Don’t Be THAT Marketer
9 Stats And Facts That Reveal Why Marketers Lack CredibilitySorry, guys. It looks like the big guys at the top are on to the fact that marketers are nothing more than a bunch of talentless hacks who Tweet about things like “branding” all day long. In case you can’t tell that I’m joking, I am. Many inbound marketers are among the smartest people I know. Remember that time that HubSpot’s Dan Zarrella ran analysis on the page views and social media shares on over 2.7 million blog titles? That’s pretty serious stuff.
Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with me. In a recent Harvard Business Review article titled “Marketing is Dead,” Bill Lee surfaced some pretty shocking evidence: 73% of CEOs think CMOs lack credibility. Lee went on to explain that traditional marketing methods are essentially a broken model, and companies are suffering under the direction of marketers who’ve failed to adapt to inbound marketing strategies. We’re in the midst of a major revolution, and growing pains are part of the territory. Since there’s no way to receive a (reputable) degree in effective marketing for the social media age, marketers are now tasked with the job of adapting and improving.
All of that being said, we feel it’s important to delve into just why marketers have the reputation they do. We’ve curated some of the most shocking research on the state of marketing. We’ll warn you before we get started: This is about to get a little depressing.
1. 77% of CEOs are Sick of Hearing About Brand Equity
Fournaise Marketing Group research has found that CEOs are tired of hearing about brand equity that can’t be tied to any noticeable fiscal gain. Business is inherently results-oriented, and marketers who just can’t drive revenue have questionable value.
2. Only 28% of B2B Marketers Calculate ROI
More than 33 % of B2B marketers surveyed by eMarketer stated that their companies made no effort to calculate the ROI of their efforts. Question is, if a marketer increases his or her company’s bottom line, but no one’s able to prove the effect, will their CEO think they have business credibility? It’s unfortunately unlikely.
3. 24% Don’t Think ROI Matters
In response to a Forrester suvey, just 76% of B2B marketers agreed with the statement that “track(ing) marketing ROI gives marketing more respect.” While it’s comforting to read that the vast majority of marketers believe ROI-driven marketing matters, nearly one quarter don’t view it as a priority.
4. Did We Mention CEOs are Really Sick of Hearing About Brand Equity?
Fournaise found that 74 % of decision makers want marketers to become 100 percent focused on ROI.
5. Most Marketers Don’t Track Social Conversions
SEOmoz reported that 31% of marketers considered tracking and improving social conversions “moderately important.”
6. Almost Half of Marketers Can Live Without Web Analytics?
51% of survey respondents reported that data which helped them optimize, audit, and report behavior was critical to success. The other 49% are taking a less analytics-focused approach.
7. Many Aren’t Even Scheduling Tweets, for Pete’s Sake.
Only 36% of social media marketers informed Vertical Response that they were using scheduling or analytics tools, an essential means to reaching social media users worldwide.
8. Content Creation Isn’t Always Efficient
16% of marketers spend more than 3 hours crafting each blog post published, according to findings by Vertical Response. Quality content creation takes time, but the ability to efficiently compile, edit, and publish blog content is the mark of a valuable inbound marketer.
9. Social Managers Struggle to Mastermind Posts
In further findings by Vertical Response, social media marketers spend more time trying to find content to post than on continuing education, scheduling, engagement or analytics. This would indicate that networking and continuing education are points of weakness among many members of the industry.
Sorry friends, but it looks like our industry has a ways to go. Don’t be that “social media guru” parodied by The Onion or “Saturday Night Live.” Test, analyze, repeat. If your marketing isn’t driving clear, measurable results, it may be time to change your approach.
9 Stats And Facts That Reveal Why Marketers Lack Credibility
image credit: The Marketing Pill
