ROI from marketing across various sectors

£115.9 million went towards direct mail marketing and online platforms in the UK automotive industry in 2016. That’s according to figures from Google’s Car Purchasing UK Report from April 2017. Of course, the car industry has a massive budget at their disposal when it comes to marketing, one that not all industries can match. Plus, with so many people vying for a digital presence, the cost of online marketing is rising. Is it really worth the cost? Audi servicing plan providers, Vindis, explores the matter across many sectors.

Automotive industry
Car shoppers are heading more and more to the online world than ever before, according to Google’s Drive To Decide Report. Over 82% of the UK population aged 18 and over have access to the internet for personal reasons, 85% use smartphones, and 65% choose a smartphone as their preferred device to access the internet. These figures show that for car dealers to keep their head in the game, a digital transition is vital.

The report also showed that 90% of car shoppers researched online before buying. 51% of buyers start their auto research online, with 41% of those using a search engine. To capture those shoppers beginning their research online, car dealers must think in terms of the customer’s micro moments of influence, which could include online display ads – one marketing method that currently occupies a significant proportion of car dealers’ marketing budgets.

In fact, 11% of the total UK Digital Ad Spending Growth in 2017 was from the car industry, according to eMarketer, which puts the industry second only to retail. The automotive industry is forecast to see a further 9.5% increase in ad spending in 2018.

But is online really impacted a buyer’s choices? 41% of shoppers who research online find their smartphone research ‘very valuable’. 60% said they were influenced by what they saw in the media, of which 22% were influenced by marketing promotions – proving online investment is working. But traditional methods of TV and radio still remain the most invested forms of marketing for the automotive sector. However, in the last past five years, it is digital that has made the biggest jump from fifth most popular method to third, seeing an increase of 10.6% in expenditure.

Fashion industry
Fashion retailers need to keep an eye on online investments, as the online world is strong for the fashion industry – ecommerce accounted for £16.2 billion in sales for the sector in 2017. This figure is expected to continue to grow by a huge 79% by 2022. So where are fashion retailers investing their marketing budgets? Has online marketing become a priority?

The British Retail Consortium stated that ecommerce made up nearly 75% of all purchases for December 2017. Online brands such as ASOS and Boohoo continue to embrace the online shopping phenomenon. ASOS experienced an 18% UK sales growth in the final four months of 2017, whilst Boohoo saw a 31% increase in sales throughout the same period.

Brands like John Lewis, Next, and Marks and Spencer have set aside millions towards their online presence, in order to make the most of the rise of online shopping. John Lewis announced that 40% of its Christmas sales came from online shoppers, and whilst Next struggled to keep up with the sales growth of its competitors, it has announced it will invest £10 million into its online marketing and operations.

People don’t enjoy the idea of wandering the high street anymore. Instead they like the idea of being able to conveniently shop from the comfort of their home, or via their smartphone devices whilst on the move.

Influencers are becoming a big thing for fashion marketing too; PMYB Influencer Marketing Agency noted that 59% of marketers for the fashion world ramped up their spend for influencers last year. In fact, 75% of global fashion brands collaborate with social media influencers as part of their marketing strategy. More than a third of marketers believe influencer marketing to be more successful than traditional methods of advertising in 2017 – as 22% of customers are said to be acquired through influencer marketing.

Utilities industry
Comparison websites are an important part of picking utilities suppliers for customers, so gaining and retaining customers falls on those websites. With comparison websites spending millions on TV marketing campaigns that are watched by the masses, it has become vital for many utility suppliers to be listed on comparison websites and offer a very competitive price, in order to stay in the game.

Compare the Market, MoneySupermarket, Confused.com, and Go Compare make up the largest comparison sites as well as being in the top 100 highest advertising spenders in the UK. Comparison sites can be the difference between a high rate of customer retention for one supplier and a high rate of customer acquisition for another. If you don’t beat your competitors, then what is to stop your existing and potential new customers choosing your competitors over you?

One of the Big Six energy suppliers, British Gas, has changed its main focus from new customer to retaining customers. Whilst the company recognise that this approach to marketing will be a slower process to yield measurable results, they firmly believe that retention will in turn lead to acquisition. The Gas company hope that by marketing a wider range of tailored products and services to their existing customers, they will be able to improve customer retention.

