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Businesses are on the run

63% are under pressure from new,

more agile competitors

Businesses are on the run

61% don’t spend enough time

thinking about the future

Businesses are on the run

57% are just playing catch up

So what does that mean for CMOs & Heads of Comms today?

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CMOs and Comms directors are facing change from all directions

1. Marketing innovations:

The toolkit is changing

2. Disruptors:

Keeping up with the

competition

3. Business uncertainty:

Less money, more to do

Top commercial challenges for the marketing function in 2017

51%

49%

42%

42%

42%

40%

39%

32%

30%

Keeping pace with marketing innovation

Changes in the competitive landscape

Budget cuts

Bringing new products and services to market

Potential downturn in economy due to Brexit

Differentiating from the competition

Skills and talent acquisition

Budget justification / accounting for performance

Global instability as a result of Trump presidency

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And it’s taking its toll personally

Causes of stress

1. Too much to do

2. Keeping up with competitors

3. Lack of skills

4. Lack of support from the board

Stress compared to last year

Feel more stressed

than last year, 65%

Don't feel more

stressed, 35%

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Challenge 1: The marketing toolkit is changing

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51% see marketing innovation as a major challenge

– the biggest challenge they face

How to do we know what’s innovation and what’s hype?

10

Algorithms Vs ArtMarketing is becoming a technology-based discipline

.

11

25%

37% 38%

16%

46%

38%

Commercial Technological Creative

2016 2017

Strongest area of knowledge for CMOs/Comms Heads

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55%

52%

45%

42%

40%

36%

34%

3%

Digital customer experiences

Web / mobile development skills

Marketing automation software

Data analysis / forecasting

Programming / application development skills

Digital operations / planning

Social networking (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter)

We are not investing

Businesses are striving to create a digital customer experience

Planned investments for 2017

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In businesses where marketing is viewed as strategic, there is a heightened focus on programmatical

marketing

51%54%

58%

51%

36% 36% 37%

1%

58%

51%

38% 36%

43%

37%32%

5%

Digital customerexperiences

Web / mobiledevelopment skills

Marketing automationsoftware

Data analysis /forecasting

Programming /application

development skills

Digital operations /planning

Social networking(e.g. Facebook,

LinkedIn, Twitter)

We are not investing

Strategic Non-strategic

Planned investments for 2017

Challenge 2:Watching the competition

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Who’s going to disrupt my industry?

15

say they are under pressure

from new, more agile competitors

63%say changes in the commercial

landscape are a major challenge

for marketing

49%

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You Customers Competitors

Who matters more, your customers or your competitors?

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Customers

Say you’re in a homogeneous market…

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Customers

How will you know about a disruptor untilthey have disrupted?

So get to know your customers and look for the white space

55% of businesses say they need to get better

at understanding their customers.

But in businesses where marketing is seen as

strategic, this rises to 63%.Customer

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Challenge 3:Less money, more to do

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Are you getting the most fromyour marketing/comms spend?

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say they need to make

smarter investment decisions

58%need to get more

from their people

58%need to make better

use of technology

57%

Of strategic

importance

Something we have to

do to stay in the game

Of fairly low

importance

A bit of a black box

Marketing is undervalued in many B2B businesses

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38%

26%

25%

10%

Perceptions of marketing and comms in the business

Innovation, customer

understanding & skilled

workforce

Smart investment, get

more out of people

& technology

Businesses are looking to be smarter and slickerWhat should your business prioritise for improvement?

Intelligence (smarter)

Efficiency (slicker)

Business Culture

(stronger)

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Strong leadership &

a clear strategic plan

44% 40%

16%

1. We have reached a tipping point in marketing. Technology skills are

now at least as important as creative skills

2. Obsessing about the competition is stressful and won’t stop them

disrupting you. Knowing your customer better is more constructive.

3. Businesses want to be smarter and more efficient. And that means

they need to take a breath and think.

In summary

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Planning: My budgets are

approved too late!

Strategy: We’re not seen as

strategic

Efficiency: We get caught up in

supporting tactical business

needs

Innovation: We lack in-house

skills to use new technology

Culture: We’re too internally

focused

The business operations

lags behind the strategy

Marketing is defined by

activities and output, not

goals

The business expects too

much from internal

resources

Tech moves fast and people

cost money

Intimidated by external

audiences: Competitors &

Prospects

Challenge CauseBreath-back-

Factor

Build your strategy with contingency

for budget options. Looking ahead

costs nothing.

Create a simple, shareable plan that

aligns marketing to company strategy.

One page!

Stipulate informal SLAs with key

stakeholders and prioritise, prioritise,

prioritise!

Agency partners to bridge the gaps.

Seminars, networks and online

training for in-house team members.

Competitor and customer research,

validated, circulated and embraced.

Solution

Five breath lessons for a breathless business

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Thank you

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