Mike Andrew Consulting

2 in 3 Marketers Report IT Friction

By mike, Feb 01 in blog with 0 comments

Two-thirds of global marketing professionals report friction between IT and marketing for a variety of reasons, while the other third feels the departments are in sync, according to [pdf] a new survey from Alterian. Whether the conflict is a result of implementation issues (21%), budget (17%), prioritization (15%), or tool selection (13%), Alterian analysis indicates the majority of marketing professionals are in need of a solution to mitigate the above issues with IT so that both can perform their jobs more effectively.

North American, European Marketers Report More Harmony

North American and European respondents (34% each) are about 41% more likely than others (24%) to say there is no friction between IT and marketing in terms of selecting and implementing social or online marketing tools.

Respondents from all three geographical areas who report IT/marketing friction are most likely to say it revolves around implementation (23% of Europe and rest of the world, 21% of North America). North America (12%) and Europe (14%) are much less likely than the rest of the world (21%) to say friction revolves around tool selection.

All three geographic regions also report friction revolving around budget and IT not treating marketing as a priority in similar percentages.

8 in 10 Marketers Cite Customer Engagement Risk.

Overall, 77% of respondents see some level of risk of their brand (or client) not being as engaged with customers as it should be. Most (57%) say they are somewhat at risk but recognize the problem areas and are taking action. Another 13% say they are at risk, know they need to better engage, but have yet to take action. And 7% say they are at risk with some major concerns but don’t know where to start. Only 23% report full brand engagement with customers.

Europeans Report Most Moderate Risk

European marketers report being somewhat at risk at a much higher percentage (67%) than North American (56%) or other (49%) respondents. They also have the lowest rate of reporting major concerns (2%, compared to 9% of North American marketers and 8% of other marketers) and full brand engagement (14%, compared to 25% of North American marketers and 23% of other marketers).

Interestingly, North American respondents have the highest rates of reporting both major concerns and full brand engagement.

1 in 3 Marketers Measures Efforts to Drive Future

Slightly more than one third (37%) of respondents believe all marketing efforts are measured and analyzed to drive the company’s future, according to other survey results. While few (6%) admit to having no analytical competency, the remainder has limitations in the analysis done, whether they stop at a basic level (29%) or struggle to tie it back to their campaign efforts (28%). This indicates the majority lack direction on what exactly to measure and analyze, how to go about it, and how to utilize that information moving forward to continually improve on their marketing efforts.

About the author

Mike Andrew has been working with the Internet and small business for over 12 years. Mike has been a keynote speaker at conventions and seminars and conducted social media training sessions all over the world. Mike has an extensive media background having worked in electronic media for over 30 years. Mike specialises in social media and Internet marketing strategy, SEO techniques and search engine marketing campaigns. His articles appear on numerous blogs around the web as well as national magazines.