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34% of CMOs ‘don’t trust’ their marketing data
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Over a third of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) don’t trust their marketing data, rising to 41% among their data analyst colleagues – posing a challenge for the C-suite charged with driving marketing results.

That’s according to research from leading marketing data analytics platform Adverity. What’s more, there is a growing divide between data analysts and marketers when it comes to trusting their data.

Yet, the very same divide deepens at the leadership level—with 51% of Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) & Chief Data Officers (CDOs) lacking trust in the data compared to 34% of CMOs.

The new “Marketing Analytics State of Play 2022: Challenges and Priorities” research commissioned by Adverity surveyed 964 marketers and data analysts across the U.S., U.K., and Germany, identifying the key strategic challenges faced by marketers and data analysts as well as their priorities for 2022.

For businesses, such a trust divide that becomes greater the more senior you go should cause significant alarm. Teams are failing to communicate mistrust, which results in key strategic decisions regarding spending, budget allocation, and campaign optimization being made without accuracy or confidence, potentially resulting in huge amounts of the marketing budget being misused or ultimately wasted.

One of the most likely causes of the distrust in marketing data and the number one challenge cited by both marketers and data analysts (42%) is the time being wasted manually wrangling data. At the C-level, this jumps to 54%.

“Modern marketing can’t afford to wait three weeks for someone to sift through a spreadsheet. By manually wrangling data, businesses not only open themselves up to human error and inefficiency but also commit themselves to a reactive strategy,” said Harriet Durnford-Smith, CMO at Adverity. “Those who cannot keep up with the evolution or aren’t willing to embrace the new ways of working will ultimately be left behind. Moving away from manually wrangling data is the first step to becoming a data-driven business.”

As marketing spend continues to recover to pre-pandemic levels and marketers are challenged to demonstrate the Return on Investment (ROI) of their campaigns, being able to demonstrate the business impact of marketing is imperative. However, 38% of data and marketing professionals state the inability to measure ROI on marketing spend is one of their biggest challenges. Combined with a lack of trust in the data, this can cause significant problems for businesses.

Looking forward to 2022, 65% of marketers and data analysts state that audience-building and targeting along with personalized content delivery is their most important strategic focus. This is unsurprising given concerns around third-party cookie deprecation and the increasing strictness of privacy laws. Content in the future is likely to have to work harder for businesses to gain access to customers’ zero and first-party data. Creating a tailored and transparent value proposition is an essential strategy for achieving this.

However, businesses need to also invest in their campaign reporting capabilities. Respondents that already have strong campaign reporting are three times more likely to be strong at audience-building and targeting and delivering personalized content/customer experiences.

Shockingly, businesses that already have strong campaign reporting are also three times more likely to invest in it than businesses that said they need to improve. Meaning that the divide between those who are garnering greater insights from their reports and those who are not is only widening.

How to bridge the sales and marketing alignment gap – once and for all
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By John Cheney, CEO of cloud-based CRM vendor, Workbooks

Alignment between sales and marketing should be a priority for any business leader looking to generate growth. Of course, experience tells us it’s easier said than done. Their destination may be the same, but often sales and marketing teams have been at odds when it comes to getting there, relying on different approaches, using different success metrics and speaking different languages.

And yet, sales and marketing alignment is not new to the agenda. So why is it still so difficult to achieve? According to Gartner, less than half of organisations (49 per cent) have a common lead definition that was developed and agreed upon by sales and marketing teams together – more than one-third fewer organisations than expected. At Workbooks, we put this alignment gap down to three things:

    1. A lack of communication
    2. A lack of insight into each team’s customer interactions
    3. Disparate and disconnected technologies

The business impact of these can be very costly. Lack of coordination between sales and marketing is not only a cause of frustration for employees; according to a study by LinkedIn, it wastes an estimated $1 trillion annually in the United States alone. Even for those organisations whose sales and marketing teams appear to operate harmoniously, it’s enough to make you question: “How could we be doing more?”

