IDC has released its 2014 predictions focusing on trends that will affect chief marketing officers, and offering insight into themes they should be aware of in the coming year.
The top 10 predictions are:
* The CMO role becomes “open for definition” as today’s CMO job description becomes considerably more complex and critical;
* Innovative CMO and CIO pairs will throw out the rule book when it comes to IT’s support of marketing;
* By 2020, the marketing function in leading companies will be radically reshaped into three organisational “systems” – content, channels, and consumption (data);
* The best marketers will understand that “content marketing” does not equal “thought leadership”;
* Multi-channel coverage becomes an opportunity and a challenge area, as CMOs integrate media silos;
* 80% of customer data will be wasted due to immature enterprise data “value chains”;
* By the end of 2014, 60% of CMOs will have formal recruiting process for people with data skills;
* Only 20% of marketers will receive formal training on analytics and customer data management;
* Fragmented marketing IT point products and low adoption rate will inhibit companies’ ability to win customers; and
* Digital marketing investment will exceed 50% of total programme budget by 2016.
“Buyers are evolving their purchase practices faster than vendors are changing their marketing practices. It’s not a matter of doing the same things better. The chief marketing officer cannot avoid broader responsibility as the digital customer experience bursts traditional boundaries,” says Kathleen Schaub, vice-president of the IDC CMO Advisory Service.
“IDC predicts that by 2020, marketing organisations will be radically reshaped. The core fabric of marketing execution will be ripped up and rewoven by data and marketing technology.”