know-how, many companies today rely on the expertise of external marketing automation consultants. "For SMEs, it is not absolutely necessary for the specialist knowledge to be built up within the company. Small companies in particular need to be able to deploy their marketing resources in a very targeted manner," explains Alexander Wicki. Due to the low prevalence of marketing automation, companies can still gain a competitive advantage today.

Targets achieved

The interviewees who already use automated marketing and sales processes in their company are very satisfied with the results. For example, the introduction of automated processes has increased lead generation, expanded marketing activities and provided valuable data for optimizing the customer journey. This in turn has led to a reduction in marketing costs and an increase in sales.

Strategic networked thinking

atedo AG recommends not making the decision for or against marketing automation dependent on a tool. The various automation solutions are merely an aid to achieving the goal of automating marketing and sales processes. "Companies should ask themselves which goals they want to achieve and how, and which steps of the process can be made more efficient through automation," advises Alexander Wicki. The thirteen-strong consultancy for creative business management is already successfully using automation tools for its clients.