Marketers feel more under pressure than ever to show their worth, with 84% agreeing that proving ROI has become more important as budgets are scrutinised and businesses tighten the purse strings.

That’s according to Optimizely, which surveyed 100 in-house marketing professionals across the UK and found that despite anticipated financial constraints, almost two thirds (63%) of marketers are determined to be even more creative in 2023 with half of those surveyed (50%) also looking to take more risks as we head into the new year.

Optimizely’s research also looked at the role of marketing in navigating economic uncertainty and how to market most effectively when budgets are cut.

Key findings include:

• An overwhelming majority of marketers (91%) believe that it is important to invest more in marketing during a recession – with over half (55%) strongly agreeing with this statement.
• Three quarters (76%) also believe that customer experience will remain an ‘essential’ part of their marketing strategy in the year ahead despite the uncertainty — more than any other factor.
• Over half (55%) also believe that personalisation technology will be an essential element in their plans for reaching consumers during the tough times ahead.
• Seven in ten (70%) marketers in the UK believe that their ability to experiment is being restricted as Britain enters what is anticipated to be its longest period of recession since the 2008 financial crisis.

Commenting on the findings, Optimizely’s CMO, Shafqat Islam said: “The bleak economic outlook undoubtedly puts marketers under more pressure to deliver more business outcomes under increased scrutiny h in 2023. But while cutbacks are being made, using data and insight to experiment and learn about customers will continue to play a vital role in brand growth.

“To limit creativity and experimentation at a time of economic hardship is a short-sighted approach based on the fallacy that experimentation does not provide ROI because it includes an element of ‘failure’. Rather, experimenting helps teams to fail fast, enabling them to quickly learn what does and doesn’t work in the new economic landscape. There are no failures, just learnings.”

“The right experimentation strategy helps marketers decide which creative ideas are, and aren’t, worth pursuing. This informed, creative strategy — combined with a personalised approach — will provide the backbone for marketers’ success in 2023, no matter what happens with the UK economy.”