--- title: "Proving ROI is the #1 Marketing Challenge and 9 other Interesting Findings" description: How many times should you check your analytics each week? Does marketing automation help you reach your goals? The State of Inbound Marketing report tries to answer those questions and more. image: http://320867.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/320867/Screen_Shot_2015-10-12_at_9.58.21_PM-1.png --- $15,000 web design grant from ArcStone [![Apply Now](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/320867/fbbcda94-7c24-4963-a9ff-46e94ea03955.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/320867/fbbcda94-7c24-4963-a9ff-46e94ea03955) [ArcStone](https://320867.hs-sites.com/) - [Impact](https://info.arcstone.com/impact) - [Work](https://info.arcstone.com/work) - [About](https://info.arcstone.com/about-arcstone) - [Careers](https://info.arcstone.com/careers) - [Services](https://info.arcstone.com/services/) - [Web Design & Development](https://info.arcstone.com/services/web-design-and-development) - [Web Hosting & Email](https://info.arcstone.com/services/web-hosting-and-email) - [Accessibility & Inclusive Design](https://info.arcstone.com/services/accessibility-inclusive-design) - [Digital Marketing & Strategy](https://info.arcstone.com/services/digital-marketing-and-strategy) - [Membership Management](https://info.arcstone.com/services/membership-management) - [Online Webinars & Events](https://info.arcstone.com/events) - [Blog](https://320867.hs-sites.com/blog) - [Contact](https://info.arcstone.com/contact-us) ### Categories # Proving ROI is the #1 Marketing Challenge and 9 other Interesting Findings By Jenna Christensen | October 2015 - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) *Every year, HubSpot surveys thousands of the world’s foremost marketers and salespeople -- HubSpot customers and non-customers alike. They poll them on their most pressing priorities, the challenges they face, and the tactics they’ve used to meet those challenges head-on. - State of Inbound '15* ![](https://320867.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/320867/hubfs/Screen_Shot_2015-10-12_at_9.58.21_PM-1.png?width=599&height=266&name=Screen_Shot_2015-10-12_at_9.58.21_PM-1.png) I've compiled what I found to be the most interesting or surprising findings from the report. You can also download the entire report at the end of this post.  1. Demonstrating ROI is the #1 challenge marketers face. Securing enough budget and managing the website come in at #'s 2 and 3. 2. Increasing revenue derived from existing customers is not a priority for B2B marketers (say, what?!). However, it was a priority for both B2C companies and nonprofits organizations 3. Companies are worried about increasing leads and conversions, but lowering the cost of generating those leads is not a priority 4. Training the marketing team has become both a greater challenge and priority over the past year   5. Paid advertising (on and offline) and social media are considered to be the most overrated marketing tactics  6. 10% of companies use an agency partner to write their content, up from a year ago 7. Marketers who check their metrics 3X+ a week are over 20% more likely to achieve positive ROI 8. Marketers who get involved in sales tech decisions get higher marketing budgets 9. Those who use marketing automation software were 11% more likely to see greater ROI across all marketing activities 10. Past success and change in management are the primary reasons for a budget increase Topics: [Digital Marketing](https://320867.hs-sites.com/blog/topic/digital-marketing) ![Dan Olson](https://www.arcstone.com/hubfs/dolson.jpg) ## Talk to a Digital Strategist Questions about your project? We can help. 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