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Insights and trends from 6,000 marketers and over

2 trillion outbound marketing communications
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 1

Executive Letter
We have been through so much these past few years, adapting our
strategies and practices to navigate a rapidly changing and challenging
environment. Companies everywhere are looking to their CMO and
marketing teams to meet customers’ digital-first expectations, do more
with less in the face of economic headwinds, and accommodate evolving
data privacy laws to prepare for a cookieless future.

It’s a new day for marketers, a time of tremendous transformation that

requires us to reimagine how we connect with customers and personalize
every interaction; achieve our budget and business goals in an uncertain
economic environment; and lead with our values to help shape a better,
more equitable and sustainable future.

Salesforce collected insights from marketing leaders worldwide to

understand how they’re prioritizing their efforts in this new day. What
did we discover in this year’s “State of Marketing” report? Marketers
and businesses are leading with values, while embracing optimism and
innovation. They’re prioritizing driving as much value as possible from
existing tools and technologies, while focusing new investments in key
areas like automation and productivity.

I hope you find this year’s “State of Marketing” report a helpful guide
to navigating the ever-changing marketing landscape and delivering
exceptional customer experiences that build lasting relationships.

Sarah Franklin
President & CMO
Salesforce
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 2

What You’ll Find

in This Report
For the eighth edition of our “State of Marketing” report,
Salesforce Research surveyed 6,000 marketing leaders
worldwide to discover how marketers are:

• Evolving in the face of uncertainty

• Preparing for the retirement of third-party cookies
• Removing silos to enhance the customer experience
• Innovating to meet changing customer needs

This report is based on a third-party, double-blind survey

conducted from June 30 to August 8, 2022, that generated
6,000 responses from marketing managers, directors, VPs,
and CMOs across 35 countries. See page 29 for further
survey demographics.

Platform data referenced in this report comes from

aggregated data from the activity of over 2 trillion messages
sent using the Salesforce Platform between 2020 to Q2 6,000 marketing leaders
2022. Additional data hygiene factors are applied to ensure surveyed worldwide
consistent metric calculation. The Salesforce Shopping Index
and related datasets are not indicative of the operational
performance of Salesforce or its reported financial metrics
including gross merchandise value (GMV) growth and
comparable customer GMV growth.

Due to rounding, not all percentage totals in this

report equal 100%. All comparison calculations
are made from total numbers (not rounded numbers). Salesforce Research provides data-driven insights to help
businesses transform how they drive customer success.
Browse more reports at salesforce.com/research.
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 3

What You’ll Find

in This Report
Breakdown of Marketing
Performance Levels 15%
High performers
Throughout this report, Completely satisfied with
we classify survey respondents their overall marketing
across the following tiers of performance and the
marketing performance. outcomes of their
marketing investments

18%
Underperformers
Moderately or less
satisfied with their
overall marketing
performance

67%
Moderate performers
All other marketers
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 4

Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05

Chapter 1 | Marketers Remain Optimistic Amid Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 07

Chapter 2 | Innovative Channels and Tactics Redefine Customer Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Spotlight: Marketers Explore New Frontiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Chapter 3 | Marketers Walk the "Personalization vs. Privacy" Tightrope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Chapter 4 | KPIs Shift as Marketers Adopt Real-Time Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Spotlight: B2B Marketers Drive Cross-Channel Experiences with ABM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chapter 5 | Distributed Teams Unite with Collaboration Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 6 | Marketers Lead with Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Case Study: Salesforce Marketing Team Bets on Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Survey Demographics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 5

Executive Summary

01 Marketers Remain Optimistic Amid Change

Although macroeconomic instabilities have teams examining their budgets and fine-tuning their tech
stack, marketers remain optimistic in the face of change. Eighty-seven percent of marketers say their
work provides greater value now than it did a year ago.

02 Innovative Channels and Tactics Redefine Customer Engagement

Brands are investing in a combination of channels and technologies to reach their audiences and build
lasting customer relationships. Eighty-three percent of marketers say their marketing organizations
engage customers in real time across one or more marketing channels.

