Fired-up marketers bullish they can ride out headwinds

Marketers’ confidence in their ability to boost their companies’ performance appears to be as unshakeable as ever, despite economic threats, with nearly 9 out of 10 (87%) saying their work provides greater value now than it did a year ago, up 10% from 2021.

That is according to the eighth edition of the Salesforce State of Marketing report, drawn from a survey of 6,000 marketers across 35 countries and an analysis of trillions of outbound marketing messages sent using the Salesforce platform.

It reveals that while what it dubs “macroeconomic uncertainties” may have teams re-examining budgets and fine-tuning tech stacks, marketers remain bullish about their contributions’ importance.

However, most concede that their job has not an easier. Quite the opposite: one in three marketers is feeling the squeeze of tightening budgets, all while consumer expectations continue to soar. Indeed, nearly three-quarters (71%) of marketers say meeting customer expectations is more difficult than just a year ago.

The report maintains that gaps in employee resourcing are partially to blame, with trends like the great resignation, quiet quitting, and layoffs are making waves across company talent pools with marketing teams feeling the impact.

In the face of heightened demands and limited resources, marketers are looking closely at which capabilities they need, and how they can extract value from their existing investments first and foremost.

Even so, although they have a lot on their plates, marketers are confident in their ingenuity. To adapt to the current landscape, marketers are flexing their creative muscles, citing “experimenting with new strategies and tactics” as one of their top priorities.

According to separate Salesforce research, over half (56%) of customers now expect offers to always be personalised — no matter the channel. In turn, brands are investing in a combination of channels and technologies to tailor outreach and build lasting relationships wherever their audiences spend time.

While email remains a dominant channel and accounts for over 80% of all outbound marketing messages, marketers are branching out to newer disciplines.

As streaming services continue to dominate the media landscape and beef up targeted advertising offerings, marketers are following suit. Channels like TV/OTT, digital content, and video experienced the biggest growth in marketing adoption. No doubt a move that Netflix will be aiming to exploit with the launch of its ad-funded service.

These new disciplines are also driving the need for greater insight across more channels. With each new channel comes additional usage and performance data to be tracked, analysed, and optimised. Undaunted, marketers predict they will use nearly twice as many data sources in 2023 than they used in 2021.

In addition to transaction data and known digital identities, three-quarters (75%) of marketers still use third-party data like device identifiers and cookies from aggregators or data brokers.

While not all third-party data is cookie related, marketers will need to reconcile this strategy with impending changes to privacy regulations, Salesforce warns.

But despite this continued reliance on third-party information, most marketers have a plan in place. More than two-thirds (68%) have already created a fully defined strategy to shift towards first-party and zero-party data. The report maintains that strategies such as providing information-sharing incentives for customers can help bridge the gap by enriching customer data profiles.

As the reality of new privacy regulations kicks in, marketers are setting more conservative goals: only half (51%) now say they go beyond regulations and industry standards to protect customer privacy, down from 61% last year.

Faced with heightened expectations, limited staffing, and an influx of data, marketers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to maximise their efforts. More than two-thirds (68%) say they have a fully-defined AI strategy — a steady climb from 60% in 2021 and 57% in 2020.

Teams already leveraging AI are using it to accelerate existing tasks, with three of the top four AI use-cases centring around task automation. These teams view AI as more than a temporary fix: 70% of marketers who updated investments in their process/workflow automation view this as a long-term strategy shift.

Experimentation is also a key weapon in the marketer’s arsenal. This drive starts at the top: 91% of CMOs say they must continually innovate to remain competitive.

While still relatively new territory, 51% of marketers already have a strategy for Web3, with virtual products and VR and/or AR use cases being the most common elements.

For the remaining 49% of marketers who have yet to draw up a Web3 strategy, the report cites unique digital assets like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or the metaverse that could present new opportunities for brands to collect first-party data as the end of the cookie approaches or attract new audiences like gamers or Gen Z.

Marketers are also embracing their company’s “purpose”, with 88% of customers expecting brands to clearly state their values.

Top marketing teams are rising to the occasion. Some 93% high-performing marketers say their external messaging reflects their corporate values, compared to 70% of their underperforming competition. As the amplifiers for key company messages, marketers are in a unique position to show how business can be a platform for change, the report concludes.

Salesforce’s president and chief marketing officer Sarah Franklin said: “We have been through so much these past few years, adapting our strategies and practices to navigate a rapidly changing and challenging environment.

“Companies everywhere are looking to their CMO and marketing teams to meet customers’ digital-first expectations, do more with less in the face of economic headwinds, and accommodate evolving data privacy laws to prepare for a cookieless future.

“It’s a new day for marketers, a time of tremendous transformation that requires us to reimagine how we connect with customers and personalise every interaction; achieve our budget and business goals in an uncertain economic environment; and lead with our values to help shape a better, more equitable and sustainable future.”

TOPICS:addressable TV cookies data strategy data-driven marketing online advertising Salesforce