Marketing analytics are influencing more business decisions, but most firms lack the talent to make the best use of the data, a new survey reveals. While marketing analytics are employed in 37.5 percent of business decisions, only 1.9 percent of firms say they have the right people in place to leverage the information, the latest CMO Survey finds.
Spending on analytics is expected to increase from 5.5 percent of marketing budgets to 18.1 percent in three years, according to the research, sponsored by the American Marketing Association, Deloitte and Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. The spending is influencing how firms understand the value of marketing.
“More firms are using quantitative tools to demonstrate the long-term impact of marketing investments,” says Christine Moorman, a Fuqua professor and director of The CMO Survey. “The number remains low, but it has increased more than seven points since we first asked about it four years ago.”
The CMO Survey also found marketing budgets represent 11.4 percent of overall firm budgets. Marketing budgets grew by 6.7 percent since August 2016 and are expected to increase 8.9 percent in the next year. Spending on digital marketing is expected to increase by 13 percent over the next year, while spending on traditional advertising is expected to fall by 2 percent.
Worry about Lack of Analytical Skills on Marketing Teams
A previous Spencer Stuart survey of more than 150 marketing leaders revealed that many worry about the lack of data analytics skills on their teams. When asked what skills are most difficult to find when building a team, 57% named data analytics, more than any other skill.
Asked what skills are most important to their team’s success 49% cited data analytics, more than any other skill except digital marketing, cited by 62%.
Analytical Skills Also in Demand in PR
Data analytics is also more important than ever for public relations professionals. Almost two-thirds of PR executives surveyed for the Global Communications Report from USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations believe analytics is a required skill for PR pros. PR teams face a growing shortage of employees with data analytics skills, executives warn.
Analytics skills are increasingly essential to measure PR campaigns and demonstrate PR’s contribution to the corporate business goals. Two-thirds of agency executives and over half (54%) of in-house PR executives say measurement is very or extremely important as a growth driver.
“Turnover has been a really big issue,” Laura McGarrity, vice president, digital marketing strategy at Mondo, told Advertising Age. “There is such high demand and it’s such a new space — people are hopping around to find the best jobs,” she added. “It is a candidate’s market, particularly in digital marketing.”
Based on these findings, business and communications departments in colleges and universities should require students to complete statistics and data analytics courses as core requirements. If the courses are not required, students should elect data analytics courses. To advance their careers, PR and marketing professionals would be wise to take college-level continuing education courses in analytics. In the meantime, outsourcing the analytics tasks to a specialized media monitoring and measurement service can overcome the lack of in-house talent.
Bottom Line: More companies appreciate the benefits of data analytics in marketing and more turn to data analytics to guide business decisions. Finding the analytical talent capable of extracting insights from data is often challenging.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