03 Marketers Walk the "Personalization vs. Privacy" Tightrope

Marketers are adapting to changes in privacy regulations and calls for data transparency. With the
end of third-party cookies on the horizon, 68% of marketers have a fully defined strategy to shift
toward first-party data.

04 KPIs Shift as Marketers Adopt Real-Time Intelligence

Across every stage of the funnel, marketers are tracking more metrics year over year than ever before.
Speed to insight remains a competitive advantage, with 72% of high-performing marketers able to
analyze marketing performance in real time.

05 Distributed Teams Unite with Collaboration Technology

Recognizing that remote and distributed work is here to stay, leaders are making investments in how
marketing teams collaborate. Marketers have adopted an average of four collaboration technologies,
and 70% expect these investments to be permanent.

06 Marketers Lead with Values

Today’s customers want their values reflected in the brands they buy from, and marketers are
responding. Eighty-five percent of marketers say their external messaging reflects corporate values.
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 6

INTRODUCTION
Today’s marketers have more tools, technology, and data than ever before, with sophisticated strategies in place to build
lasting customer relationships. But macroeconomic uncertainty has brought about roadblocks, with insufficient human
resources, strained global supply chains, and budgetary constraints creating challenges for businesses and customers alike.
Amid all of this change, marketers are still more optimistic than ever, with 87% of marketers saying their work provides
greater value now than it did a year ago — a 10 percentage point jump from last year.

As customers continue to navigate a changing world, new trends have emerged around the value of trust. Eighty-eight percent
of customers believe that trust becomes more important in times of change.1 CMOs are specifically focused on this, with
“building trust” in their top three priorities this year.²

Marketers Who Feel Their Work Provides

Greater Value Now Than a Year Ago Today’s marketing leaders have a
huge challenge ahead of them when
it comes to striking a balance between
customer data, personalization, and
77%
87% trust. But there’s also an opportunity:
the brands who do this well have a
chance to grow relationships and win
23%
customers for life. There’s never been
2021 2022
a more exciting time to be a marketer.”
ANA VILLEGAS,
CMO, NI

¹ “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce, May 2022

² See p. 26 of appendix
 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 7

01 Marketers
Remain Optimistic Marketers Focus on Tools and Innovation to Meet the Moment

Amid Change Marketers’ Top Priorities

Marketers are prioritizing getting the most 1

Improving use of tools and technologies
out of their investments. Technology is front
and center in this effort — with subpar use of 2
Experimenting with new marketing strategies
tools and technologies the subject and tactics
of marketers' top challenge and priority. 3 Modernizing tools and technologies
A large share of marketers also say 4 Building/retaining trust with customers
marketing ROI and attribution is a top
challenge, complicating their abilities to
5 Improving collaboration
demonstrate cost efficiency during market 6 Balancing personalization with customer
turbulence.
comfort levels
With changing consumer preferences,
shifting buying behaviors, and rising Marketers’ Top Challenges
customer expectations, marketers
remain future-focused and cite
“experimenting with new marketing
1
Ineffective use of tools and technologies
strategies” as their #2 priority. 2
Measuring marketing ROI/attribution
This drive for innovation comes
from the top: 91% of CMOs say they
3 Balancing personalization with customer
must continually innovate to remain comfort levels
competitive. Against a backdrop of 4 Building/retaining trust with customers
privacy concerns and institutional distrust,
building and retaining customer trust
5 Resistance to new marketing
remains a perennial priority and challenge. strategies/tactics
 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 8

01 Marketers
Remain Optimistic Marketers Stretch Budgets Across Priorities

Amid Change
2%
3%
12%
With many companies tightening 16% 15% 18%
their belts in anticipation of market 13%
headwinds, marketers are making

B2B B2C
strategic investments with finite budgets
15%
and resources. Disruptions caused by
inflation and supply chain issues have Marketing Budget Marketing Budget
17%
Allocations² Allocations
made this task even harder. Advertising 15%
13%
takes up the largest portion of global
marketing budgets as teams strive to
16%
increase awareness in a landscape where 15% 16%
14%
customers have more choices than ever.

