76% of marketers are optimistic about the future of the industry, finds survey

October 2023

76% of marketers are optimistic about the future of the industry: A survey of marketers has revealed that more than three-quarters are feeling optimism about the future of their industry, with just 9% saying they feel pessimistic.

The survey by Econsultancy looked at challenges faced by marketers in the current climate as well as asked questions about their future direction. The fifth annual Future of Marketing survey found that marketers are only predicting a small increase in their marketing budget or for it to remain the same in the coming 12 months. It also revealed that the top areas for investment are data and insight capability, technology and infrastructure and strategic initiatives. 

Respondents were asked about how the importance of a range of business focus areas might change for their organisation over the next two years, with 'innovation and the adoption of new technologies' being the top answer given, selected by 80% of respondents. This was followed by 'data, analytics and measurement' (75%), 'agility and adaptability' (73%), 'social impact and environmental sustainability' (64%) and 'customer retention' (64%). 

Also cited was 'customer centricity' (63%),  'digital accessibility and inclusion' (60%), customer acquisition (58%), organisational culture (52%), brand purpose (51%) and long-term planning (47%).

The survey asked questions around artificial intelligence tools and whether companies were already using them, with three-quarters of respondents saying that their organisation is, or is 'actively considering rolling out generative AI tools within their organisation'. 

Asking them about the value they believe GenAI can bring to their organisation, almost two-thirds said it would increase the ‘speed of campaign production’ (64%), with 55% saying it will offer ‘increased experimentation and optimisation’. Just under half said it will benefit business through ‘internal cost and resource saving’ (47%) while marginally fewer respondents said ‘improved personalisation’ (46%).