CMOs are expected to rely more on automation and AI and less on marketing analytics, according to a recent report.
A recent Gartner report has some startling news on the future of marketing analytics. The research firm believes chief marketing officers will cut their marketing analytics departments by up to 50 percent by 2023 largely due to a “failure to realize promised improvements.”
A closer look at why CMOs are expected to slash marketing analytics reveals why Gartner’s forecast is so dire. Among the core reasons are an increased reliance on automation, a shift in customer behavior, and regulatory pressures.
AI and automation are driving a shift in digital marketing content that’s increasingly customized.
Marketing Analytics: The Technology Shift
Gartner believes that the growing use of technology will shift the focus for many CMOs. Among its predictions:
- By 2023, 55 percent of multichannel marketing messages will be based on real-time customer behavior and marketer criteria.
- Brands will embrace short-form video ads as audiences watch 20 percent fewer video ads daily, also by 2023.
- More than 30 percent of content creators will use artificial intelligence to create digital content by 2022. These changes will improve productivity and ad effectiveness while disrupting creative processes.
- By 2022, there will be a 25 percent drop in customer experience programs as CMOs shift priorities to profitability.
- Brands investing in user-level controls over marketing data will see a 40 percent decrease in customer churn and a 25 percent increase in lifetime value, by 2023.
Those insights are in line with those published recently in marketing and technology news by Kantar Millward Brown. That research found fewer than 50 percent of marketers are confident in their ability to glean insights from the massive amounts of data being collected about customers today. Among that report’s findings is that 82 percent of advertisers believe they possess integrated marketing strategies but that those initiatives are not leading to more customers.
New technologies are likely to shape a decline in the value of marketing analytics, at least for now. Voice technology adoption by consumers is expected to grow, but 44 percent of consumers are more likely to use these tools if they are assured the data will remain on the device, according to Gartner.
In the B2B space, the role of technology is also likely to shift marketing dollars. A recent study showed 53 percent of B2B marketers believe artificial intelligence will improve marketing efficacy in increasing revenue. That study also showed marketers’ interest in using AI for personalization (71 percent) and customization (58 percent). Like the other studies, however, there is a lack of confidence in the information at hand, with only 21 percent “very confident” in the existing marketing data.
The Regulatory Factor
The recent passage of regulatory restrictions on the use of consumer data are also having an impact on the bearish approach to marketing analytics. In 2018, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which requires companies to gain consent before collecting and using consumer information, is likely to spur other efforts. California similarly passed legislation in 2018 giving consumers more rights and protection of collected data, a move likely to be enacted in more states.
Given the ever-evolving innovations in the digital space, the Gartner predictions are an interesting spotlight on the business leadership decisions necessary at the intersection of technology and marketing.