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New Study Finds Marketers Investing More This Year in Web Marketing to Stay Competitive

Despite Increases, Marketers Give Themselves Poor Grades in Utilizing The
Channel to Its Full Potential

PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ — Nearly two thirds of marketers
now see digital marketing as having a very high or high level of strategic
importance within their organizations, and over 75 percent of respondents plan
to increase spending on digital marketing as a percentage of their marketing
budget this year, according to a survey of marketing executives released
today. The online poll, entitled the Digital Marketing Dialog, was
commissioned by Responsys, Inc., a premier provider of email marketing
solutions, and sponsored by the CMO Council, BtoB Magazine and USA TODAY in
the fourth quarter of 2003.

The study received over 400 responses from top marketing decision makers
regarding the impact, role, value, and uptake of digital marketing
technologies and programs across all industry sectors.

Digital marketing techniques, including email campaigns, website
interaction, online advertising, and e-newsletters are growing rapidly in
strategic importance, according to the study findings. Over 70 percent of
respondents said brand awareness is a key use of digital marketing, second
only to customer lead generation.

Spending on digital marketing is expected to increase significantly in
2004 from last year, with the biggest year-to-year increase expected for those
who spent between 11-20 percent on digital marketing last year. Nearly
40 percent of those who forecast spending for 2004 said they would spend more
than 20 percent of their marketing budget on digital marketing.

"The study confirms digital marketing is an essential component of a
marketer’s overall marketing mix," said Kathy Gogan, Vice President of
Marketing for Responsys, Inc. "Those who hesitate to embrace the digital
channel will miss a critical opportunity to build stronger relationships with
customers, promote their products, and cost-effectively build their brands."

Business to business (B2B) companies appear to be engaging in digital
marketing techniques like never before. 63 percent of the survey respondents
are from the B2B sector, and these marketers are spending more and allocating
a higher percentage of their marketing budget toward digital marketing.

The survey reports B2B companies are employing digital marketing for new
customer lead generation (87 percent); website traffic generation
(58 percent); and customer education (54 percent). Business to consumer (B2C)
companies are using the channel to improve customer relationships
(74 percent), as well as for cross-selling/up-selling to existing customers
(63 percent), and product sales.

"Although business-to-business companies are dramatically increasing their
spending for digital marketing in 2004, they seem to be focusing on one-way
information transfer," added Gogan. "The business-to-consumer market has
recognized digital marketing as an effective vehicle for personalized, two-way
dialogs which are critical for maximum results from the online channel."

Increased spending levels on digital marketing are due in large part to
the ease, speed, and measurability of the online channel. 60 percent of
respondents said digital marketing campaigns are gaining in popularity
primarily because of the low cost of implementation, speed of delivery, and
measurable ROI.

"We have found that online channels, including online marketing tools, are
an effective and engaging means of reaching our customers in new ways," said
Alan Gellman, former Vice President of eBusiness at Blue Shield and a survey
respondent. "We’ve increased revenues, decreased costs and improved consumer
satisfaction through the effective use of the digital channel."

Despite the clear advantages of digital marketing techniques, many
marketers gave themselves barely passing grades when it comes to digital
marketing. Nearly 40 percent graded their use of online marketing at a C, D,
or F, admitting there is plenty of room for improvement utilizing digital
marketing more effectively.

The top areas of improvements identified by respondents included better
analytics and more multi-channel integration. Half of all respondents said top
improvements would include better customer profiling and analytics,
integration of both online and off-line channels and touchpoints, integration
of email campaigns with personalized website interaction with customers, and
integration of customer information and eCRM/e-support systems.

Respondents noted three primary barriers to effective digital marketing
results. Spam and other email filters and email inbox clutter were mentioned
by over 60 percent of respondents as key barriers, followed by the development
of qualified email lists. Recent anti-spam legislation and privacy issues are
also impacting e-marketing efforts. Nearly half of survey respondents said
they would place more emphasis on the quality of email lists and over
40 percent have adopted a policy of "opt-in" email communications only.

The survey included all major industry sectors, including financial,
retail, travel/hospitality, healthcare and consumer packaged goods. Almost
70 percent of the respondents held the title of Director of Marketing or
above, with CEOs representing nearly thirty percent of the sample.

A comprehensive survey results report is available at http://www.responsys.com.
The results of the study along with key marketing executive commentary
will be part of an interactive online, rich-media Digital Marketing Dialog
webcast sponsored by the CMO Council, BtoB Magazine, USA TODAY, and Responsys
on January 27, 2004 at 12 noon Pacific / 3 pm Eastern.

To register for the webcast, please visit:
http://inter.viewcentral.com/events/cust/single_event.asp?cid=cmoc&pid=2&payme
nt_type=USD&cbClass=2

About Responsys, Inc.

Responsys, a premier provider of email marketing solutions for Global 2000
companies, enables performance-driven businesses to execute eMarketing
campaigns that significantly improve return on customer relationships. Its
sophisticated technology platform provides an enterprise-class solution for
helping organizations design, deploy and analyze online marketing programs to
drive revenue and increase customer satisfaction and retention. Responsys is
trusted by market category leaders such as: Avery Dennison, Carlson
Companies, Lands’ End and Quill Corporation. Responsys is a privately-held
corporation based in Palo Alto, California, with offices in: London; New
York; Chicago; Boston, MA; and Portland, OR. For more information, visit
http://www.responsys.com.

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