Gartner Research

Marketing Organizational Design and Strategy Survey 2016: Marketing Leaders’ Ambitions Outstrip Capabilities

Published: 17 June 2016

Summary

The majority of marketing leaders say they play a key role in setting business strategy. Survey findings, however, expose a lack of internal team coordination, a skills gap and other shortcomings that could prevent marketing leaders from delivering business outcomes that match expectations.

Included in Full Research

  • Strategy
    • More Than Two-Thirds of Marketing Leaders Say They Play a Significant or Primary Role in Setting Overall Business Strategy
    • Only 10% of Organizations Are Primarily Structured Around Buyer Personas and Roles, Suggesting Insularity That May Blind Marketers to Customer Needs
    • Marketing Analytics and Website Development Command the Highest Percentage of Dedicated, Full-Time Employees at 61% Each
    • Nearly Two-Thirds of Marketers Say Marketing, Rather Than IT, Leads the Purchase of Marketing Tech
    • Leadership Skills to Manage Marketing Programs Are Cited as the Primary Strength of Marketing Organizations; the Top Weakness Was Technical Skills
    • Analytics and Digital Commerce Are Seen as the Most Important Marketing Skills by Nearly 50% of Marketers, Yet They Are the Most Difficult to Recruit
    • Orchestration of Multichannel Marketing Lacks Clear Ownership; 20% of Marketers Surveyed Say It's Led by Marcom, and 16% Say It's Led by a Product or Brand Manager
    • Lack of Internal Team Coordination and Skills Gaps Are the Sources of Multichannel Struggles for Nearly 40% of Marketers
    • More Than Half of Marketing Leaders Say Their Current Marketing Organization Relies Heavily on Agencies and Third Parties; Only 19% Have a Strong In-House Focus
    • One-Third of Marketing Leaders Say They'd Like to Strike a Better Insource/Outsource Balance
    • Over 40% of Marketers Plan to Increase Use of Agencies, Which They See as Providing Superior Performance, Breadth and Depth of Skills
  • Methodology

Analysts:

Anna Maria Virzi,  Christopher Ross,  Ewan McIntyre

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