Marketing organizations are also investing

Advertising Events and sponsorships
in their people to attract and retain
Content Agency support
employees amid a job market in flux.
Account-based marketing People
Seventy-one percent of marketers say
that it’s harder to retain employees than Tools and technology Other

it was a year ago.¹

B2B marketing organizations are allocating Base: CMOs and VPs of marketing
² Includes: B2B and B2B2C marketers
an average of 15% of their budget
to account-based marketing (ABM),
emphasizing the value of personalized
messaging and engagement that has
spread from B2C to B2B strategies.

¹ See p. 27 of appendix
 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 9

01 Marketers
Remain Optimistic New Strategies Have Staying Power

Amid Change Marketers Who Made the Following Strategy Shifts Since the Pandemic

Marketers have transformed

% Who Consider
where and how they work, with many Change Permanent¹
changes here to stay. No longer bound
by geography or time zone, many Targeted new customer segments 38% 68%
marketers are finding success by Investment in collaboration
38% 70%
unlocking new customer segments, technologies

investing in digital-first experiences, Investment in 37% 69%

digital-first experiences
and hosting virtual and hybrid events.
Investment in virtual
37% 63%
and hybrid events
The shift to distributed marketing
Changed our business model 37% 61%
teams has coincided with a flurry of
investment in collaboration technology, New product fulfillment options 36% 68%
with 70% of such investments viewed as
permanent. Similarly, 70% of marketers Expanded geographical targets 35% 66%

who made investments in their process/ Investments in process/

35% 70%
workflow automation
workflow automation view this as a long-
term strategy shift, underscoring the Expanded product offerings 35% 66%

importance of boosting productivity

and efficiency.

¹ Base: Respondents who selected the corresponding strategy shifts

 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 10

02 Innovative Channels
and Tactics Redefine Marketers Lean on Tools to Capture and Unify Data

Customer Engagement Marketing Organizations That Use the Following Technologies

With data at the heart of today’s

digital enterprise, actionable insights
have evolved from being a supporting
player to a mission-critical component.
Marketers are investing in tools and

90%
technologies that unify data efficiently,
allowing brands to create unique
customer profiles, execute automated CRM system
89%
ABM platform¹
campaigns, and infuse personalization
at scale.

While customer relationship management

(CRM) systems are particularly popular,
marketers use a blend of tools to build
relationships across the customer
lifecycle. Eighty-nine percent of B2B and
B2B2C marketers are using account-based
marketing platforms, aiding teams in their 62%
Artificial intelligence
pursuit to orchestrate targeted campaigns (AI)
with their sales and service counterparts.

In the face of demand for data-driven,

personalized, and scalable customer
experiences, more than half of marketers
say they’ve invested in the power of
artificial intelligence (AI). ¹ Base: B2B and B2B2C marketers
 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 11

02 Innovative Channels
and Tactics Redefine Where customers lead, marketers
follow, and marketers are increasingly
Customer Engagement experimenting with new digital channels
to reach them. CMOs cite customer
preferences and expectations as the
Video and Streaming Top the Charts
#1 influence on digital strategy.
Channels with the Biggest Growth in Marketing Organization Adoption
Over the Past Year Marketers are testing the waters as
YoY Growth Rate² streaming services now offer the ability
TV/OTT +27% to reach audiences with hyper-targeted
ads, a nod to streaming's increasingly
Digital Content +9% dominant position in the media
Video +8% landscape.1 TV and over-the-top (OTT)
streaming platforms saw the largest
Top Marketing Tactics Currently in Use growth rates among channels used to
2021–2022
reach prospects and customers.
Growth Rate²

89%
Video continues to play an important
Pre-produced +10%
video role as both a channel and a tactic,
81%
with pre-produced video and livestream
89% +21%
video both rising to the top of the
Livestream
video 73% marketing mix. With customers looking
for more ways to engage online,
Interactive
83% +37% 2022 marketers are increasingly tapping into
content 61% a wide variety of interactive and user-
2021
generated content to meet demand.
72%
Influencer +8%
marketing 66%

User-generated 68%
+14%
content
60%
1 “Streaming Claims Largest Piece of TV Viewing Pie in July,”
August 2022
2 Growth rate = (2022–2021)/2021. Calculations are made from total numbers.
 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 12

02 Innovative Channels
and Tactics Redefine In their pursuit of multichannel
engagement, marketers are incorporating
Customer Engagement more push and mobile messaging
alongside email campaigns.

