The 2023 Marketing Week Career and Salary Survey reveals marketing’s strategic role within businesses has risen in the last twelve months, as brands look to marketers to help navigate the challenging environment.
Marketing’s strategic importance is on the rise, as brands turn to marketers to help get closer to customers tackling the cost of living crisis and inflation putting pressure on prices, according to Marketing Week’s Career and Salary Survey.
Of the more than 3,000 marketers responding to 2023’s survey, 40.9% say marketing has a more significant strategic role within their business. In last year’s survey, 30.9% of respondents said marketing had a bigger strategic say, a 10 percentage point increase year on year. More than a third (34.8%) of the 3,000+ brand marketers that completed the survey say marketing is more influential within their businesses, while 27.2% say marketing is better appreciated.
Meanwhile, as marketing’s strategic role grows, the majority of marketers feel confident in their ability to influence change at their companies (58.2%). Elsewhere, almost two-thirds of marketers (65%) feel their work is having a more significant impact than it did previously. Of these, 17.9% strongly agreed their work is, while 47.1% agreed. Gary Booker, chief marketing, innovation and strategy officer at Rentokil Initial, said: “The harder the times, arguably the more important marketing becomes.
Clearly, we’ve had some hard times globally and in the UK.” More than a fifth of marketers (21%) report their view of marketing hasn’t changed, and 15% say marketing is not seen as a priority from an investment perspective. Additionally, 8.8% say marketing has become less influential in the past year, with 8.5% also saying marketing is less appreciated. Using the Career and Salary Survey data, Marketing Week will explore how and why marketers take on a more significant strategic role, broken down by B2B, B2C and other categories.
The latest survey on Career and Salary conducted by Marketing Week in 2023 has revealed that the strategic importance of marketing within businesses has significantly increased in the past twelve months. Brands have been relying on marketers to navigate the challenging business environment and effectively connect with customers, particularly during the current cost-of-living crisis and inflationary pressures that have put a strain on pricing strategies.
Of the 3,000 marketers who participated in the survey, 40.9% reported that marketing has a more significant strategic role within their organization. This is a 10% increase compared to the previous year’s survey, where only 30.9% of the respondents acknowledged the strategic importance of marketing in their businesses.
Moreover, more than one-third (34.8%) of the surveyed brand marketers feel that marketing has gained more influence within their organizations, while 27.2% of them believe that marketing is now more valued. As the strategic role of marketing continues to expand, most marketers are confident about their ability to drive change within their companies (58.2%).
The survey also found that around 65% of marketers feel that their work has a more significant impact now than ever before. Of these, 17.9% strongly agreed that their work is making a significant impact, while 47.1% agreed.
Gary Booker, the Chief Marketing, Innovation, and Strategy Officer at Rentokil Initial, commented that the importance of marketing increases during challenging times, such as the ones that we have experienced globally and in the UK.
However, some marketers (21%) believe that the perception of marketing has not changed, and 15% of them feel that marketing is not a priority in terms of investment. Additionally, 8.8% of the respondents reported that marketing has become less influential in the past year, and 8.5% feel that marketing is less appreciated.
Using the data gathered from the Career and Salary Survey, Marketing Week will further investigate why and how marketers are now assuming a more significant strategic role in businesses, focusing on the breakdown of B2B, B2C, and other relevant categories.