Content Marketing ROI: Quantifying theValue of the Difference
Adoption of content marketing is no longer measured by if it has an impact
on marketing results, but by how much. In highly competitive markets, firms
know that they must not only compete on strategy, talent, service, andproduct excellence, but on the ability to engage buyers with highly
informative or highly entertaining content (and sometimes both). But whatis the measurable business value of content marketing and, more
importantly, what is the value of doing content marketing right? Using datacollected from 96 marketing practitioners, including 81 companies using
content marketing, in April and May 2013 as part of Aberdeen’s pending
Content Marketing and Management study, this Analyst Insight examines theincremental improvement in key marketing conversion metrics enjoyed bycontent marketing and management Leaders (see definition of Leaders
maturity class in sidebar on page 2) to quantify a return on contentmarketing investment.

June 2013

Analyst InsightAberdeen’s Insights provide theanalyst perspective of theresearch as drawn from anaggregated view of research
surveys, interviews, anddata analysis.

ROI for What?
To understand what return on investment for content marketing reallymeans it’s helpful to first understand why firms embrace it. Aberdeen’s
research shows that a large majority — 62% — of companies prioritize leadgeneration or customer acquisition as the primary objective of their content
marketing efforts, followed by 27% who indicate brand awareness andthought leadership and 11% who indicate customer retention as theirprimary objectives. This provides helpful context when we observe thatincorporating content marketing into nurture-based marketing campaigns is
the strategy adopted most frequently by Leaders (Figure 1). This teaches usthat the ROI of content marketing should be measured based on the impactof content on the customer acquisition or lead generation process. In otherwords, conversion rates are (still) king.

Content Marketing DefinedContent marketing is the use ofmedia to entertain, educate, orotherwise engage prospects andcustomers to generate a valueadded interaction for branding,retention, and/or customer
acquisition.

This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group. Aberdeen Group's methodologies provide for objective fact-based research andrepresent the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unless otherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Aberdeen Group, Inc.
and may not be reproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent by Aberdeen Group, Inc.

Content Marketing ROI: Quantifying the Value of the Difference
Page 2

Figure 1: Top Three Content Marketing Actions by Leaders
Leaders
Use content in nurture-based marketing
campaigns that move buyers closer topurchase

53%

Focus on improving the targeting of ourcontent marketing efforts (i.e. content
personalization, situational content, etc.)

50%

Increase the quantity of relevant content
we’re publishing on our site

47%
0%

25%
50%
75%
Percentage of Respondents, n = 81
Source: Aberdeen Group, May 2013

Moreover, the use of content in nurture-based marketing reflects the natureof the modern buyer’s journey and heightened expectations of empoweredconsumers. In the B2B context, Aberdeen’s June 2012 Marketing LeadManagement: From the Top of the Funnel to the Top Line report shows thatprospects receive an average of 10 marketing touches from the time they
enter the funnel as a suspect until they’re a “closed-won” opportunity.
Content provides the fuel for these interactions as well as the opportunity
for prospects to express their interest and buying intent throughengagement with the content. For example, an individual who downloads
your whitepaper, visits your blog regularly, and completes the interactive
assessment on your website is clearly interested in the information you’reproviding and more likely to be ready for direct sales engagement. In manyways, content marketing represents the “alchemy of intent:” the ability toconvert interest into a sellable business need without ever really selling in
the traditional sense.
The other top strategies of Leaders largely tell the story of how these firms
approach the use of content in nurture marketing by focusing on the qualityof content, through increased targeting and personalization, and byincreasing the quantity of relevant content. But execution on these posessignificant challenges for organizations, as we’ll see below.