Email Remains Dominant Even as Other Channels Grow However, email marketing still reigns
supreme. According to Salesforce
Share of Message Sends by Type¹ Marketing Cloud product data based
on trillions of message sends, email use
2020 Q1 3% 97% has increased year over year, accounting
for 80% of all outbound messaging.1
2020 Q2 4% 96% Moreover, the number of outbound
emails increased 15% in the last year.
2020 Q3 6% 94%
When it comes to sheer volume of
2020 Q4 7% 93% sends, email remains an effective digital
channel. In fact, customers say that email
2021 Q1 11% 89%
is among their preferred channels to
2021 Q2 12% 88%
interact with brands, second only to
the phone.2
2021 Q3 11% 89%
Shifts in customer expectations
2021 Q4 12% 88% continue to keep marketers on their toes.
Seventy-one percent of marketers say
2022 Q1 15% 85% that meeting customer expectations
is more difficult than a year ago.
2022 Q2 16% 84%

Push & SMS

Email

1 “The Shopping Index,” Salesforce, July 2022

2 “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce, May 2022
 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 13

02 Innovative Channels
and Tactics Redefine The Time for Real-Time Personalization Is Now

Customer Engagement Marketers Who Agree with the Following Statements

For marketers, personalization is

82% 86%
not just about targeted messaging,
81% 83%
but hyperpersonal understanding. 73% 78%

According to recent research, 73%

of customers expect companies to Our org engages
CX is the key
understand their unique needs and customers in
competitive
real time across
expectations.¹ In response, 83% of differentiator.
one or more
marketers are using dynamic customer channels.
insights to adapt their strategies and
optimize the impact of each interaction.

Regardless of how they approach their

multichannel strategy, marketers are
86%
going the distance to deliver exceptional 84%
customer experiences – with high- 79%

performing marketers particularly

Our org adapts
taking this to heart. Eighty-two percent
its strategy and
of high-performing marketers say tactics based
customer experience is a key competitive on customer
interactions.
differentiator, and feel confident that
they’re getting closer to cracking the code.
High performers
Eighty-six percent of high-performing
Moderate performers
marketers say they engage customers
Underperformers
in real time, a testament to their ability
to unlock actionable data.

1 “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce, May 2022

SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 14

SPOTLIGHT:
Marketers Explore Marketers Test Virtual Waters

New Frontiers Marketing Organizations Who Describe Their Web3 Strategy as Follows
Digital transformation is now in marketers’
DNA, and Web3 — a decentralized online
3% 1%
ecosystem based on a blockchain — No, we don't plan to Don't know
introduces a new chapter in marketing’s have a Web3 strategy

evolution. Marketers rank “experimenting

with new marketing strategies and tactics”
as their second highest priority.

51%
As decentralized, blockchain-based web Yes, we have a
trends take off, marketers are turning to 46% Web3 strategy
No, we don't
creative approaches and the newest in currently have a
digital tactics to maintain relevance. Web3 strategy,
but we plan to in
the future
Fifty-one percent of marketers say they
have a strategy for Web3, with virtual
products and VR and/or AR use cases
being the most common. For the 46% Top Elements in Web3 Strategy¹
of marketers who don’t yet have a
Web3 strategy, unique digital assets like 1
Virtual products
cryptocurrency, the metaverse, and non-
fungible tokens (NFTs) could present new
2 VR and/or AR
opportunities for brands to collect first- 3 Cryptocurrency
party data as the end of the cookie nears.

