Are marketing dollars going to the right places? What’s the bang for the buck? The index indicates CMOs should allocate spend to mostly digital channels that engage target customers more actively, more visibly, and can be measured and optimized.
Smarter spending is also being driven by increased competition and audience fragmentation. Audiences are spread out in a plethora of social media channels that rise and fall in popularity overnight.
Massive digital disruption is happening not just at the point of sale but how consumers are finding, selecting and receiving products. Let’s face it, online shopping, e-commerce and home delivery are just simpler, faster and more convenient.
Chat Commerce Comes of Age
One of the most exciting online engagement channels this year will be chat commerce. In a Meta-commissioned study, 7 in 10 online adults said they prefer messaging businesses over email and phone calls. They feel more connected, thus leading to more upsells and cross-sells.
Buyer Intent Breadcrumbs
As people research online, they leave digital breadcrumbs along the buyer’s journey. A B2B company, for instance, will take an average of 32 intent actions before making a purchasing decision, according to LeadSift.
It’s more important than ever for marketers to understand and track buyer-intent signals in order to take action at the apex of the purchasing decision. In fact, buyer intent signals top the list of most relevant marketing data, even ahead of purchase data, according to the CMO Council.
Influencer Marketing on the Rise
Brands looking to better connect with younger audiences and understand what they’re doing should tap into influencer channels and crowdsourced content. According to Forbes, the size of the influencer marketing industry is $24 billion, and, despite economic challenges, it is still showing growth.
Influencer channels and crowdsourced content are driving consumption of products. They’re helping people choose products and get more value out of them. Smart brands are finding ways to multiply influencer interactions and help marketers better understand buyer intentions. This has the added benefit of informing product development.
Hard Look at Loyalty Programs
In contrast, traditional loyalty programs offer customers little value except for discounts. They’re complex and costly to manage, and consumers don’t really trust them. Truth is, people are quick to become a little miffed, even downright frustrated, if they see a membership discount and feel pressured to sign up just to receive it.
Nevertheless, marketers continue to pour resources into loyalty programs. Statista projects the global loyalty management market to reach $41.2 billion by the end of 2032. To be fair, some loyalty programs are really strong, particularly in the hospitality and travel industries.
At the same time, CMOs should strive to be more inventive in what makes people want to sign up to a loyalty program. What’s the real value? Where’s the excitement? Many loyalty programs are being redirected or shut down because they don’t really build customer affinity.
Will AI Hype Get a Reality Check?
AI continues to disrupt marketing, media and the creative industries. But there are signs of a potential bubble burst in 2025, or at least a slowdown, as AI hype meets AI reality. CMOs risk overextending this year and failing to deliver on AI’s lofty promises. Most CMOs lack a good grasp on all the issues and implications, making AI a minefield to be navigated carefully.
Chat:
- Chat commerce conversion rates are 61% higher than email and 87% higher than other mobile apps.
- Companies that include chat experience have 75% year-over-year growth in annual revenue.
Influencer and Loyalty:
- Forty percent of marketers allocate a quarter of their marketing budget to influencer campaigns, up significantly from previous years.
- The global loyalty management market is projected to be $41.2 billion by the end of 2032.
- Loyalty programs in the first year or two post-launch typically achieve 20–30% revenue coverage, while mature programs that are considered successful are in the 35–50% range.
- More than two-thirds of buyers involved in large and complex transactions valued at more than $1 million are millennials and Generation Z buyers.
Details as reported in the CMO Council Economic Vitality Index
The CMO Council represents more than 16,000 marketing leaders in 10,000 companies collectively controlling nearly $1 trillion in annual, aggregated marketing spend.
