Growing market share ‘most important job’ for marketers
Exclusive Marketing Week data also reveals only a quarter of marketers see growing profit margins through price as the most important part of their remit.
Growing the brand’s market share is the most important job for marketers in an organisation, according to exclusive new research exploring effectiveness priorities in 2024.
Of the more than 1,200 marketers taking part in Marketing Week’s 2024 Language of Effectiveness research, supported by Kantar, 46.2% believe growing market share is the most important part of their remit. This is followed by communicating a consistent and desirable brand image (44.7%), defending/growing sales (37.3%) and maximising cut-through with target audiences (36%).
Around a third of marketers believe ensuring the product is right for market demand (33.5%) and driving mental and physical availability of the brand/products (33.4%) is the most important part of their role.
By contrast, growing the brand’s category (26.8%) and defending/growing profit margins through price (26%) are seen as the least important parts of the job.
However, reflecting on the current economic climate, a third (32.3%) of marketers say defending/growing sales has become substantially more important for their company.
While growing profit margins through price is seen as the least important part of the job, 30.5% of respondents report this having increased substantially in importance as a company objective. This is ahead of communicating a consistent and desirable brand image (29.4%), maximising cut-through (29.4%) and growing market share (28.1%).
Short-term focus
Amid a tough economic backdrop, the data charts a clear shift in business priorities over the past 12 months – many of which do not align with those held by marketers.
Some 42.8% of marketers say their brand has become increasingly focused on short-term marketing activity expecting returns within three to six months.
Digital media is cited as the second fastest-growing business priority (42.2%), followed by long-term marketing activity expecting returns after six months or more (40.2%), overall marketing spend (37.7%) and offline media spend (32.4%).
The results further highlight the pressure marketers are under to defend their budgets and demonstrate effectiveness. Recent research from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) suggests marketers are “preoccupied” with the wrong effectiveness metrics.
Based on a databank of more than 1,500 campaigns, the research found marketers are prioritising “less meaningful” campaign delivery and “digital vanity metrics” over longer-term brand and business effects.
The DMA data suggests brands that steer away from relying on reporting ‘campaign delivery effects’ have a culture of effectiveness measurement that results in stronger overall business performance.
Over the coming weeks, Marketing Week will be publishing a series of exclusive news and features based on the findings of the 2024 Language of Effectiveness survey, including a persistent obsession with ROI, a renewed focus on brand and the role for customer retention.
