• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, March 28, 2016

Although marketers know mobile is a strategic imperative, the vast majority still fail to strategically integrate it into their marketing mix, according to fresh findings from Forrester. 

Only 13% of marketers say they strategically integrate mobile systematically. 

Not surprisingly, therefore, only 27% of marketers surveyed by Forrester said the ROI of their mobile marketing campaigns was profitable, while a staggering 67% said they simply cannot measure it.

In addition, only 20% of marketers presently have the budget they need for mobile initiatives, by Forrester’s reckoning. The majority of marketers still have limited full-time resources dedicated to mobile, and only 10% consider their companies to be mobile-savvy organizations. 

Marketers supplement their internal development capabilities, with 56% of them working with several partners -- agencies, specialty vendors and platform providers -- to support integrated mobile initiatives from comprehensive strategy through execution.

As as result, marketers are still getting a handle on how mobile tactics work, how to implement them, and how to measure success.

Without mobile programs in-market to learn from and optimize their skill sets, marketers will be stuck in the test-and-learn phase and remain unable to demonstrate the expertise needed to win over executives, the research suggests.

To carve out a mobile budget that matches the current opportunity, marketers also must build a compelling business case, according to Forrester.