Digital is the only media channel predicted to grow in the next 3 years according to Zenith Optimedia. It is now #2 behind TV. By the end of the decade, many expect is to be ahead of TV. A decade ago, it was just beginning to make an appearance.
Executives say their CEO’s are more involved in digital efforts than ever before and that their enterprises are now investing enough to meet their overall digital goals. McKinsey says companies have to address organizational issues before digital can have a transformative impact on their business.
Do the opportunities outweigh the challenges with the C-Suite? Here are 26 reasons digital marketing matters so much to the C-Suite.
- 94% of CMO’s believe advanced analytics play a big role in helping them realize their goals (source: IBM Global C-Suite Study)
- 87% of CMO’s want to integrate cross-channel touch points (source: IBM Global C-Suite Study)
- 83% of CMO’s want to put analytics in place to capture customer insights (source: IBM Global C-Suite Study)
- 79% of CEO’s plan to build digital ecosystems capable of supporting complex customer interactions (source: IBM Global C-Suite Study)
- 78% of executives and managers say achieving digital transformation will be critical for their organization within two years (source: MIT Sloan Management Review)
- 75% of CEO’s fret about the talent gap; studies estimate that there are currently 110,000 unfulfilled tech jobs in the UK alone (Real Business)
- 78% want social networks to foster collaboration (source: IBM Global C-Suite Study)
- 70% of marketing organizations have a chief technologist on payroll; 80% of them report to marketing (source: Gartner Digital Marketing Spending Survey)
- 69% want a digitally enabled supply chain (source: IBM Global C-Suite Study)
- 67% of CMOs feel under prepared because they have made very little progress in coping with social media (source: IBM Global C-Suite Study)
- 64% say the pace of technology change in their organization is too slow (source: MIT Sloan Management Review)
- 63% of CMO’s say their companies lack a cohesive social media plan (source: IBM Global C-Suite Study)
- 53% indicate their leaders say they “don’t have time” for digital transformation (source: MIT Sloan Management Review)
- 52% say their organization doesn’t even know how to proceed with digital transformation (source: MIT Sloan Management Review)
- Up to 50% of digital marketing activities are outsourced (source: Gartner Digital Marketing Spending Survey)
- 45% of C-Suite executive say they are highly or somewhat dissatisfied with their management structure for digital (source: MIT Sloan Management Review)
- 41% of savings from digital marketing are reinvested (source: Gartner Digital Marketing Spending Survey)
- 40% say their company resists digital transformation with a “this is the way we’ve always done it” explanation (source: MIT Sloan Management Review)
- Less than 40 percent of executives say their companies have accountability measures in place for their digital objectives, either through measurable targets, performance incentives for relevant employees, or an executive “owner” of their digital programs (source: McKinsey)
- 38% say digital transformation is a permanent fixture on their CEO’s agenda, and only 36% say their CEO has shared a vision for digital transformation with employees (source: MIT Sloan Management Review)
- 27% say the critical time to implement digital transformation has passed— meaning they’ve missed the boat and are now just trying to survive (source: MIT Sloan Management Review)
- 25% of companies will have a chief digital officer in the C-suite by 2015 (source: Gartner Digital Marketing Spending Survey)
- 23% of respondents fear they’ll lose influence in their organizations if they push for a digital transformation (source: MIT Sloan Management Review)
- Only 15% of companies rank in the “most mature” stage of digital transformation, while 65% are considered “least mature” (source: MIT Sloan Management Review)
- Only 14% says they are highly satisfied with the management structure for digital (source: MIT Sloan Management Review)
- Only 7 percent say their organizations understand the exact value at stake from digital (source: McKinsey)
My own belief is the key to success for the C-Suite is steady, consistent commitment. Companies shouldn’t try to “boil the ocean,” but rather, establish near goals, build success stories, and scale. By the way, the philosophy to build, test, and scale is what digital marketing is all about and is how, much of the time, transformations take place.
How much do you think digital marketing matters to the C-Suite?
