• by Tobi Elkin , Staff Writer @tobielkin, November 3, 2016

More than half of marketers, 56%, think the marketing technology sector is evolving faster than their companies’ use of marketing technology, and only 9% of marketers say their companies are outpacing the industry when it comes to technology adoption. Those are the findings of a new study co-sponsored by Walker Sands and the chiefmartec.com blog.

Other results from the State of Marketing Technology 2017 report:

--Seventy percent of marketers expect their companies’ marketing technology budgets to increase in 2017, and only 2% expect a decrease.

--The number of marketers who feel their companies’ current marketing technology helps them do their job better increased from 58% to 69% year-over-year.

--More than double the number of marketers now call their companies innovators or early adopters in marketing technology adoption compared to a year ago (47% vs. 20%).

Overall, the report found that the majority of companies polled simply can’t keep up with the pace of change in the martech industry.  With the sheer number of ad-tech vendors, proliferation of complex ad-tech stacks and tech integrations, not to mention the number of supply-side, demand-side, data management platforms, auction-based, and CRM systems, it’s not a surprise that marketers are overwhelmed.

In other findings, almost three-quarters (72%) of marketers say the martech landscape is evolving extremely fast, vs. one-third (33%) who say the same thing about their companies’ use of marketing technology.

Despite that disparity, marketers say their companies are starting to close the gap between martech innovation and adoption:

--More than double the number of marketers now call their companies innovators or early adopters in marketing technology adoption compared to a year ago (48% vs. 20%).

--Seven out of 10 marketers (71%) believe their companies invest the right amount in martech, up from 50% a year ago.

--The number of marketers that feel the marketing technology in place at their companies helps them do their jobs more effectively increased from 58% to 69% year-over-year.

The study was conducted online between Sept. 15 and Oct. 11, 2016. Respondents were limited to more than 300 professionals who currently work in the marketing department of a company or organization.