Marketers have also waded into unfamiliar technical waters. In other words, marketing technology and data analysis have upended their profession. Most marketers are still trying to wrap their heads around the complexities of technology and trying to separate hype from reality. Hence, there's a real fear of failure.

Perhaps most frightening of all, the majority of marketers don't really have a plan. They're making reactive marketing tech decisions rather than strategic ones. In fact, Forrester says only 44 percent have a clearly defined and deployed digital strategy.

The bottom line: Lots of scatter-shot marketing dollars hang in the balance, while returns may prove to be elusive.

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