It starts with you

The first step to achieving greater alignment between sales and marketing functions is to recognise the importance of doing so – and prioritise it for your business. Ensure an open dialogue between the two departments, where you can discuss the important questions: Are sales and marketing goals truly aligned? Are teams communicating as well and as often as they should? Does each function really know how the other is communicating with prospects and customers? Have you agreed common definitions – for example, what is a qualified lead (you might be surprised to hear two very different answers!)? Could teams work collaboratively – and more productively – using shared tools? Ultimately, what financial impact could a better alignment of sales and marketing functions have on the organisation?

Most businesses that probe a little deeper in this way conclude that there is room for improvement. The question then becomes: “How can we make it happen?”

Share goals, performance targets and metrics

Much of the frustration we hear from sales professionals when discussing marketing relate to two things: insufficient focus on revenue generation and unviable or unqualified leads. Marketers, on the other hand, often feel that salespeople do not show enough interest in – or acknowledgement of – long-term brand building, that they are not following up on leads provided, and not providing feedback on why leads may be qualified out.

Spend time at the outset communicating the importance of short-term revenue growth and long-term brand development, and ensure both teams are clear on what the sales and marketing process looks like. Then put in place KPIs that measure both teams on their contribution. Shared goals and KPIs should always be centred around the pipeline and revenue; this will go a long way towards bridging the alignment gap, with both teams agreed on the metrics they will be measured against.

Enable with technology

By 2025, 75% of the highest growth companies in the world will deploy a revenue operations (RevOps) model, according to Gartner; a move away from siloed and linear sales enablement functions towards revenue enablement activities that support all customer-facing roles and connect every single part of the business.

This level of alignment will take time, effort, and commitment across the organisation – it is not something that can be achieved overnight. Technology can, however, make the transition faster, simpler, and more effective. It can also help ensure these changes stick. Specifically, CRM systems can provide a single source of truth, centred around the customer. Using these systems provides access to features such as dashboards and reports where sales professionals and marketers can easily see the sales pipeline and track performance and conversions at each stage of the buyer journey, allocate tasks between departments, and make required changes to marketing and sales campaigns that are visible to all.

Crucially, a CRM system is both a result and a prerequisite of successful sales and marketing alignment; it requires everyone to have agreed a common language, set mutual KPIs, and showed a willingness to work together. But business leaders and their CRM providers must also keep in mind why sales and marketing alignment has yet to be achieved, and these reasons can differ from business to business. Look for a technology provider that wants to understand these nuances, get under the skin of your business, and agree clear business outcomes based on your objectives, to ensure maximum return.

Level up in 2022 with these online courses for marketing professionals
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Our selection of online courses tailored specifically for the Marketing sector will enable you to both learn new skills and improve existing ones – sign up today! These are specially-curated online courses designed to help you and your team improve expertise and learn new things. The Sales & Marketing and Management, Leadership & Business Operations online learning bundles, provide you with over 100 courses, which cover all areas of both professional and personal development:
  • Converting Leads into Sales Certification
  • Creating a Marketing Plan Certification
  • Closing Techniques Certification
  • Cold Calling Certification
  • SEO for Business Certification
  • GDPR in The Workplace Certification
  • Project Management Foundation (Small Projects) Certification
  • Project Preparation Certification
  • LinkedIn for Business Certification
  • Vlogging Certification
  • Customer Retention Certification
  • Negotiation Skills Certification
  • Networking for Sales Professionals Certification
  • Online Reputation Management Certification
  • PR Certification
  • Presentation Skills Certification
And many more! Find out more and purchase your course online here. For just £99 (usually £149), you can share the courses with your colleagues over a 12-month period. Additionally, there are a variety of bundles available on all spectrums;
  • Personal & Professional Development
  • Healthcare
  • Sports & Personal Development
  • Human Resources
  • Customer Services
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  • Sales & Marketing
  • IT & Personal Development
Book your courses today and come out of this stronger and more skilled!

Do you specialise in Online Strategy? We want to hear from you!
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Each month on Digital Marketing Briefing we’re shining the spotlight on different parts of the print and marketing sectors – and in December we’ll be focussing on Online Strategy solutions.

It’s all part of our ‘Recommended’ editorial feature, designed to help marketing industry professionals find the best products and services available today.

So, if you specialise in Online Strategy and would like to be included as part of this exciting new shop window, we’d love to hear from you – for more info, contact Clair Wyld on c.wyld@forumevents.co.uk.

