Over half of marketers are actively job hunting
Over half (55%) of marketers globally say they are actively job hunting. In the UK, the figure stands at 44%, suggesting many marketers are on the lookout for new work.
But despite so many marketers seemingly being open to new roles, 50% of global hiring managers report struggling to fill roles over the past year, according to recruitment consultancy Michael Page.
There may be mismatched alignment between organisations’ expectations of marketers and their own needs in a role, particularly when it comes to wellbeing.
For example, a staggering 96% of UK marketers say work-life balance is their top priority, with over half of UK marketers lacking confidence in their leaders to balance employee wellbeing with business goals. As a result, over one in four (27%) UK marketers and 31% of global marketers are actively considering leaving their current roles due to leadership decisions.
Wellbeing has clearly risen up the agenda for UK marketers. Over half (54%) say they would turn down a promotion if it jeopardised their wellbeing.
Beyond wellbeing, many marketers are clear in what they look for in new organisations. While purpose may have fallen out of favour with some brands, almost half (46%) of UK marketing professionals cite purpose as one of the most essential factors when considering a new role.
Source: Michael Page
Around eight in 10 marketing leaders reallocating budget to social
Social media is increasingly being seen as one of the most strategic channels for marketers. This is demonstrated by research suggesting 80% of marketing leaders globally plan to reallocate funds from other channels to social media.
In addition, almost nine in 10 (87%) plan to increase their paid social spend, and over 80% will increase their spend in influencer marketing and organic social. As they up their spend in the area, marketing leaders are also looking to beef up their social teams, with three-quarters planning to increase headcount of these teams over the next year.
In terms of why marketers are investing more in social, many marketing leaders credit it with delivering key outcomes such as customer acquisition (60%), customer loyalty (58%), and revenue (56%).
While marketing leaders may believe social media can deliver key business outcomes, there is some difficulty being experienced in actually linking social work to business outcomes. Less than half (44%) of leaders rate their social team at the “expert” level in measuring business impact.
It may be that social teams are measuring the wrong things, with engagement 68%) and conversion rates (65%) being the most popular metrics for success among these teams, while leaders say that “expert” teams are more likely to use revenue and efficiency metrics to measure ROI.
Source: Sprout Social
Unclear pricing is the biggest frustration for over two in five B2B buyers
Almost half (45%) of B2B buyers cite unclear pricing as their biggest frustration with the purchase process, according to data from lead generation agency Sopro.
Overall, over a quarter of B2B marketers describe their latest purchase journey as “very frustrating or difficult”. Common sources of annoyance include buying online, with 85% saying they get frustrated with it, and three-quarters (75%) saying they’d switch to a supplier with a better online experience.
The research also finds a large amount of drop outs during the B2B buying purchase, with nearly nine in 10 (86%) B2B deals hitting the brakes before crossing the finish line. Indeed, 81% of buyers are dissatisfied with their provider, leading to a negative buying experience.
B2B buyers are often doing their research before engaging with vendors. The research finds that B2B buyers review an average of 11 pieces of content before contacting a vendor. Around three-quarters start that journey online.
Around four in five (80%) B2B buyers make their first vendor contact after completing around 70% of their purchase journey.
Source: Sopro
Price of food staples increases
Consumers in the UK are still having to contend with rising prices for everyday essentials, as shop price inflation hit its highest rate since March last year. Shop price inflation increased to 0.9% year on year in August, against growth of 0.7% in July.
Rising food prices led to the rise in inflation, with food inflation increasing to 4.2% year on year in August, against growth of 4.0% in July, according to research from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NIQ. This figure sits above the three-month average of 3.9%.
In particular, fresh food saw big increases, with prices rising 4.1% year on year in August, against growth of 3.2% in July. This is above the three-month average of 3.5%.
The rate of inflation on ambient food slowed slightly in August, with the rate of inflation decreasing 4.2% year on year in August, against growth of 5.1% in July. This is also below the three-month average of 4.5%.
While food still sees mid-single figure increases in prices, non-food is actually on a slightly deflationary cycle, with prices declining 0.8% in August. This is a slightly slower rate than was recorded in July, when inflation decreased 1%.
Source: BRC-NIQ
Most marketers not confident in ability of AI to increase revenue
Over three in five (61%) marketing and sales professionals are not completely confident in AI’s ability to increase revenues, with nearly half (46%) also not certain it improves the consumer experience, according to research from General Assembly.
In addition, nearly a quarter (22%) say AI has not impacted productivity, while 18% believe embedding AI has actually created more work and is distracting them from important strategic work.
However, the study suggests much of this negativity comes from a lack of formal training in how to make the most of AI. Only 17% of respondents say they received comprehensive, role-setting training that prepared them to use AI effectively, with 32% having had no formal AI training at all.
A fifth of those who were fortunate enough to be trained in AI found the training was too generic, while 15% found the training too focused on concepts rather than practical applications. Considering all of this, it’s not too surprising that 16% ended up seeking out their own training in AI.
As to what marketing professionals are looking for in AI training, the results show a desire for clear results built around examples of successful practice.
General Assembly found the surveyed marketers wanted self-paced online modules with industry-specific examples (58%), regular training updates as AI evolves (57%), interactive workshops on specific use cases (48%) and peer learning with colleagues who are using AI successfully (45%).
Source: General Assembly