This priority change is reflected in British Gas’s decision to invest £100 million into their customer loyalty scheme, to reward those who stay with them. The utilities sector is incredibly competitive, so it is vital that companies invest in their existing customers before looking for new customers.

Google’s Public Utilities Report in December 2017 showed how the utilities sector has strengthened online, with 40% of all searches occurring on mobile, and 45% of ad impressions delivered on mobile. As mobile usage continues to soar, companies need to consider content created specifically for mobile users as they account for a large proportion of the market now.

Healthcare industry
Marketing in the healthcare industry is a far cry from any other sector in terms of restrictions. The same ROI methods that have been adopted by other sectors simply don’t work for the healthcare market. Despite nearly 74% of all healthcare marketing emails remaining unopened, you’ll be surprised to learn that email marketing is essential for the healthcare industry’s marketing strategy.

Around 2.5 million people have email as their main communication method, and the number is rising. This means email marketing is targeting a large audience. For this reason, 62% of physicians and other healthcare providers prefer communication via email – and now that smartphone devices allow users to check their emails on their device, email marketing puts companies at the fingertips of their audience.

With one in 20 Google searches being for health content, it’s definitely worth the investment of the healthcare industry to be online. This could be attributed to the fact that many people turn to a search engine for medical answer before calling the GP. In relation to this, Pew Research Center data shows 77% of all health enquiries begin at a search engine – and 72% of total internet users say they’ve looked online for health information within the past year. Furthermore, 52% of smartphone users have used their device to look up the medical information they require. Statistics estimate that marketing spend for online marketing accounts for 35% of the overall budget.

And that’s without considering social media marketing. Whilst the healthcare industry is restricted to how they market their services and products, that doesn’t mean social media should be neglected. In fact, an effective social media campaign could be a crucial investment for organisations, with 41% of people choosing a healthcare provider based on their social media reputation! And the reason? The success of social campaigns is usually attributed to the fact audiences can engage with the content on familiar platforms.

Should you invest?
Online marketing is clearly vital for many sectors, particularly for fashion and car sales. With a clear increase in online demand in both sectors that is changing the purchase process, some game players could find themselves out of the game before it has even begun if they neglect digital.

There’s a lot more to consider, particularly for utilities. Whilst TV and digital appear to remain the main sales driving forces, its more than just creating your own marketing campaign when comparison sites need to be considered. Without the correct marketing, advertising or listing on comparison sites, you could fall behind.

The average firm in 2018 is set to put an estimated 41% of their marketing budget towards online strategies, and this is expected to rise to 45% by 2020, says webstrategies.com. Social media advertising investments is expected to represent 25% of total online spending and search engine banner ads are also expected to grow significantly too – all presumably as a result of more mobile and online usage.

How do you view the investment? If mobile and online usage continues to grow year on year at the rate it has done in the past few years, we forecast the investment to be not only worthwhile but essential.

Sources
https://pmyb.co.uk/global-fashion-company-influencer-marketing-budget/
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-uk-clothing-market-2017-2022-300483862.html
http://uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/Online-is-key-focus-for-UK-fashion-retail-investment-in-2017,783787.html#.WrOjxOjFKUk
http://www.mobyaffiliates.com/blog/retail-accounts-for-14-2-of-digital-advertising-spending-in-the-uk-in-2017/
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-2933401/Energy-price-comparison-sites-spend-110m-annoying-adverts.html
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/03/28/british-gas-shifts-acquisition-retention-marketing-know-the-value-keeping-the-right
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-companies-online-advertising-spend-10-billion-more-last-year-2016-pwc-a7678536.html
https://www.webstrategiesinc.com/blog/how-much-budget-for-online-marketing-in-2014
https://www.kunocreative.com/blog/healthcare-email-marketing
http://www.evariant.com/blog/10-campaign-best-practices-for-healthcare-marketers
https://getreferralmd.com/2015/02/7-medical-marketing-and-dental-media-strategies-that-really-work/