Dec – Online Strategy Jan – Content Management Feb – Lead Generation & Tracking Mar – Email Marketing April – Digital Printing May – Social Media Jun – Brand Monitoring July – Web Analytics Aug – Conversion Rate Optimisation Sept – Digital Signage Oct – Brochure Printing Nov – Creative & Design Dec – Online Strategy

Supplier e-commerce sites ‘failing’ B2B buyers
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B2B suppliers are failing buyers, new research has found, with 52% of e-commerce sites not fully meeting expectations. Difficulty finding relevant products (32%), none or not enough product images or videos (30%), and an inability to talk to someone or ask a question (28%) were identified as the top frustrations with underperforming sites.

The research also highlights an increasing volume of order errors, with 37% of buyers reporting errors with online orders at least on a weekly basis, and 11% reporting errors daily.

The survey, conducted by Sapio Research on behalf of Sana Commerce, found accelerated digital transformation in the B2B buying space, with more business being conducted online than ever before. E-commerce platforms have seen the largest increase in usage since the outbreak of the pandemic (58%). In fact, two thirds (66%) of companies are spending more online now than they did prior to the pandemic, by an average of 45%. The research shows that companies are now spending an average of £3.6m online each year, with 428 business-critical orders placed each day.

However, as more purchasing has moved online, order errors have disproportionately soared, suggesting that many suppliers didn’t have the scalability needed for this widescale shift. 37% of B2B buyers have reported errors with online orders at least on a weekly basis, equating to £1.3m in orders being affected by errors per company, each year.

This compares with just 28% experiencing weekly errors in 2019. As a result, 46% of respondents are finding their productivity and efficiency levels affected while they contact the supplier to fix the issue, and 46% are experiencing delays in the already problematic supply chain. When asked what they believe to be the reasons behind these order errors, 38% of B2B buyers cited suppliers displaying incorrect inventory (38%), incorrect product information (37%), and incorrect shipping information (35%).

Survey respondents were also asked what was important to them in the buying process, and four in five identified the relationship between themselves and the supplier, with almost half classing it as very important. In fact, 84% said they would be more inclined to buy from a supplier they had a great relationship with even if the terms of sale were not as good as a competitor. Yet, despite the obvious importance of relationships it seems that many suppliers are still getting it wrong. 39% of B2B buyers identified supplier relationships as a customer experience challenge, coming only behind delivery and tracking (44%).

Commenting on the research findings, Michiel Schipperus, CEO at Sana Commerce said, “A look at B2B buying experiences in 2021 highlights the importance of sustainable supplier relationships, which don’t end after the purchase is made. However, as purchasing has rapidly moved online, it seems that many suppliers have failed to meet expectations and let their buyers down.

“Reliability – in data, service, and information – is evidently a crucial part of a good relationship, and this is a shortcoming that seems to be causing high volumes of order errors that are not only costly to the bottom line, but also to the buyer-supplier relationship. To eradicate these problems, suppliers should ensure their e-commerce sites are fully integrated with their ERP so they’re able to provide buyers with real-time, accurate information to inform their purchasing decisions.”

Loss of accurate social media advertising data a strain on MarTech
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Loss of accurate social media advertising data, thanks to iOS updates, had biggest effect on MarTech industry this year

That’s according to a study undertaken by the team behind global affiliate platform www.Awin.com, in which 250 senior marketers and business owners from medium or large MarTech companies were asked for their opinions on 2021 so far.

Overall, 81% of those asked said that they had been affected by iOS14 or the above updates around the tracking of their social media advertising campaigns over the last year. The “opt-out” privacy feature installed in the iOS14 update reduced advertisers’ ability to personalise and re-target their social campaigns.

One of the most prominent recent talking points was the effect of the iOS15 update on the industry, despite only launching just over a month ago in September 2021. 73% of the senior marketers involved in the study agreed they had noticed mail open rates ‘severely inflated’ thanks to the update. The update allows users to turn on ‘protect mail activity’, whereby Apple will automatically load images and CSS, making it appear as if the email has been opened.