¹ Base: Marketing organizations with a Web3 strategy

 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 15

03 Marketers Walk the

"Personalization vs. Marketers Diversify Data Sources

Privacy" Tightrope Data Sources Used by Marketing Organizations

Marketers know that transformative,

Transactional data 83%
customer-centric engagement relies on
data — and lots of it. Brands continue to
Known digital identities 83%
anticipate an increase in the number of
data sources used each year, projecting Declared
82%
interests/preferences
an average of 18 data sources in 2023.
Second-party data 77%
But according to the 2021 Gartner®
Inferred interest/
Cross-Functional Customer Data Survey, preferences 77%
just 14% of organizations achieve a Third-party data (i.e., devices
360-degree view of their customer. and cookies from an aggregator 75%
or data broker)
Among those who have achieved it, 44%
Anonymized digital identities 75%
of respondents say their 360-degree view
is located in a customer data platform.1
Offline identities 69%

Despite deadlines to phase out third- Non-transactional data 58%

party cookies being postponed yet again,2
marketers are pivoting to zero- and
first-party data. Still, 75% of marketers
say they rely at least in part on third- Average Number of Data Sources Used
party data. While not all third-party
data is cookie-related, marketers will
Last Year (2021) 10
10
need to reconcile this strategy with
looming changes in privacy regulations. Current Year (2022) 15
15

Next Year (2023) 18

18
1 “Market Guide for Customer Data Platforms,” Gartner, Benjamin
Bloom, Lizzy Foo Kune, March 2022. GARTNER is a registered
trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc., and/or its affiliates
in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission.
All rights reserved.
² “Google Delays Cookie-Cutting to 2024,” CNN, July 2022
 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 16

03 Marketers Walk the

"Personalization vs.
Privacy" Tightrope
Over the past few years, changes in data privacy policies and regulations have had a significant effect on digital analytics.
From the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to Apple’s privacy policy update and everything in
between, understanding how to maintain compliance while still serving up personalization has proved to be an ongoing challenge.

Although 75% of marketers are still investing in third-party data, 68% say they have managed to fully define their strategy to shift
away from these sources. Strategies such as providing information-sharing incentives for customers can help bridge the gap by
enriching customer data profiles.

While marketers understand that proper privacy and security measures are essential to building and maintaining customer trust,
we may have reached a tipping point in terms of how far marketers are willing to go. Only 51% of marketers say they go beyond
regulations and industry standards to protect customer privacy, down from 61% last year.

Marketers Gear Up for a Cookieless Future

Actions Taken to Prepare for Privacy Changes

56% 54% 52% 51% 49%

Providing Creating a first- Creating second- Investing in Reducing internal

information- party data strategy party data-sharing new technologies data silos
sharing incentives agreements (e.g., a customer
for customers data platform)
 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 17

03 Marketers Walk the

"Personalization vs. AI Is Primarily Used to Scale Efforts

Privacy" Tightrope Ways in Which Marketing Organizations Use AI²

With data in one hand and innovation 2021–2022

Growth Rate³
in the other, it’s no wonder marketers
Automate customer
continue to embrace the use of AI to interactions
90%
+ 3%
88%
improve customer experiences and
operate more efficiently. Indeed, three Automate data
integration 89% N/A
of the top four AI use cases are related
to automation, highlighting the Personalize the customer 88%
journey across channels + 1%
importance of scaling up speed and 88%
effectiveness with existing resources. Process automation 88%
(e.g., reporting) + 6%
83%
Sixty-eight percent of marketers say
Resolve customer 87%
they have a fully defined AI strategy, identity + 22%
82%
up from 60% in 2021 and 57% in 2020.
Bridge online and 87%
Marketing organizations are well aware offline experiences - 14%
71%
of the benefits and continue to invest
in AI applications that augment the Drive best offers in 77%
- 8%
real time
customer journey — like resolving 89%

customer identities and driving Programmatic advertising 75%

and media buying - 8%
next-best offers in real time. 81%

Predicting customer/ 74%

prospect behavior - 2%
While customers are more online now 73%
than ever before, 43% still say they Improve customer 74%
prefer non-digital channels.¹ This explains segmentation/lookalike + 1%
audience modeling 73%
a prominent AI use case for marketers:
bridging online and offline experiences. 2022 2021

² Base: Marketers who use AI

³ Growth rate = (2022–2021)/2021. Calculations are made from total numbers.