The Content Marketing Spirit is Willing, but…
While 85% of companies actively use content marketing, there is asignificant execution gap between the perceived value of various content
marketing activities and the ability to execute these functions at a high level.
This gap is illustrated in Figure 2 below, in which the percent of firms
ranking a particular activity as valuable or very valuable (4 or 5 on 1–5 scaleof value) is plotted against the percent of firms ranking their firm’s
execution of the activity as effective or very effective (a 4 or 5 on 1–5 scaleof effectiveness. So while 92% of firms say producing high-quality content isvaluable, just 54% of them rank their ability to execute this activity as© 2013 Aberdeen Group.
www.aberdeen.com

Defining the Leaders in Content
Marketing and Management
Aberdeen used four key
performance criteria todistinguish the Leaders (top35% of aggregate performers)from the Followers (bottom65%). Leaders achieved thefollowing performance metrics:√ 15.4% year-over-yearcompany revenue growth vs.
1.6% for Followers√ 19.7% year-over-yearincrease in unique site traffic
vs. 2.5% increase forFollowers√ 3.7% Average website
conversion rate vs. 2.9% forFollowers√ 10.2% year-over-year growth
in marketing’s contribution
to revenue compared with
1.6% growth for Followers

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Content Marketing ROI: Quantifying the Value of the Difference
Page 3effective. We also see significant gaps around the ability to track andmeasure content effectiveness, while activity like personalization of website
content see effectiveness scores below 25% of companies, despite over 50%
of companies saying it’s valuable to achieving their goals. The takeaway:
content marketing at a high level ain’t easy.
Figure 2: The Content Marketing Spirit is Willing, But Execution is Weak
Producing high-quality content

Perception of Value (percent of companies ranking
activity as "Valuable" or "Very Valuable")

Content Marketing Perception of Value
vs. Effectiveness of Execution, n = 81

Tracking the content utilization metrics(visits, views, shares, etc.)

100%

Generating / publishing sufficient content
to meet our needs
Tracking number of qualified leads
generated

75%

Driving more traffic to our website withregularly updated content

50%

Generating high-quality links to our content
Ability to personalize web site content

25%
Accurately forecasting and budgeting leads/ customer acquisition
0%100%

Ability to roll out new sites or content
quickly

Effectiveness of Execution (percent of companies ranking
execution as "Effective" or "Very Effective")

Generating social mentions of content

0%

25%

50%

75%

Source: Aberdeen Group, May 2013

It turns out that Leaders are more likely to break through these execution
barriers, particularly in their ability to generate high-quality content and intracking content impact. Seventy-seven percent (77%) of Leaders cite
effectiveness in producing high-quality content compared with 51% ofFollowers. In the area of content measurement, Leaders are 78% more
likely than Followers to cite effectiveness both in tracking content utilization
metrics (48% vs. 27%) and lead generation from content (48% vs. 27%).
Success in content marketing obviously depends on a number of factors,
from producing and/or procuring content in a variety of formats, aligned to
the needs of the buyer in terms of job role and stage in purchase journey, todistributing content across multiple channels and optimizing for findability,and finally, tracking the impact of these efforts. Given the focus in content
marketing on demand generation, much of the interaction with content
necessarily takes place via owned digital channels in the form of landing
pages, microsites, or the company website itself. This fact means that web
analytics can also be extended to provide content analytics if managed
properly.
© 2013 Aberdeen Group.
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Content Marketing ROI: Quantifying the Value of the Difference
Page 4

