Meeting ever-changing customer demands has become the number one challenge for marketers as they need to adapt to new channels, technology, and gather the right data that can facilitate actionable insights

Emplifi, a leading unified customer experience platform, today released a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Emplifi, uncovering insights from 154 North American CMOs, marketing VPs, and directors responsible for CX, marketing strategy, paid media, or social media marketing.

The “Social Marketing Leaders Are In Critical Need Of Integrated Data And Agile Technology” study found that changing customer demands, macroeconomic pressures, and the need for an integrated platform to host customer data challenge marketers to evolve and engage consumers with complex new social media channels and formats.

The study aims to shed light on how marketing leaders are growing their teams to overcome these obstacles, along with outlining where they want to invest to achieve their goal of increasing agility and efficiency. More than 80% of marketing leaders surveyed prioritize operational efficiency — the benefit of recruiting skilled marketers and using agile technology — as their top near-term strategic objective.

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Other key findings include:

• Near-term hiring goals spotlight social media strategy: According to the study, growth and customer marketing professionals are by far the most actively demanded and recruited roles by marketing leadership. A higher percentage of paid media, social commerce, and social video professional roles still need to be filled, indicating that they could be newer (but growing) department functions.

• Traditional advertising budgets are being cut in favor of digital marketing: Out-of-home advertising, such as billboards, will take the biggest hit, with 37% of marketers planning to trim in this area over the next 12 months. Social media advertising and marketing make up the smallest percentage of budget cuts at just 14%.

• Investment in social media marketing technology is expanding: Approximately three-quarters of respondents are prioritizing social or digital advertising tools, while 66% are investing in social media marketing platforms. Similarly, investment in video marketing and tools will increase to strengthen customer experiences.

“With customers becoming more budget-conscious, marketers will need to get even more creative with their campaigns to become the brand of choice for the modern consumer. Acquiring the right technology to facilitate collaboration and agility, and equipping teams with the right roles will be key as we head into the new year,” said Emplifi CMO, Zarnaz Arlia.

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