Marketing Automation Statistics for 2023

The rise of marketing automation is inevitable. With more businesses (and consumers) going digital, marketers are shifting to more efficient and measurable online marketing campaigns. Manual processes need to be eliminated and repetitive tasks must be addressed so that marketers can focus on more important things—specifically growing their businesses.  

The latest marketing automation statistics forecast a remarkable global market expansion from $4.4 million in 2020 to an impressive $14.1 million by 2030.

Likewise, a 2021 analysis projects robust growth for the global marketing automation software market, with estimates climbing from $3.60 billion in 2020 to $11.46 billion by 2027. But with all the hype around marketing automation, an important consideration is: why is automation vital for businesses?

Since everyone is going digital, companies now realize that business automation is key to maximizing success. Whether you want to engage customers and prospects efficiently and effectively across multiple channels or simply streamline repetitive tasks, marketing automation is the answer. The widespread usage and adoption of marketing automation are replacing manual processes because it allows for further optimization and growth.

In fact, automation is so vital that 86% of marketing experts report achieving critical marketing goals with its help. This means businesses that ignore the need for marketing automation often get left behind.

A Quick Recap of Marketing Automation

When we say marketing automation, we’re referring to the use of software or web-based services to implement, manage, and automate repetitive marketing tasks and manual processes across multiple channels—all designed to generate more qualified leads, increasing revenue, and strengthening customer relationships. 

To win at marketing automation, you should follow the best practices like creating marketing automation workflows, lead scoring, setting up campaigns using customer journey, and more. It also helps if you understand the basics and have a clear picture of what it means for your business.  

So, let’s deepen your appreciation of marketing automation with these compelling facts and statistics that show how it helps businesses grow.

The Marketing Automation Industry

• From 2021 to 2023, the global marketing automation industry swelled to about 22%, reaching $5.86 billion. Projections suggest that this annual figure will double by 2030, surpassing the $13.7-billion forecast. (Statista)

• 72% of successful companies use marketing automation, while only 18% of unsuccessful companies use marketing automation. (Startupbonsai)

• A 2023 survey found that nearly 60% of marketing decision-makers worldwide want to invest further in marketing automation in the coming year. (Statista)

• As of June 2023, HubSpot holds the leading market share, with over 37% within the United States marketing automation software industry. It’s followed by Adobe Experience Cloud, Oracle Marketing Cloud, and Active Campaign with 7.6%, 7.4%, and 7.3% market share, respectively. (Statista)

• HubSpot also remains at the top outside the United States, with an astonishing 40% of the global market share for marketing automation solution providers. (Statista)

• From 2017 to 2022, HubSpot’s global revenue blew up by over 360%, exceeding the $1.73 billion mark in the latter year. (Statista)

Top Benefits of Marketing Automation

• 64% of e-commerce marketers agree that email marketing and marketing automation significantly drive increased sales. (Emailmonday)

• A notable 80% of marketers believe that marketing automation results in higher lead generation, translating to more conversions. (Startupbonsai)

• A 2019 study discovered that promptly following up with online leads within five minutes enhances their likelihood of converting into paying customers by a staggering 9x. (Startupbonsai)

• Marketing automation yields 35% more leads and slashes time expenditure by 49%. These numbers result in a 45% boost in efficiency and return on investment in marketing endeavors. (Researchgate)

• Nearly 39% of companies acknowledge that marketing automation holds the potential to generate high-quality leads. (Startupbonsai)

• For 43% of marketers, the most significant advantage of marketing automation lies in its capacity to enhance the overall customer experience. Meanwhile, 38% find it helpful in efficient time management. Additionally, 35% report that marketing automation improved data quality and decision-making. (Startupbonsai)

• Less frequently mentioned benefits include shorter sales cycles (22%) and enhanced alignment across departments (21%). (Emailmonday)

• Over 70% of consumers seek exceptional, tailored content. Marketing automation software and tools make this possible by seamlessly delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time. (Omnicore)

Adoption of Marketing Automation

• 81% of marketing organizations have integrated marketing automation into their operations. (Salesforce Research, 2021)

• Marketing groups employ automation software 76% more frequently than sales teams and 139% more than finance teams. (HubSpot)

• As of 2023, only 10% of customer journeys are entirely automated, while 25% of customer journeys incorporate some level of automation. Specifically, 25% of marketers indicate that their customer journeys are mostly automated, with an additional 44% reporting partial automation. (Ascend2)

