According to the CMO Council's Marketing Outlook 2011 study, as marketing budgets are on the rise, the key management mandate to marketers is to drive top-line growth and market share while better
defining the brand and value proposition. 57% of senior-level marketers say they are increasing their overall marketing spend in 2011 as 26% plan to increase budgets between 1% and 5%, according
to the report.
Anticipated Percentage Change in Budget; 2011 vs.
2010 |
Expectation | % of Respondents |
No change | 31% |
Increase | |
< 1% | 8% |
1-5% | 26 |
6-10% | 12 |
11-15% | 3 |
16-20% | 2 |
> 20% | 6 |
Decrease | |
< 1% | 3% |
1-5% | 4 |
6-10% | 2 |
11-15% | 1 |
16-20% | 1 |
> 20% | 1 |
Source: CMO Council, July
2010 |
Through new automated campaign and lead management tools, marketers can engage in highly interactive, highly relevant dialogues across multiple
channels, reaching across social, digital, and traditional media channels. Connecting the measurements of these multiple channels is one of the key challenges marketers will seek to address in
2011.
Among chief deliverables this year, CMOs cite driving top-line growth, followed by growing and retaining market share and defining brand value:
Senior Management Mandates To Marketing for 2011 |
Mandate | % of Respondents (Multiple Response OK) |
Drive top line growth | 46% |
Grow or retain market share | 45 |
Better define brand and value proposition | 31 |
Improve customer insight and retention | 25 |
Lower costs and improve
efficiencies | 22 |
Maintain high quality sales pipeline | 20 |
Access new markets and audiences | 17 |
Increase accountability and measurement | 15 |
Source: CMO Council, July
2010 |
The study responses conclude that marketing must redefine the customer experience, developing web experiences that are highly engaging, personalized
and differentiated.
· This new "experience mix" must include social platforms, and integrate the messaging and engagements through traditional
channels
· Ecommerce capabilities and channels of fulfillment must also be integrated to create a unified, seamless multi-channel customer experience
· This experience must now bridge the gap between the art of marketing and the science of analytics, measurement and process
· Marketers need to better understand the impact marketing and technology integration can have in making customer experiences more gratifying and satisfying, to
improve loyalty, retention and repeat purchase.
Despite marketing's renewed focus on building strategic, integrated campaigns says the report, several major challenges could impact
marketers' ability to fulfill their mandates, says the report.
· New technologies are keeping marketing on its toes as processes and engagement cycles
have sped up, making maintaining technological proficiency a key priority
· The influence of the Internet is also emerging as a key challenge for
marketers. Driven by a more savvy and demanding customer, the Internet demands new talent to develop strategy, execute, monitor and measure, and not all marketing organizations are currently equipped
with that personnel
· Though the recovering economy reigns supreme as the top challenge for survey respondents through 2011, digital dominates three of the
top five concerns, highlighting the ongoing stress of new technology within marketing.
The economy is cited as CMO's biggest challenge, followed by technological challenges and Internet
influence and voice:
Top Three Emerging Issues/Challenges to Address |
Issue | % of Respondents |
Recovering economy | 51% |
New technologies or engagement channels | 42 |
Internet influence and voice | 27 |
Need for new talent with specialized skill sets | 21 |
Financing & investment freeze | 18 |
Increased regulatory and government oversight | 17 |
Diluted market, diminished demand | 14 |
Corporate
restructuring | 14 |
Source: CMO Council, July 2010 |
The extensive report concludes by noting that throughout 2011, marketers will focus on operational transformation in an effort to fulfill a move away from "Random Acts of
Marketing," and realize the more accountable, productive models that senior management demands. In doing so, they will pay special attention to improving operational visibility and
accountability. 60% of marketers say that they intend to set clear goals and track deliverables to better monitor and control spend while maximizing effectiveness.
In this study 64% of
respondents said they reported directly to the CEO, president or COO, while another 14% said they were accountable to a regional vice president, general manager or division/business group head. Among
the respondents, 34% held CMO or Head of Marketing titles, while 33% held roles of Vice President or above.
For additional information and to access the PDF file of the Marketing Outlook, please visit the CMA Council here.