Cutting edge tech marketing: Google, Adobe and Facebook come out on top

Google, Adobe, Facebook, Marketo and Salesforce lead the way when it comes to 'cutting edge' marketing technology vendors, according to new research from IDC.

The research found these companies were most often identified as cutting edge by marketing professionals, and of those professionals, marketers who rely on cutting edge companies were more than twice as likely to be satisfied with their current solution, compared to marketers who did not identify their provider as cutting edge (89% satisfied vs. 37%).

"The fact that these companies were mentioned by marketers – unprompted – as cutting edge, and that marketers who use cutting edge marketing technologies have such a high satisfaction rate, shows how important it is to get the marketing automation decision right," explains Gerry Murray, research manager, IDC CMP Advisory Service.

Among the over 300 U.S. marketing professionals surveyed by IDC, 58% characterised their marketing vendor as "cutting edge" and named their current provider in an unaided fashion.

Marketers who use cutting edge technologies such as Google, Adobe, Facebook, Marketo, or Salesforce exhibited greater brand loyalty, with 67% likely to consider the same vendor in the future (vs. 44% for marketers not using cutting edge companies). The characteristics most associated with cutting edge marketing solutions are fast, user friendly, and efficient.

The survey also found that the internal IT department helped steer marketers towards cutting edge vendors. Marketers who worked with their IT departments early in the purchase process were happier than those who worked with IT later or not at all.

Allan Fromen, vice president and consulting partner in IDC's Buyer Behaviour Practice, says the buyer's journey for new technology is long and complex.

"While line-of-business professionals are increasingly empowered with purchase decisions, the IT department is still a valuable partner, and including IT professionals in the decision making process should result in greater ROI," he explains.

An IDC infographic highlighting results of the research can be found here.