Four out of five Australian and New Zealand marketers say their work is increasing in value despite macroeconomic and labour headwinds, according to new research from Salesforce.
The State of Marketing Report, which surveyed 325 marketing leaders from across ANZ, reveals that despite their optimism, marketers face an uphill battle, with 74% stating that customer expectations are more challenging to meet than a year ago.
Almost a third (31%) cite budgetary constraints as a challenge in the year ahead as companies tighten their belts in anticipation of rising inflation.
87% of marketers agree they must continually innovate to remain competitive. To help meet the moment, they are focusing on improving and modernising their use of tools and technologies, balancing personalisation with comfort levels, and complying with privacy regulations as third-party cookies phase out.
Paul Voges, senior vice president of specialist solutions at Salesforce ANZ, said: “As businesses re-examine their budgets in the face of economic headwinds, marketers will play an increasingly strategic and valuable role in the success of their business by building and growing long-lasting and meaningful customer relationships.
“While marketers are optimistic about the future, they must prioritise driving as much value as possible from existing tools and technologies, as well as focus on new investments in automation to boost productivity and efficiency.
“Those that double-down on digital technologies and data capabilities will be better placed to build trust, infuse personalisation at scale and meet evolving customer expectations for hyper personalised experiences that recognise their customer’s unique needs and desires.”
Additional key findings revealed in the report:
· The march toward digitally-led engagement treads both new and familiar paths: ANZ marketers are investing in channels and technologies to reach audiences in new places and build lasting relationships. Despite TV/OTT seeing the most significant increase in usage over the past 12 months, email marketing remains dominant, accounting for over 80% of all outbound marketing messages, according to the trillions of messages sent globally from Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
· Marketers are adapting to changes in privacy regulations and calls for data transparency: Despite deadlines to phase out third-party cookies being postponed yet again, marketers continue pivoting to zero- and first-party data. Although 78% of ANZ marketers still invest in third-party data, 60% have a fully defined strategy to migrate from this.
· KPIs shift as marketers pursue real-time intelligence: Across every stage of the funnel, marketers are tracking more metrics year-on-year than ever before. In ANZ, 83% of marketing organisations are engaging customers in real time across one or more marketing channels. In fact, marketers expect the number of data sources they use next year to increase by 50% from 2021.
· Marketers increasingly turn to automation: In ANZ, marketers are increasingly automating processes with 90% using AI to automate customer interactions and data integration. Two-thirds (67%) say that their marketing attribution model has shifted from manual to an automated process.
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