¹ “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce, May 2022

 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 18

04 KPIs Shift as Marketers Adopt Real-Time Intelligence

Marketing without metrics is like driving with your eyes closed. In order to understand if their efforts are moving
the needle, marketers are investing in analytics capabilities to get an accurate view of the impact of their messages,
campaigns, and marketing spend. And the faster they can unlock these insights, the quicker they can respond to
customer needs and make informed decisions to drive business growth.

Compared to 61% of underperforming marketers, nearly three-quarters (72%) of high-performing

marketers are able to analyze marketing performance in real time, giving them an advantage when it comes
to responding to and optimizing campaign performance. Unfortunately, 33% of marketers still say their
marketing attribution is a manual process, a needle that has barely moved from 34% in 2020.

Attribution Accelerates to Real Time

72%
69%
61%

68%
of marketers
High performers

say they can Moderate performers

analyze marketing
performance in Underperformers
real time.
 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 19

04 KPIs Shift as
Marketers Adopt Marketers Track More KPIs

Real-Time Intelligence Marketing Organizations That Track the Following Metrics

For organizations hoping to create 2021–2022

efficiencies and maximize value, Growth Rate¹
identifying the right metrics to track Revenue 88%
12%
is a business imperative. As marketing 78%

budgets undergo strict scrutiny, analytics Customer satisfaction 87%

metrics 16%
provide leaders with the insight they 75%
need to optimize spend and lower Web/mobile analytics 87%
acquisition costs, further proving 71%
23%

the value of marketing.

Customer acquisition 85%
costs 17%
73%
Analytics abound. Marketers now track a
Marketing/sales funnel 85%
whole suite of metrics — like revenue and (B2B base) 10%
77%
customer satisfaction year over year.
Content engagement 83%
14%
73%
Personalization and customer touchpoints
Customer retention rates 74%
are also a focus for marketers. More teams
3%
72%
than ever before are tracking web/mobile
analytics, content engagement, and Customer referral rates/ 74%
volume 8%
customer lifetime value. 68%

Customer lifetime value 67%

20%
But marketers cite measuring marketing 56%

ROI/attribution as their #2 challenge,

meaning there’s still work to be done 2022 2021

when it comes to simplifying the

reporting process.
¹ Growth rate = (2022–2021)/2021. Calculations are made from total numbers.
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 20

SPOTLIGHT: B2B Marketers Drive Cross-Channel

Experiences with ABM
Eighty percent of marketers say their organization leads customer experience initiatives across the business,
coordinating efforts across marketing, sales, service, and commerce. To orchestrate these cross-functional programs,
high-performing marketers, in particular, are tapping into valuable cross-departmental metrics to glean deeper insights
into the customer experience.

And because B2B customers expect a seamless and personalized journey across departments, 89% of B2B marketers
are using an account-based marketing (ABM) platform to deliver a unified end-to-end experience.

However, successful ABM campaigns require complex, holistic data-driven marketing strategies that marketers have yet
to fully establish. Thirty-one percent of B2B marketers say that sharing a unified view of customer data across business
units is a challenge, and 62% of business buyers say it generally feels like they’re communicating with separate
departments, not one company.¹

Marketers Struggle to Get a Unified View Marketers Who Track the Following Cross-Departmental Metrics

84%
Commerce
metrics 81%
76%

83%

31%
Service
81%
metrics
76%

of B2B marketers say 83%

getting a unified view Sales
82%
of customer data is metrics
77%
a challenge.
83%
Finance 81%
metrics
74%
High performers
82% Moderate performers
IT metrics 77%
72% Underperformers

¹ “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce, May 2022

 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 21

05 Distributed Teams Unite with Collaboration Technology

With rising customer expectations, challenges managing data, and changing KPIs, marketers have their work cut out for them. And
with the pace of change in today’s world, the speed and ease of collaboration can make — or break — a marketing team’s success.

However, the rapid shift to virtual collaboration hasn’t been easy. Sixty-nine percent of marketers say it’s harder to collaborate
now than before the pandemic.

To help, marketers have adopted an average of four collaboration technologies to facilitate digital-first collaboration and unify
their global marketing teams, spread across a variety of communication tools like video conferencing, collaboration platforms,
and chat apps.

