There’s an old saying that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. It seems that marketers and consumers are living on separate planets, too.
According to a new study by Experticity, 83% of the 217 senior marketing executives surveyed say content marketing is extremely or somewhat effective at influencing buyer decisions. Social media (82%), word-of-mouth marketing (80%), and CRM and loyalty (76%) are also deemed valuable tactics. However, only about half (55%) of the 300 consumers surveyed trust marketing materials. Not surprisingly, consumers are much more likely to trust and be swayed by firsthand resources, such as family or friends.
What marketers think is effective shouldn’t eclipse what consumers say is effective. So, marketers should provide access to these firsthand resources, through avenues such as online reviews, to build trust and drive purchase among consumers; otherwise, they run the risk of having their ROI go into retrograde.
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