Marketing Pulse Survey 2013
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Introduction Korn/Ferry International’s Marketing Center of Expertise surveyed 124 CMOs and marketing leaders from the Korn/Ferry database of top U.S. companies. The Marketing Pulse Survey asked a variety of questions, ranging from talent development and big data management, to online advertising trends and customer engagement. The survey set out to determine the foremost issues facing CMOs and top marketers today and to create a baseline of sentiment among marketing executives tackling the big issues of today. Here we have aggregated top marketing executives’ opinions on the key business issues impacting their companies and jobs, in order to provide us with a pulse of what is driving marketing decisions in the C-suite.
Today, the marketer’s responsibility is increasingly centered on creating tangible business results on the top and bottom-line. The means available to drive toward that goal are expanding daily. Knowing where marketers are focusing their resources and which technologies and standards they are employing will help create a clearer picture of the marketing landscape.
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What’s keeping marketing executives up at a night? The survey revealed that customer engagement is driving restless nights for the majority of marketing executives. Specifically within the larger category of customer engagement, the focus is on creating sustainable and engaging customer relationships, followed by customer experience, dealing with budgetary issues, staying ahead of and taking advantage of digital opportunities, and acquiring the proper talent to meet new digital demands.
Figure 1
What keeps you up at a night? 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
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Dealing with budgetary issues
Staying ahead and taking advantage of the digital technology trends (social, mobile)
Acquiring digital-savvy talent
Improving the customer experience
Creating sustainable and engaging customer relationship
Marketing cannot operate as a “silo� and must partner across the organization with many functions: sales, IT, finance, and others to carry out their strategy. While Marketing must enlist other groups and collaborate to succeed, the survey shows that the ultimate responsibility for driving customer experience and engagement falls squarely within the purview of the marketing function.
Figure 2
Which department within the organization is responsible for customer experience and engagement?
3.2%
Marketing
28.2%
Sales
34.7%
It’s a joint marketing and sales effort Multi-functional task force No one
31.5%
4
2.4%
As information intelligence determines an organization’s competitive advantage, the relationship between marketing executives and CIOs is increasingly relevant. To that end, the survey captures what marketers believe are the keys to co-operatively creating an integrated customer experience, including improving customer engagement management and leveraging big data. Additionally, as organizations determine how best to manage the availability of large amounts of data and use it to drive their business strategies, there is little surprise that the overwhelming majority of respondents expect their companies to increase the use of predictive analytics and big data tools by the end of 2013. From a marketing perspective, the majority of respondents say analytics can be most effective when leveraging consumer data to support intuitive hypotheses.
Figure 3
How is your marketing team starting to work with the CIO and other departments to develop services that create a fully integrated customer experience?
13.2% 40.5%
Leveraging big data Improving customer engagement management Other
46.3%
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Figure 4
By what percentage do you expect your company to increase the use of predictive analytics and Big Data tools this year?
12.9% Up to 25% increase
8.9%
25% to 50% increase
8.1%
54%
50% to 75% increase 75% to 100% increase I do not expect to increase spend in this area
16.1%
Figure 5
How do you think marketing teams can most effectively apply analytics as an underpinning to creative initiatives?
6.6%
43.8% 49.6%
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Measure business outcomes of creative programs Leverage consumer data to support intuitive hypothesis Other
As organizations transform into content publishers, they are tasked with determining in which channels they will be active and in which they will not. This choice will ultimately be driven by the channels that will be most beneficial to achieving their goals. In this new context, most companies operate multiple social channels at once to consistently push out relevant content and actively engage in direct conversations with a customer or client base. This, in turn, is leading the vast majority of respondents to say that the rise in social media use has increased the importance of reputational management in their marketing strategy.
Figure 6
With the rise of social media, reputation management has taken a more important role in the company’s management strategy.
10.5%
True False
89.5%
Figure 7
Most popular marketing channels to engage with customers, ranked
7
Least popular marketing channels to engage with customers, ranked
1. Online advertising
12. LinkedIn
2. Facebook
13. Loyalty programs
3. Events
14. Print mailers
4. E-mail alerts
15. Television advertising
5. Twitter
16. Other employees
A high demand for technical expertise in marketing continues to push forth the talent management conversation around developing “specialists versus generalists.� When asked how to develop this type of marketing talent within their teams over time, the overwhelming majority of respondents say to give them stretch goals beyond their specialization, while only a small percentage say to keep growing the talent vertically in that same function.
Figure 8
When developing talent with a specialization, do you...
25.8% Keep growing them vertically in that same function
74.2%
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Give them stretch goals beyond their specialization
It is no surprise then that a vast majority of respondents say they currently allocate budget to digital advertising. Within the online advertising space, those who are using it as a marketing tool, choose to employ Google ads, followed by Facebook, YouTube and SMS ads. Of those that do not currently earmark budget to online advertising, the majority plan to do so in the next year. Mobile-only programs are also becoming a more viable marketing resource.
Figure 9
Do you currently allocate budget to one of the following advertising initiatives: Facebook ads; Google ads; YouTube ads; SMS ads?
15.3%
Yes No
84.7%
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Figure 10
If not, does your company plan to invest in the next 12 months?
28.2% Yes No
71.8%
Figure 11
If yes, which one does your company currently allocate the most budget to?
4.7%
3.7%
24.3% Facebook ads Google ads YouTube ads
67.3% 10
SMS ads
Key contacts: Marketing Center of Expertise Caren M. Fleit is a Senior Client Partner in the New York office of Korn/Ferry International is a member of the Firm’s Global Consumer/ Retail Market and leads Korn/Ferry’s Global Marketing Center of Expertise. Ms. Fleit focuses on recruiting senior executives for customer-centric companies, including brand-oriented, multi-channel consumer goods and services businesses as well as B to B businesses. A particular focus includes partnering with organizations seeking to leverage marketing to drive transformation. Within this arena, her search assignments span the executive suite, with an emphasis on general management, senior marketing, senior sales and senior operations positions. She also leads senior marketing assignments across industry verticals.
About Korn/Ferry International Korn/Ferry International is a premier global provider of talent management solutions, with a presence throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The firm delivers solutions and resources that help clients cultivate greatness through the design, building and attraction of their talent. Visit www.kornferry.com for more information on Korn/Ferry International, and www.kornferryinstitute.com for thought leadership, intellectual property, and research.
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