Distributed Teams Rely on a Variety of Communication Tools

Marketers Who Use the Following Collaboration Technologies

46% 45% 45% 44% 43% 42% 41% 38% 36%

Video Channel- Instant Enterprise social Email Shared Voice Phone Virtual
conferencing based messaging or networks documents messaging whiteboards
collaboration chat apps
platform
 SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 22

06 Marketers Lead
with Values Marketing Messages Can Be a Beacon for Values

More than ever before, customers

are looking to buy from companies 93%
that clearly state their values and 87%
70%
prioritize ethical, social, and
environmental objectives. Sixty-six Our external High performers
percent of customers have stopped messaging Moderate performers
buying from a company whose values reflects our
Underperformers
corporate
didn’t align with theirs.¹ With 88% values.
of customers saying they expect to
see brands demonstrate clear and
strong values, marketers recognize
a unique opportunity to lead with
a values-based message. In fact,
93% of high-performing marketers say
their external messaging reflects their
corporate values compared to 70% of
their underperforming competition.

¹ “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce, May 2022

SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 23

CASE STUDY:
Salesforce Marketing Launch
Team Bets on Values To launch the campaign, Salesforce:

• Created strategic brand and media partnerships

• Invested in linear TV and OTT video advertising
What do Salesforce, Matthew
• Ran a values-based spot during high profile sporting events
McConaughey, and Team USA at the
• Partnered with Matthew McConaughey as a brand advisor
Olympic Winter Games 2022 have in
common? Each played a critical role
in engaging global audiences through
a values-based marketing campaign, Results
#TeamEarth. The team has already seen some early wins:

Salesforce has grown and expanded • A 30% increase in organic search of the brand during
quickly over the years, amassing a broad the campaign's first few months
product portfolio. This growth created • 5x the social conversations compared to Salesforce's previous
an opportunity to educate its audiences Team USA campaign for Tokyo
on what the company is built on: • 80% increase in employee pride in working at Salesforce
its values. after seeing the campaign
• Early increases in unaided awareness in a brand health survey
Out of this, the #TeamEarth
campaign was born.

But this new campaign wasn’t without Looking Ahead

risk. Unlike most of what the marketing
So what's next for this campaign?
team had previously created, the
#TeamEarth campaign wasn’t about Salesforce is currently working on a second iteration, focused on
selling Salesforce products. Instead, expanding its reach and driving more clarity on how business decision
the goal was to inspire companies to use makers can take action. Salesforce plans to continue leading with
the power of business to create a better, values, providing opportunity for all stakeholders to join in.
more equitable, and sustainable future.
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 24

LOOK AHEAD: Building a Future-Proof Marketing Organization

Against a backdrop of rapidly-evolving technology, rising customer expectations, and a shifting labor market, it's crucial
to nurture a skilled talent pool of marketers. However, talent gaps remain a top challenge for one in three marketers.

Looking ahead, marketers see improving skills in content marketing, campaign strategy, and data analytics as crucial to
success in the next 2 years. This provides marketing leaders with a clear direction —and opportunity — to upskill their
teams, retain their top talent, and create future-forward career paths.

Marketers Seek to Uplevel Skills

Most Important Skills to Improve Over Next 2 Years

1
Content marketing
2
Campaign strategy
3 Creativity
4 Data Analytics
5 Communication
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 25

Appendix
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 26

Top Priorities by Role

CMO VP, SVP, EVP, or Equivalent Team Lead, Director, or Equivalent

Modernizing tools Modernizing tools Improving our use of

1 1 1
and technologies and technologies tools and technologies

Building/retaining trust Improving our use of Modernizing tools

2 2 2
with customers tools and technologies and technologies

Experimenting with new Improving Experimenting with new

3 3 3
marketing strategies/tactics collaboration marketing strategies/tactics

Biggest Influences on Digital Strategy by Role

CMO VP, SVP, EVP, or Equivalent Team Lead, Director, or Equivalent

Customer preferences Customer preferences Customer preferences

1 1 1
and expectations and expectations and expectations

Competitive Business model

2 2 Technology 2
pressure transformation

Changing
3 Budget 3 Budget 3
audience targets
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 27

Channels with Biggest Jump in Adoption in the Last Year¹ Marketers Who Agree with the Following Statements

+9% +8%

98% Our marketing organization adapts

96% marketing strategy and tactics 83%
88% 90% based on customer interactions.