• A notable 31% of marketing professionals intend to acquire a marketing automation solution in the upcoming year. (Ascend2 and Research Partners, 2022)

• Among marketers, 58% consider price the foremost factor when selecting a marketing automation solution. (Ascend2 and Research Partners, 2022)

• HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and Adobe are the top three businesses dominating over half of the marketing automation market share. Their percentages are 33.74%, 10.04%, and 7.5%, respectively. (Datanyze, 2022)

• 59% of marketers anticipate an augmentation in automation budgets for the forthcoming year, with insights from 391 marketing professionals providing this outlook. Among them, 8% anticipate a budget increase, 51% expect a more moderate rise, and 11% foresee a reduction in automation budgets. (Ascend2)

• A remarkable 91% of companies noticed an uptick in demand for automation over the past two years. (Salesforce)

• Among chief marketing officers, 77% harnessed AI technologies to automate repetitive tasks. (Deloitte Global Marketing Trends C-suite Survey)

• Other critical factors in choosing a marketing automation solution encompass customer service (27%), customization options (24%), integration capabilities (22%), the breadth of features (21%), the depth of features (19%), data visualization/analytics (13%), streamlined onboarding/training (11%), and data consolidation capabilities (10%). (Ascend2 and Research Partners)

• The latest statistics in the field of marketing automation anticipate a remarkable global market expansion from $4,438.7 million in 2020 to an impressive $14,180.6 million by 2030. Similarly, a 2021 analysis predicts robust growth in the global marketing automation software market, with estimates climbing from $3.60 billion in 2020 to $11.46 billion by 2027. (Research and Markets, Motor Intelligence)

• Among marketers, 58% employ automation for task management, 42% utilize it for content-related tasks, and 31% rely on automation for chatbots. (HubSpot)

• Email and social media management remain the leading areas where marketers apply marketing automation in 2022 and 2023. (Ascend2)

Main Goals for Using Marketing Automation

• The primary objectives of marketing automation include enhancing sales revenue (56%), refining lead nurturing (53%), improving customer experience and engagement (52%), and boosting lead generation (50%) . (Demand Spring “Marketing Automation Platform Insights” 2021)

• 35% aim to streamline the alignment between marketing and sales efforts, while 34% seek to improve customer engagement and the overall customer experience (CX). Additionally, 30% aim to reduce manual tasks, and 28% aspire to increase captured leads. (Ascend2)

• 64% of e-commerce marketers attribute increased sales to email marketing and marketing automation. 37% noticed higher web shop visitor numbers, 30% saw increased engagement, and 24% gained improved insights into their target audience. (Thuiswinkel.org and Spotler)

• Among marketers, 82% leverage automation to craft triggered email campaigns, 67% nurture campaigns, 56% for segmentation purposes, and 45% for A/B testing. (Litmus)

Key Challenges in Marketing Automation

• 33% of companies and 48.6% of marketing and communications professionals shared that lacking expertise is a hurdle in marketing automation. (ZHAW School of Management and Law, Liana Technologies)

• Integrating data from various sources and systems poses the primary challenge to adopting marketing automation for 67% of businesses. (SpotlerUK)

• Inadequate data quality presents a stumbling block for 24% of companies, and a similar percentage cites a lack of prioritization within their organizations as a common barrier to implementing marketing automation. (ZHAW School of Management and Law)

• In a survey, 16% found the creation of high-quality automation as a challenge in marketing automation, while 14% saw integration as another crucial trial. Given the content-intensive nature of marketing automation, content creation ranks third at 10%. (Martech Series)

• Other challenges in marketing automation include engagement (8%), segmentation, data management, and optimization (6%), as well as issues related to finding tools, personalization, and lead scoring (each at 5%). Analytics (4%), reporting (3%), and deliverability (1%) are also cited as concerns. (Martech Series)

• Resistance to change stands out as the third most significant challenge in scaling automation within organizations, while 37% identify implementation costs as a barrier to adopting automation. (Frevvo)

Ready to Automate?

The future of digital marketing is leading you to automation. Given its proven worth in helping companies hit their sales and marketing goals, marketing automation is undoubtedly one of the most effective ways to maximize your budget while improving the customer experience.

Ready to start automating tasks for your team to grow and scale? Contact a trusted digital marketing agency like Spiralytics to learn how our industry-leading marketing automation services can take your business further.

Send us a message today!