Articles

2.12.2010 Many marketers are neglecting the basics

Many marketers are neglecting basic aspects of their role such as the delivery and distribution of communications materials, hindering campaign effectiveness, a report has argued. Industry body the CMO Council and Archway Marketing Services surveyed 267 senior executives worldwide, and revealed 80% thought their company possessed inadequate "go-to-market" capabilities. This can cover everything from producing and delivering vital literature like brochures, leaflets and presentations to corresponding digital media components. A further 20% suggested their demand chain is either "underperforming" or "needs improvement", despite the fact 38% viewed it as driving competitiveness, and an additional 31% agreed it helped sustained sales. Elsewhere, a quarter of the sample had ensured sales resources were available on-demand, aiding customer conversion, while 15% had audited their marketing supply chain.

Although 56% of participants focused on campaign design, development and execution, this could be measured against 16% emphasising matters like production, warehousing and inventory management. Similarly, only 2% of the panel were looking to optimise the delivery, fulfilment and distribution of marketing collateral. A slightly greater 7% saw the demand chain as ripe for rationalisation, which may enhance their control and boost efficiency. However, as nearly 60% of respondents hope to introduce a more disciplined approach regarding marketing execution systems, ignoring this area is not viable.

The main challenges to achieving such ambitions were receiving the right budget and funding on 43%, and determining which activities really have a business impact, registering 42%. Securing new skills and talent posted 39%, ahead of monitoring results on 37% and gaining a comprehensive understanding of expense and value creation on 25%.

B.L. 2.12.2010