Jack Of Trades, Search Expert In All

by , , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, (April 29, 2016)

Priorities are shifting as companies become more comfortable with the idea of building a cross-media digital strategy. Becoming increasingly comfortable, however, puts more pressure on search marketers to do more with less as companies realize the importance of analytics and cross-channel campaigns.

Some 51% of the 200 U.S. marketing executives at companies generating more than $1 billion in annual revenue said they have a content marketing strategy to support the trend — and in the next year, 30% of those participating in the Accenture Interactive survey said they plan to increase their investment in content creation.

Marketing organizations not only plan to increase their investment in content, but also in personalizing campaigns, data warehousing, and mobile and social commerce. Some 28% said they will increase their focus on personalized experiences and offerings; 27%, data warehousing; 27%, omni-channel marketing; mobile commerce, 26%; and social commerce, 24%.

The Accenture Interactive report — Organizing for Digital Success — found that nearly a third of companies are not satisfied with the digital skill sets of employees.

The study found a significant gap in the skill sets employees hold and those required by companies. In fact, 81% of the digital executives surveyed voiced the need for additional hiring. This data shows a clear disconnect between expectations and reality in many organizations.

To examine how this shift is impacting companies today, Accenture conducted a survey of organizations with more than 1,000 full-time employees across industries to understand how companies address their organizational structures, account for the people and processes to get their jobs done successfully, and rely on third parties to achieve business goals. The findings also provide a look into objectives, goals and measurements inside successful organizations, and market trends that drive and optimize their digital strategies.

When it comes to leadership and growing the digital part of the organization, one in four survey respondents said the CMO takes responsibility for the growth of the digital organization, followed by the chief digital officer (CDO) at 15%, and chief experience officer (CEO) at 7%. In general, digital responsibility was split fairly evenly among a wide range of job titles, suggesting a lack of common structure.

Companies earning 60% of their revenue from digital campaigns are more likely to have a content marketing strategy in place. They are 58% more likely to have an ecommerce platform, 58% more likely to have digital customer self-service capabilities, 56% more likely to have an ecommerce strategy, 56% more likely to have a social commerce strategy, 54% more likely to personalize the experience and offers for consumers, 54% more likely to have a data warehousing, and 50% more likely to do curate content.

Search marketers have the basic knowledge to support this list of media. 

 

MediaPost.com: Search Marketing Daily

(25)