Over half (55%) of the marketers who had noticed an inflation in mail open rates claimed that they have abandoned the measuring metric altogether in favour of ‘click-through rates’ and ‘conversions’. 28% of senior marketers also claimed they had switched to a subscription model off the back of the software release, stating that customer retention was the ‘only way’ to get the information they required.

As well as the effects that developments have had on the industry so far in 2021, senior marketers were also asked their thoughts on what 2022 might have to offer.

Some of the most common trends that were highlighted were found to be:

Immersive VR: 65% of senior marketers predicted this as a trend for 2022

There are already a few apps that let consumers see how an item may look in their house, for example, or apps that allow users to scan the internet for deals on their favourite pair of shoes using just one photo.

Chatbots will be able to handle more complex matters: 22% of senior marketers predicted this as a trend for 2022

It’s likely that by next year, users could see chatbots trusted with payments, become entirely voice driven and improve on emotional intelligence, to name just a few suggestions from senior marketers.

Chatbots may be able to analyse the pattern of every interaction in order to keep customers engaged and improve response capabilities.

Increasing demand for Marketing Architect roles: 15% of senior marketers predicted this as a trend for 2022

Although slow to gain acceptance among some firms, the number of Marketing Architect roles are set to rise with the demand from companies increasing in an attempt to steer the way in some of the above trends for example.

Kevin Edwards, Global Client Strategy Director at www.Awin.com, said: “2022 will be the year when marketers have to decide what measurement metrics are important to them. With third-party cookies on the way out and the tech giants making it increasingly difficult to measure campaign success, MarTech businesses who can offer data light and privacy-centric solutions will find themselves increasingly in favour.

“Introducing immersive VR and increasing chatbot intelligence will require huge investments from companies if they’re looking to get ahead of the trend. However, they are a clear signal of how brands are increasingly focusing on customer experience above all else”.

Sam Higgins, Chief Marketing Officer at Prezzybox also commented on the effects the iOS changes have had on the business “Analysing the paid social platform, we can see that the iOS changes have had a negative impact on the conversions being tracked in the Facebook advertising platform.

“Looking at data from 14th September – 25th October 2021 and comparing this to the same date range in 2019 (2020 is different due to lockdown), we are seeing a 75% drop in website purchases being recorded in the platform whilst budget remained the same.

“Obviously, this has resulted in a huge increase in the cost / website purchase, making us re-analyse our paid social strategy. Moving forwards, we are tracking paid social within Google Analytics as this gives us a much more accurate representation of how paid social campaigns are performing.”

Brands urged to cash in on ‘social commerce’
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B2C ecommerce leaders are fast-tracking social commerce initiatives, but fewer than 30% are prioritising the full customer journey.

The “Cashing In on Social Commerce”  Forrester Opportunity Snapshot study highlights the challenges experienced by early adopters in the social commerce spaces who aim to fast-track revenue expansion efforts and improve overall customer care via social channels.

Social commerce, which encourages the discovery and purchase of products via social media channels, is expected to grow at a 31.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2020 and 2027, the global social commerce market is estimated to grow to $604.5 billion by 2027, according to Research and Markets.

According to the study findings, fewer than 30% of social commerce leaders are prioritising customer engagement, failing to cultivate and nurture customer relationships throughout the social purchase journey, and putting their long-term social commerce growth at risk. This data point underscores how, even as brands are beginning to prioritise social commerce and experience immediate returns, many still have a long way to go in terms of successfully managing the full social purchase journey. Without proper attention to CX, ecommerce leaders risk falling behind in an overly competitive market.

“Consumer demand has forced businesses to pivot online, and we have seen a significant uptick in the number of B2C businesses embracing social commerce,” said Mark Zablan, CEO, Emplifi. “We believe the study confirms much of our internal findings: B2C brands are racing to embrace social media as the means to conduct business from discovery to engagement, and now to shopping, service, and customer care. Social commerce is the new conduit to great CX.”

More than 80% of the social commerce leaders surveyed confirmed they are investing in two or more social shops, with more than a third currently using four or more social shop platforms. Not only are social commerce leaders adopting social shops at a swift pace, 86% of the survey participants expect — or have already achieved — a return on their social commerce investment within a one-year time period.