+27% Our marketing organization engages

customers in real time across 83%
68% one or more marketing channels.

53% Customer experience is the key

80%
competitive differentiator.

Our marketing organization leads

customer experience initiatives 80%
across the business.

We provide customers with control

77%
over how their data is used.
TV/OTT Digital content Video (e.g., YouTube,
(e.g., blogs, TikTok, Instagram
webinars) Live, Twitch,
2021 webinars, etc.)
2022

Degree to Which Marketers Who Agree with the Following

We (marketers) must continually

innovate to remain competitive. 44% 44% 10% 1% 0%

My work provides greater value now

than a year ago. 41% 46% 11% 1% 0%

It's harder to collaborate with

colleagues now than before the 29% 40% 15% 11% 5%
pandemic.
Strongly agree
Meeting customer expectations is
more difficult than a year ago. 29% 42% 15% 9% Agree
5%
Neutral
Retaining employees is more
difficult than a year ago. Disagree
29% 41% 15% 9% 5%
Strongly disagree

¹ Growth rate = (2022–2021)/2021. Calculations are made from total numbers.

SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 28

AI Maturity, by Performance Level Marketers Who Say They Go Beyond Regulations and
Industry Standards to Protect Customer Privacy, YoY

70% 61%
68%
62%
51%

38%
32%
30%

High performers Moderate Low performers 2021 2022

performers

Fully defined AI strategy AI's role in our org is unclear

Marketers Who Say Their Marketing Attribution

Is Manual, YoY

34% 36%
33%

2020 2021 2022

SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 29

Survey
Demographics
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 30

Survey Demographics
Country
Argentina ................................................3% Spain .......................................................3% Technology (e.g., semiconductor,
Australia ..................................................4% Sweden .................................................<1% components, hardware, software,
Belgium ..................................................2% Switzerland .............................................1% infrastructure) ........................................5%
Brazil .......................................................4% Thailand ..................................................3% Travel .......................................................3%
Canada ...................................................4% United Arab Emirates ............................2%
Chile ........................................................2% United Kingdom ....................................4%
Business Model
Colombia ................................................2% United States ........................................ 8%
Denmark ...............................................<1% Business-to-business (B2B) ................ 25%
Finland ....................................................1% Industry Business-to-consumer (B2C) ............. 50%
France .....................................................4% Business-to-business-to-consumer
Architecture, engineering,
Germany .................................................4% (B2B2C) ................................................ 25%
and construction ...................................2%
Hong Kong .............................................2%
Automotive ............................................6%
India ........................................................4%
Communications ...................................5% Seniority
Indonesia ...............................................4%
Consumer goods ................................ 12%
Israel .......................................................1% CMO ..................................................... 10%
Energy and utilities ................................3%
Italy .........................................................4% VP, SVP, EVP, or equivalent ................ 17%
Financial services .................................. 8%
Japan ......................................................4% Team leader, supervisor, manager,
Government ...........................................2%
Malaysia ..................................................3% director, or equivalent ........................ 72%
Healthcare (not including life sciences
Mexico ....................................................3%
and biotechnology) ...............................6%
Netherlands ...........................................3%
Hospitality (e.g., lodging, restaurants,
New Zealand ..........................................1% Company Size
and food service) .................................. 7%
Norway .................................................<1% SMB (21–100 employees) .................. 30%
Manufacturing .......................................6%
Philippines ..............................................4% MM (101–3,500 employees).............. 50%
Media and entertainment.....................4%
Poland ....................................................3% ENT (over 3,500 employees) ............. 20%
Nonprofit ................................................3%
Portugal ..................................................2%
Professional and business services ......2%
Singapore ...............................................3%
Retail .................................................... 13%
South Africa ...........................................3%
Supply chain and logistics ....................3%
South Korea ...........................................4%
SALESFORCE RESE ARCH S TAT E O F M A R K E T I N G , 8 T H E DI T I O N 31

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