This may be “the year of the marketer,” but with added responsibilities come added pressures. The latest biannual CMO Survey [PDF] from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business finds that CMOs are not immune: according to the study, 66.4% said they feel pressure from their CEO or Board to prove the value of marketing. What’s more, 6 in 10 of those said that their leaders are turning up the heat, with just 2% reporting decreasing demands to prove their worth.
CMOs are being asked to prove their value at a time when the intensity of competition is ratcheting up a notch. Respondents indicated that the rivalry for customers is likely to become more intense in the next 12 months (5.5 on a 7-point scale, where 7 represents very likely), with competitor price-cutting also increasing (scoring 5 on the scale). Moreover, compared to surveys from prior years, CMOs are more likely to be anticipating the emergence of new domestic and global competitors.
CMOs are also feeling increasing pressure while seeing budgets dip: they expect marketing spending to grow by 4.3% over the next 12 months, a fairly marked step down from the February survey’s 6.1% growth forecast. Currently, marketing budgets are reported to account for an average of 9.4% of firm budgets, down from 10.6% in February. Read the rest at MaketingCharts.
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