“Social commerce leaders are seeing major gains but are also becoming increasingly aware of the need to bridge the gap between building brand presence among a growing audience, and then convert that audience into loyal, engaged long term customers,” said Zablan. “The most effective, and efficient, way to do this, and accelerate social commerce efforts, is to utilise best-in-class CX tools with integrated social capabilities. By sharpening their toolset, especially when it comes to customer care and holistic social commerce reporting, brands will get the competitive edge they need in this rapidly growing social commerce market.”

Among the study’s key findings:

  •   B2C goals and strategies not optimally aligned: While goals are documented and understood, the report shows only 26% of teams are aligned on how to reach next-generation consumers across social shops.
  •   Conversational AI basic capabilities are well adopted:  Bot technology that provides basic communication and engagement is heavily used by the brands surveyed, but eight out of ten survey respondents report they are looking to invest further in more sophisticated conversational AI capabilities in order to conduct advanced transactions using virtual bots.
  •   Livestream video shopping shifting beyond early stages:  Of the brands surveyed, 70% plan to invest in personalised and group/friend video shopping capabilities, as well as one-to-many influencer events over video.
  •   Scaling up customer care and service is critical to social commerce and CX.  While the report highlights revenue as the ultimate outcome, over 40% of responses indicate that customer care, service and assistance are critical for social commerce and improve overall CX.

While an astounding 50% of the brands surveyed for the report have realised measurable revenue gains or expect incremental cross-channel revenue, the data shows the most successful social commerce efforts go beyond the immediate purchase to focus on the full customer experience.

To read the full study findings, download: “Cashing In On Social Commerce.

Digital Marketing Solutions Summit: Registration now open!
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Registration is now open for the 2022 Digital Marketing Solutions Summit, which takes place on 11th May 2022 at the Hilton London Canary Wharf. 

Click here to book your complimentary guest pass.

Your pass includes:

  • A bespoke itinerary of pre-arranged meetings with suppliers who match your requirements and upcoming projects
  • Access to a series of seminars by industry thought-leaders
  • Networking with like-minded peers
  • Complimentary lunch and refreshments throughout

2021 Delegate Testimonials:

“A great, well-organised and tailored event. I benefitted a lot from the meetings I had, learning more about new solutions and have come away with great options that will help my company to grow” C-Probe Systems

“A very useful event which was easy to navigate through and ran very smoothly. It put me in front of some very useful vendors who offered relevant solutions to marketing for myself and my organisation. Would certainly attend again in the future and would recommend” Link CCTV Systems

“The Digital Marketing Summit is a great place to find out what tools and support is available in the digital world, especially if your business is new to digital marketing” Golden Bear Products LTD

Book your place here (booking form takes less than two minutes to complete).

Dodgy website passwords driving UK fraud spike
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Almost one fifth (17%) of UK adults have been the victim of fraud in the last 12 months, according to new research from Nuance.  

The global study – which polled 10,000 adults across the US, UK, Australia, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Spain, and Mexico – also found that the average cost for these victims is nearly £3,300. This is triple the amount typically lost to fraud in 2019, which was then costing £1,000 per victim, according to a previous Nuance study.  

In the majority of cases, the fraud threat is compounded by poor password hygiene. The study discovered that, when selecting a password, under a quarter (24%) of respondents try to have different one for every website or brand they interact with and less than one in five (19%) follow the ‘password strength’ indicators.   

Instead, 22% of those surveyed have two or three different options that they bounce between. To make matters worse, around one in ten (7%) choose the same passwords for nearly everything, irrespective of strength and uniqueness.  

According to the findings, traditional PINs and passwords are still creating challenges for UK consumers. Each month, over one third (34%) forget and have to request to reset them, whilst one in five (20%) receive notifications that they have been compromised. In light of this, it’s unsurprising that over one third (34%) of respondents reported their trust in PINs and passwords had decreased over the last 12 months. 

“PINs and passwords are an archaic tool, no longer fit for their original purpose, as this research makes clear,” said Simon Marchand, Chief Fraud Prevention Officer for Security and Biometrics at Nuance. “Every day, passwords are being sold on the dark web and exploited for fraudulent activity. The fraud committed with them – not to mention the challenge and frustrations associated with simply remembering them – is costing unfortunate businesses and individuals vast sums of money, especially in the wake of the pandemic. With fraud on the rise, brands have a responsibility to develop a more comprehensive approach to authentication.” 

