Aug 07

Revenues for business-to-business (B2B) marketing automation systems will grow 60% to reach $525 million in 2012, according to Raab Associates just-released B2B Marketing Automation Vendor Selection Tool (VEST). The 60% rate is even higher than the 2011 growth of 50%.

“The accelerated growth shows that marketing automation is becoming a standard tool for B2B marketers,” said VEST author David M. Raab. “The industry has overcome initial hurdles to adoption and is now moving to more mature stage where the benefits of these systems are widely accepted.”

The revenue estimates include sales by B2B marketing automation specialists and sales to B2B marketers by other marketing automation systems. Raab Associates estimates that the specialist vendors account for $365 million revenue, or 70% of the total, while non-specialists for $160 million. The top four specialist vendors – Eloqua, Marketo, Infusionsoft and HubSpot – themselves account for $270 million or just over half of all revenues.

Systems covered in the VEST report are used by all sizes of companies. The report defines four market sectors, each with different needs. Some B2B marketing automation systems are used across all sectors but most vendors specialize in a particular type of client.

Estimated installation counts and revenues by sector are shown below. Although nearly 80% of installations are in the micro and small business sectors, these account for just one-third of industry revenue. The remaining two-thirds comes from mid-size and large companies:

Estimated 2012 Revenue –  B2B Marketing Automation Specialist Vendors
sector

installations

revenue/ installation

revenue

% installs

% revenue

micro

17,476

$3,600

$63 million

62%

17%

small

4,595

$12,000

$55 million

16%

15%

mid-size

4,796

$30,000

$144 million

17%

40%

large

1,426

$70,000

$100 million

5%

28%

total

28,292

$362  million

100%

100%

source: Raab Associates B2B Marketing Automation Vendor Selection Tool

About the VEST report
The VEST is designed to help marketers purchase the right marketing automation system for their needs. It provides more than 200 data points about each product, narrative descriptions of vendor strengths and weaknesses, and fitness ratings for small, mid-size and large marketing departments. Products in the VEST include: Act-On, Aprimo, Eloqua, eTrigue, Genius, HubSpot, Infusionsoft,LeadFormix, LeadLife, MakesBridge, Manticore Technology, MarketingPilot, Marketo, Neolane, Net-Results, OfficeAutoPilot, Oracle, Pardot, Right-On Interactive, SalesFUSION, Silverpop, and TreeHouse Interactive.

The report also includes interactive quadrants showing leaders and challengers for the three industry segments. Readers can adjust the weights assigned to different product and vendor attributes and immediately see vendors change positions in the quadrants.

Other report sections provide background information on the marketing automation industry, explanation of marketing automation features and benefits, and advice on managing a successful vendor selection.

The report is provided as an Adobe Flash file, enabling full interactivity and easy access to all materials.

Information in the VEST was gathered in June and July 2012. The report is published by Raab Associates Inc., an independent consulting firm specializing in marketing technology and analytics. Price is $795. For more information, visit www.raabguide.com/vest.

About Raab Associates Inc.

Raab Associates Inc. specializes in helping marketers to select and deploy marketing automation systems. Typical projects include needs definition, vendor selection, and performance measurement. The firm also offers industry vendors assistance in understanding customer needs and establishing thought leadership through white papers, surveys and presentations.

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