Content Marketing Effectiveness Takes a System
As the platform for serving content, the web content management system(CMS) serves as the critical foundation for content marketing.
Unfortunately, many CMS implementations are designed to serve static
documents or pages that aren’t updated frequently — essentially, glossy
brochures stuck on the web with a contact form — limiting both the abilityof Marketing to post, update, and optimize content, and the ability to trackand measure the impact of that content. With more and more of the selling
process taking place in the hidden sales cycle where content marketing isdesigned to reach, the website really must become an interaction orengagement platform. A number of capabilities point to the efficacy ofholistic thinking when it comes to the integration of the web CMS with thebroader marketing application ecosystem:
First, and a trend identified in Aberdeen’s June 2012 Web Experience
Management: From Content to Customer report, Leaders are 45% more likely
than Followers to give Marketing the ability to directly post or update
content without the need for IT or site administrative support (90% vs.
62%). This capability allows Marketing to be more responsive in its content
efforts, adding new content to support trending keywords, for example, orreplacing under-performing content (provided they have the metrics tomake such a determination, but more on that later). Second, Leaders
approach their web experience as an engagement platform, more likely tocapture web activity in the marketing automation platform (64% vs. 45%)and to use this engagement for lead or customer scoring (56% vs. 32%), as
seen in Figure 3. This goes back to the notion that content marketing is thealchemy of intent, meaning that engagement with the content signals
interest, and thus a higher likelihood of need (latent or otherwise).
However, there is evidence that this system approach is primarily unidirectional; meaning firms are adept at pulling information from the CMS
regarding content engagement, but significantly less likely to use informationfrom the customer relationship management (CRM) or marketing system to
inform content optimization. Leaders are 34% more likely than Followers tohave their web CMS well-integrated with the marketing automation or
campaign management platform (39% vs. 29%).

© 2013 Aberdeen Group.
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Content Marketing ROI: Quantifying the Value of the Difference
Page 5Figure 3: Content Marketing Effectiveness Takes a System

Percentage of Respondents, n = 81

100%

90%

Leaders

Followers

75%
62%

64%
56%
45%

50%

39%
32%

29%

25%

0%
Marketing able toAbility to capture web
Engagement withWeb CMS welldirectly post or update activity of visitors in content is used for lead
integrated withwebsite content without marketing automation/ customer scoring marketing automation /IT / admin support
platform
campaign management
systemSource: Aberdeen Group, May 2013

In fact, just 14% of Leaders and 10% of Followers in Aberdeen’s survey havethe ability to personalize site content to the visitor. However, a muchhigher percentage of companies focus on optimizing content at a lessgranular level by aligning content to key stages of the buyer’s journey and totheir buying personas. For example, Leaders are 96% more likely than
Followers to align marketing content to the marketing and sales funnel stage(53% vs. 27%).

Value of the Difference: The $10,000 Question
As noted above, Leaders are more likely to effectively execute on a numberof content marketing activities, including the ability to track theperformance of content from a variety of perspectives, as seen in Figure 4.
The data also shows that the systems approach increases the ability to trackcontent performance. For example, companies with the ability to capture
web activity in the marketing platform are more than twice as likely as othercompanies to cite effectiveness in tracking qualified leads from content
marketing efforts (48% vs. 20%). By capturing content-related data in amarketing system, these firms can more easily track the downstream impactof their content. But what is that impact?

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Content Marketing ROI: Quantifying the Value of the Difference
Page 6Figure 4: Leaders More Likely to Measure What Matters

46%

Tracking number of qualified leads
generated by content marketing efforts

27%

46%

Tracking the content utilization metrics(visits, views, shares, etc.)

27%
Leaders
Followers

37%
Tracking content conversion metrics
24%
0%

25%

50%

Percentage of Companies "Effective" or "Very Effective" inContent Marketing Activity (4 or 5 on 1-5 scale), n = 81

Source: Aberdeen Group, May 2013

Aberdeen’s methodology provides a compelling model for measuring andquantifying the value of content marketing best-practices. This value can bemeasured in terms of conversion rates, or combined in a composite metricas we’ll see below.
Table 1 shows a comparison of key conversion metrics between companies
using content marketing and those who aren’t. Keep in mind that 84% of the96 survey respondent use content marketing, so while these metrics show
impressive results for content marketing, such widespread adoption meanscompanies need to do more than use content marketing to be successful,they need to use it well. This is why Aberdeen considered only content
marketing users in the calculation of Leaders and Followers. This allows us
to quantify the value of Leaders’ approach to content marketing. In terms ofabsolute conversion rates, the difference seen in Table 2 may seem subtle,
but the impact is significant when considered in terms of cost per customer
acquisition.
Table 1: Content Marketing Drives Higher Conversions
ContentMarketingUsers

Non-users

Average website conversion rate

2.9%0.5%

Average email marketing click-throughrate (CTR)

