Do today’s marketers have the skills in a digital world?
Digital marketing is not only the future, it’s the present. But do today’s marketers have the skills they need to operate in a digital world?
New research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) shows that they do not—and that the gaps and shortfalls are bigger than companies assume. The signs for the future are even more troubling, as many marketers seem focused on catching up on yesterday’s needs rather than embedding into their organizations the capabilities and expertise that will be required tomorrow. The companies that act now to transform their marketing capabilities will be much better positioned to connect with their customers in the years to come.
Marketers know that digital channels are critical to engaging today’s consumer. Global spending on digital advertising will reach $178 billion in 2016, almost 30 percent of total ad spending, according to eMarketer. Digital advertising already represents a third of all ad spending in the U.S. today, and many forecasts see digital reaching parity with TV in a few years’ time. In the UK, almost 60 percent of consumers use social media each week for an average of 52 minutes per day. In Germany, about 13 percent of all commerce is now transacted online or via mobile devices; online sales are growing at more than 20 percent a year. Worldwide, a quarter of consumers use smartphones, a percentage that will rise to a third, or some 2.5 billion people, by 2018. In developed economies, of course, the percentages are much higher.
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