REPORT:9 INSIGHTS FOR YOUR STRATEGY ACC.

TO GARTNER CMO SPEND SURVEY

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2020

9 Insights for Your Strategy according to Gartner CMO Spend Survey

2020

ONLINE MARKETING REPORT

SIA FA ADVISE | Dzirnavu iela 37 - 54, Riga, Latvia, LV-1010

CONTENTS

Gartner CMO Spend Survey 2019-2020: Key Insights ....................................................................................... 3

Marketing budgets have dropped to their lowest levels since 2014 ............................................................ 3

Build a budgetary benchmark ......................................................................................................................... 5

Create a contingency plan .............................................................................................................................. 5

Forecast on a regular basis ............................................................................................................................... 5

Make sure your financial reports are accurate ............................................................................................. 6

Go for automation .............................................................................................................................................. 6

Improve communication ................................................................................................................................... 6

Focus on Return on Investment ........................................................................................................................ 7

Apply for financing sooner rather than later ................................................................................................. 7

Regardless of the financial uncertainty, CMOs are confident about future macro-environmental conditions ................................................................................................................................................................. 8

Track the environmental indicators ............................................................................................................... 11

Try PESTEL analysis .............................................................................................................................................. 11

Martech investments are going down .............................................................................................................. 13

Create the martech strategy .......................................................................................................................... 14

Ensure alignment with your brand story ........................................................................................................ 14

Don’t rely on AI automation too much ......................................................................................................... 14

Simplify the stack ............................................................................................................................................... 15

Prioritise integration ........................................................................................................................................... 15

Address the skills gaps ...................................................................................................................................... 15

Understand the evolving landscape ............................................................................................................. 15

Agency spending is down, while the in-housing is up ................................................................................... 16

Understand your needs and budget ............................................................................................................. 17

Check the credibility ......................................................................................................................................... 17

Is it easy to keep in touch? .............................................................................................................................. 18

Check the industry experience ...................................................................................................................... 18

Consider the vision ............................................................................................................................................ 18

In-house or outsource? ..................................................................................................................................... 19

Spending on paid media is on the rise ............................................................................................................. 20

Recommendations to follow ........................................................................................................................... 22

Promote the right content ............................................................................................................................... 23

Choose the right marketing channels ........................................................................................................... 23

Reassess your existing marketing channels .................................................................................................. 23

Choose the right ad format............................................................................................................................. 23

Create your ad in the right way ..................................................................................................................... 24

Optimise your ads .............................................................................................................................................. 24

Start with a test ................................................................................................................................................... 24

Analytics and insights remain the most important capabilities ................................................................... 25

Choose a stack .................................................................................................................................................. 27

Provide data with a context ........................................................................................................................... 27

Visualise the results ............................................................................................................................................ 28

Collect the data on a regular basis ............................................................................................................... 28

Focus on metrics that matter .......................................................................................................................... 28

CMOs focus on volume metrics instead of value metrics ............................................................................. 30

Create a scorecard .......................................................................................................................................... 31

Define the scope of ROI calculation ............................................................................................................. 31

CMOs are shifting toward the project-based approach to budget setting ............................................. 32

Check the annual budget............................................................................................................................... 33

Use historical data ............................................................................................................................................. 33

Collaborate with the project manager ........................................................................................................ 34

Develop relevant key performance indicators ........................................................................................... 34

Consider the uncertainty ................................................................................................................................. 35

Review the budget on a regular basis .......................................................................................................... 35

Keep your team informed ............................................................................................................................... 35

Analyse the results after the project is completed ..................................................................................... 35

CMOs struggle for support from finance organisations ................................................................................. 36

Establish flawless communication .................................................................................................................. 37

Hold monthly meetings .................................................................................................................................... 37

Work on a strategy together ........................................................................................................................... 38

Try to cut down the costs ................................................................................................................................. 38

Be honest............................................................................................................................................................. 38

Share the success .............................................................................................................................................. 38

Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................................. 39

Gartner CMO Spend Survey is a reliable resource of valuable and detailed insights that can help you to improve your marketing and budgeting strategy. The 2019-2020 research covers such topics as marketing budgets, agency investments, martech, paid media, and others. We explored the survey carefully, and prepared for you a list of the most important insights and relevant recommendations. Keep reading to discover them.

Gartner CMO Spend Survey 2019-2020: Key Insights

Here are the main insights that we have gathered from Gartner CMO Spend Survey 2019-2020:

MARKETING BUDGETS HAVE DROPPED TO THEIR LOWEST LEVELS SINCE 2014

According to the Gartner CMO Spend Survey, in 2019 marketing budgets in North America and the United Kingdom have decreased to 10.5% of the company’s revenue (at an average), in comparison with 11.2% (this number was reached one year prior, in 2018).

The decline tendency started in 2016, when marketing expense budgets reached the rate of 12.1% — since that time, the percentage has been slightly decreasing. The current number has dropped almost to the level of the year 2014 (10.2%). Take a closer look at the table to understand the overall picture.

As for potential budgetary challenges, Gartner CMO Spend survey specifies the following:

• Impact of trade disputes and tariffs.

• Brexit may affect global corporate investments.

• Level of confidence that CEOs have in marketing — only 56% of themexpected to increase investment in marketing in the year 2019. In turn, othercapabilities have higher percentages: IT (74%), research and development,and innovation (60%), people and culture (64%).

• Overall changes in the business environment.

• High competition.

• Challenging economic signals.

In spite of the statistics and prospects, CMOs still have a positive attitude regarding the year 2020 — they expect the marketing budgetary growth. However, confidence levels vary, everything depends on the business model and the industry. For instance, for B2B services, the marketing budget in 2019 reached only 10.0%, but 67% of CMOs expect an increase in 2020. 18% of them think that the level will remain the same, while 15% suppose the percentage will decrease. The following table describes the marketing budget allocations and expectations. Again, the statistics cover North America and the United Kingdom.