3.4%

1.8%

Conversion rate from marketing
response to marketing-qualified lead(MQL)

7.6%

1.0%

Current Performance

Source: Aberdeen Group, May 2013

© 2013 Aberdeen Group.
www.aberdeen.com

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Content Marketing ROI: Quantifying the Value of the Difference
Page 7Using just website conversion and lead to marketing-qualified lead (MQL)
conversion rates as variables (20% “plug” used for MQL-to-SQL and SQLto-close rates), Table 2 shows unique site traffic and marketing responses
needed by Leaders and Followers to generate a customer. When thesemetrics are considered in terms of per customer acquisition cost, thedifference between Leaders and Follows — essentially the cumulative valueof the best-practices adopted by Leaders — is $10,000 (that’s $10,000 percustomer).
Table 2: Value of the Difference — Counting Waterfalls
Performance MetricLeaders

Followers

Average website conversion rate

3.7%

2.9%

Conversion rate from marketing
response to marketing-qualified lead(MQL)

10.5%

7.1%

Website traffic needed to generate aclosed-won opportunity

6,345

12,243Marketing responses needed to generatea closed-won opportunity

237

350

Per customer acquisition cost (based onaverage cost per marketing lead of $88)

$ 20,883$ 30,812

Source: Aberdeen Group, May 2013

Recommendations
Despite widespread discussion and adoption of content marketing, there’s aclear execution gap, both between the activities companies see as valuable
and their ability to execute on them, and this correlates directly with theresulting marketing effectiveness of Leaders and Followers. Leaders close
this execution gap by focusing on the alignment of content and taking asystematic approach to the way content is measured, particularly via theweb content management system.
Whether you’re among the 79% of companies taking steps to improve on
the execution of content marketing, or even one of the 21% of firms with arobust initiative in place, consider the following recommendations:•Nurture, not nature — Today’s modern marketer knows that
good leads aren’t born that way, they’re made. Content marketingis the “alchemy of intent,” converting mere interest into sales-readyleads.

•Think holistically — Effective content marketing requires aholistic perspective that aligns content to both the buyer’s journey(i.e., their stage in the process) and their role or persona.

•Think systematically — A large percentage of content
interactions occur via the corporate website. Unfortunately, many

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Content Marketing ROI: Quantifying the Value of the Difference
Page 8web CMS implementations weren’t built with content marketing inmind. Leaders are more likely to link the CMS with their marketingsystem to better track content performance, and a rare few drive
personalization. Firms should think systematically about content
marketing and how integration across these systems can optimize
the content experience.
•Measure what matters — While the use of content marketingfor demand generation is the primary focus for the majority offirms, only 64% of Leaders and 52% of Followers track conversion
rates associated with content (favoring inbound referral, search, andutilization metrics). While inbound traffic and search ranking arecertainly important metrics, think of content like marketing offers
and measure the incremental lift that specific content types orspecific content provide in terms of conversion rates as well.

For more information on this or other research topics, please visit
www.aberdeen.com.
Related Research
Publish or Perish: Content Marketing is
the New PR; March 2013
Content Marketing Comes of Age;
October 2012
Lights, Camera, Call-to-Action: Trends inVideo-based Marketing; September
2012

Search Management Drives HigherConversion, Lower PPC Costs; August2012
Web Experience Management: From
Content to Customer; June 2012
Search Meets Social; April 2012

Author: Trip Kucera, Sr. Research Analyst, Marketing Effectiveness & Strategy,(trip.kucera@aberdeen.com) LinkedIn @TripKucera
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This document is the result of primary research performed by Aberdeen Group. Aberdeen Group’s methodologies
provide for objective fact-based research and represent the best analysis available at the time of publication. Unlessotherwise noted, the entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by Aberdeen Group, Inc. and may not be
reproduced, distributed, archived, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent byAberdeen Group, Inc. (2013a)© 2013 Aberdeen Group.
www.aberdeen.com

Telephone: 617 854 5200
Fax: 617 723 7897