As PINs and passwords continue to fail, organisations and individuals alike are increasingly looking to different, more effective and convenient ways to prevent fraud. 

According to the poll, consumer comfort over the use of biometrics is growing in the UK, with almost half (45%) saying they feel more comfortable using the technology to authenticate themselves than before the pandemic. In fact, over a third (34%) of UK consumers now trust a form of biometrics (either voice, facial, fingerprint, behavioural or a combination of these) most as a means of authentication.

Biometrics authenticate a person’s identity based on characteristics inherent to them, such as the sound of their voice, the way they speak, type, and swipe on their device, and even their word choice and sentence structure.  

“As we transition into a post-pandemic world of remote working, shopping and socialising, it has never been more important for businesses to ensure that consumers are provided with a more sophisticated and secure experience,” added Marchand. “Now is the time to confine PINs and passwords to the history books. Stronger approaches to authentication, such as biometrics, have not only been proven to help reduce the cost of fraud, but will also introduce a more streamlined, seamless customer experience to deliver faster and more efficient services.” 

Fearless Adventures seeks next gen digital entrepreneurs
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North West-based Fearless Adventures has launched a multimillion-pound fund and novel with the aim of growing the next generation of direct-to-consumer startups in the UK.

Started by a trio of the country’s brightest young entrepreneurs, David Newns, Dominic McGregor (pictured) and Charlie Yates, Fearless Adventures offers their partner entrepreneurs three areas of support: funding, marketing services and talent.

The founders believe this is the key to fast growth and more successful exits further down the line but isn’t currently offered under one roof elsewhere.

Three entrepreneur-led companies are on board already, benefitting from not only the funding but also Fearless Adventures’ best-in-class centralised team of digital marketers, data experts, and talent specialists. The company aims to close up to 10 investments as soon as the end of 2021.

In time for launch, it has already lured top talent from the Hut Group, Social Chain and Mojo Mortgages to provide topflight expertise on everything from SEO to PPC, and business intelligence to data analytics. To serve its portfolio, Fearless Adventures is based in a new high-tech workspace in Manchester, where its partners can also take advantage to work alongside their internal team.

The fast pace of partner onboarding and talent acquisition is characteristic of the Fearless Adventures’ founders – who have started, scaled and sold a clutch of nine-figure businesses of their own. Newns found and sold two companies for £158m within eight years by the time he was 33, taking a seat at the top level of FTSE30 company Imperial Brands in the process, as Group Science and Innovation Director.

McGregor co-founded and sold Social Chain. He dropped out of university to become the company’s COO and grew it to over 700 employees on four continents by the time he was 28, eventually leading it to a public listing. And Yates has advised on the sales of over £1bn of owner-managed disposals, using his exceptional e-commerce and retail expertise to advise businesses on how to maximise their equity and value.

David Newns, founder and managing partner of Fearless Adventures, said: “We want founders and startups that we partner with to reach the world-leading heights that we did with our own businesses. So we asked ourselves: ‘What support do we wish we had access to when we started?’. It was clear there was a real gap for an offer that helped passionate entrepreneurs, not only raise capital but get a high quality, ready-made support system to help their startups thrive.”

Dominic McGregor, founder and managing partner, said: “Having been through the highs and lows of growing successful businesses, we have experienced almost every problem associated with scaling companies. And we’re passionate about putting that expertise to great use with our partner companies that have already demonstrated a successful market fit, are profitable and are led by talented entrepreneurs who are as ambitious for growth as we are.”

Charlie Yates, founder and managing partner, said: “Our key principle is ensuring we have complete alignment with our partner companies and investors. We structure our investments so that we are uniquely incentivised to help deliver as much value to the founders and their companies as possible”.

In addition, the team plans to develop and launch an apprenticeship program, The Fearless Academy. With a strong commitment to diversity, it will offer young, ambitious talent, training opportunities in marketing to equip individuals with the tools and skills for career progression.