No matter what the size of the business, marketers across the globe are under constant pressure to lead the charge in bringing in new customers as well as retaining their existing customers. That being said, a new report from Domo has found that senior marketing leaders from smaller (less than 1,000 employees) and larger (more than 1,000 employees) have somewhat different sources of pressure.
Three in 10 senior marketers (31%) from larger businesses say that their largest source of pressure from across their team (of 4 identified) is the expectation that marketing will lead with new technology and trends.
Smaller companies, though, are feeling more pressure elsewhere. One-quarter (24.9%) of senior marketers from smaller companies said that the pressure to show ROI is their top concern, while some 22% identified their top pressure point as the push to reduce spend and keep costs to a minimum.
Training could improve how marketing teams communicate with the wider business
More than one-third (35%) of senior marketers from larger companies believe that the best way to improve the way marketing teams can better communicate with the wider business is to provide training to help staff understand and explain marketing performance. Significantly fewer smaller businesses agree that this is their top way to improve communication, with more (23.5%) instead feel that a more open and collaborative team structure would do the trick.
Larger companies put value in strong data and analytics skills
A recent study by Dun & Bradstreet found that half of the business leaders surveyed from the US and UK surveyed believed that without quality data their company will not survive. While this finding puts an emphasis on the importance of data to the future of companies, it also illustrates the need for staff with the appropriate skills to process this data.
For the majority (64.3% share) of larger companies, strong data and analytics are the most important skills for the modern marketing department, ahead of creative skills. Marketing leaders from smaller businesses, though, are more apt to see the value in an even balance of creative and data skills.
Both company sizes are more aligned about data’s ability to boost creativity
Although larger companies lean more towards strong data and analytics skills, that does not mean they do not see how these skills can increase creativity in campaigns. The vast majority (92.1%) of large companies agree that data and analytics could be more effectively used in this way. More than three-quarters (77.4%) of smaller businesses also agree that data could aid in campaign creativity.
Separate analysis by McKinsey shows that the ability to unite data and creativity has been correlated with above-average revenue growth rates. Furthermore, companies boasting such capability are also more likely to use advanced analytics and artificial intelligence for consumer insights – putting them in a likely stronger position in the years to come.
Nonetheless, fewer smaller companies believe there is a digital skills gap
Prior research from the IAB and Winterberry has shown that, for the majority of their survey respondents, confidence in the expertise of the people in their organization to deliver value from data was low to middling (1-3 out of a 5-point scale). More recent findings from Econsultancy found that nearly all the marketers surveyed believed there is a digital skills gap.
Domo’s survey shows that many more larger companies (77.5%) than smaller companies (57.1%) acknowledge that there is currently a digital skills gap in their organization, suggesting either their size is causing a challenge in keeping knowledge sharp, or that they have more advanced requirements compared to smaller firms.
To read more, you can download the report here.
About the Data: Analysis is based on a survey of 681 senior marketers in seven key international markets: Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The survey was conducted in January 2019.
