CMOs
CMOs run the risk of becoming “corporate figureheads.”
The fear of over two-thirds (69%) of top and executive-level marketers is that CMOs will become “corporate figureheads” and not really be able to make changes. CMOs
Most of the people who answered the poll, though (91%), are sure that the CMO in their own company can make a difference in the business’s finances.
Eighty percent of marketers say that CMOs will be more successful if they offer a range of skills, points of view, and strengths.
Most marketers are optimistic about their companies; in fact, 80% of them believe that their bosses will guide them to success. CMOs About the same number of people (76%) agree that most of their team is excited about the future of the business.
Even though most people are optimistic, a lot of marketers are worried that their company is only thinking about the short term. Almost half of them (45%) say their company has given up on key values to get quick wins.
Most marketers believe that their skills have “completely changed” in the last ten years.
A study from the Chartered Institute of Marketing and Target Internet found that almost four in five (79%) marketing workers say the skills they need to do their job have changed a lot in the last ten years.
A lot of marketers don’t believe they can meet these new needs either; in fact, 19% say they only think they have some of the skills they need to do their job. CMOs
The study shows that there is a difference between how confident marketers are in their technology skills and how skilled people actually are across the business. When it comes to everything but marketing theory, email, ecommerce, and lead generation, confidence levels always exceed real ability. Content marketing, readability, and social media skills are where the skills gap is most clear.
The study shows that salespeople at all levels have gotten better over the last year. But marketers in junior and graduate-level jobs have gotten worse at four of the 12 skill areas. The only area where they’ve gotten better is social media, where they’ve gained 9%.
The most growth was seen in social media (+8%), ecommerce and lead creation (+5%), and email marketing (+5%). These areas saw the most growth across all levels of seniority.
Women feel more impacted than men by cost of living crisis
Women are being hurt more than men by the ongoing cost of living problem.
Almost half of women (45%) say they feel worse off financially than they did this time last year. Men, on the other hand, only say that 35% of the time.
Also, women are more likely than men to say they have made cuts or plan to make cuts. Four sixths of women (46%) have spent less on clothes and items in the past year, while only 33% of men have done the same.
Over half of women (51%) say they are going to spend less on things that aren’t necessary in the future, while only 39% of men say the same thing.
Mintel says that prices are going up, which is causing a lot of people to spend more. They think that spending will rise by 6.5% to £1.73trn in 2023. This is less than the record 15% growth seen between 2021 and 2022.
People have changed the way they order takeout because they are having trouble spending their extra money. In 2023, only 24% of British people order home delivery or takeout at least once a week. This is down from 30% in 2021.
IPA Bellwether presents mixed picture for marketers
The most recent IPA Bellwether report shows that marketing spending across all platforms went up by a net balance of 5.3% in the third quarter of 2023.
This might make you feel good, but it’s much lower than the 6.4% growth seen in the second quarter. It’s also the lowest amount of total budget growth seen since the fourth quarter of 2022. CMOs
Those who increased their spending this quarter did so mostly through “main media,” which are outlets that are often used to build brands. So far, 7.4% of companies have said they are raising their main marketing budgets. In this area, this is the best growth seen in over a year and a half.
It’s also very different from what drove growth in the second quarter, when spending on sales promotions hit all-time highs. CMOs More marketers cut their funds for sales promotions in the last quarter than increased them, for a net balance of -1.5%.
Looking ahead, S&P Global, one of the authors of Bellwether, says that UK ad spending will go down by 0.6% in 2023 and by 0.4% in 2024. CMOs They are expecting people to spend less because they think the UK economy as a whole will grow less next year. It was once thought that the economy would grow by a small 0.4% in 2024. Now, however, it is thought that it will shrink by 0.1%.
Consumer confidence falls across the board
In GfK’s October Barometer, all of the measures of consumer confidence have gone down because the UK economy as a whole has stopped growing.
Nine points were taken away from the overall index score, which is a measure of trust as a whole. It now stands at -30. CMOs Importantly, the major purchase index, which shows how likely people are to buy big things, dropped by 14 to -34.
The public is also less optimistic about the economy as a whole over the next twelve months, with a drop of eight points to -32. At the same time, that is still more positive than the same number in October 2022, which was -61.
In turn, this has caused people’s trust in their own personal finances to drop six points, and it now stands at -8.
The savings index has gone down two points and is now at 25, but it doesn’t affect the total score of the index.