Having the ability to quickly identify and correct mistakes has traditionally been one of the best attributes of online campaigns, especially search engine marketing. Yet only 65% of
marketers participating in an Adobe Systems survey released Tuesday said they are more comfortable adopting new technologies once they become commonly used. The biggest problem with that points to a
tendency to follow rather than lead.
Marketers tend to play it safe when it comes to testing and using new technology for campaigns. About half of marketers admit they should take more risks
to increase their success and plan to do so within the next year. Some 45% said they hope to take more risks.
Taking risks remains only part of what stifles success. A lack of knowledge of
some of the most rudimentary strategies like cross-channel marketing or attribution also contributes, as marketers struggle to broaden their skills. Some 64% of marketers expect their role to change
in the next year, and 81% believe their role will change in the next three years.
The path to reinventing themselves remains challenging. Some 30% of marketers cite lack of training in new
marketing skills, and another 30% cite their respective organization's inability to adapt to changes among the top obstacles. The study -- Digital Roadblock: Marketers Struggle to Reinvent Themselves
-- highlights the attitude and beliefs of more than 1,000 marketing professionals in the U.S.
The findings also highlight a chasm between marketers in companies that spend more than 25% of
their marketing budget on digital campaigns compared with those spending less than 10%. About 82% of marketers in high digital-spend companies are more likely to believe they need to reinvent
themselves to succeed, versus 67% of low digital-spend companies. Marketers from high-performing companies are three times more likely to say they know how to reinvent themselves than low
performers.
Seventy-six percent of marketers agree they need to become more focused on the correct data to succeed, but 49% report they would rather trust their gut to guide decisions on where
to invest their marketing budgets. Only 39% of marketers said they have used consumer data and behavior patterns to shape marketing strategy in the past 12 months, but 45% plan to use more consumer
data and behavior in the next 12 months. Some 72% agree that long-term success of campaigns is tied to proving marketing return on investment, while 74% admit capturing and applying data to inform and
drive marketing activities has become their reality.
So, what's holding you back? The Harvard Business
Review offers a series of questions in a brief assessment to gauge whether your organization's day-to-day operations are in sync or misaligned with your strategy.