What Marketers Want: Five Strategic Opportunities for 2018

In our latest report, we’ve identified the greatest opportunities and fears for marketing in the year ahead following our survey with more than 1,000 marketers across the US, UK, France, Germany and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions.

Download the report now!

In the early years of digital marketing, targeting consumers was a fairly straightforward process. Fast-forward to 2018, the consumer journey has become incredibly complex, with Rakuten Marketing data demonstrating that the path to purchase consists of an average 9.2 marketing touchpoints prior to a purchase being made.

The evolution of digital marketing means that the modern marketers’ role has become as intricate as the purchasing journey. Faced with new media channels, data sources and regulations, marketers have had to become data and analytics experts – constantly managing customer expectations both online and offline.

To further understand the needs of the modern marketer and what motivates and challenges them, we surveyed more than 1,000 marketers across the US, UK, France, Germany and Asia-Pacific (APAC). Through the data collected, we identified that the modern marketer works in accordance with four core profiles: the Advancer, the Advocate, the Adapter and the Architect. For marketing teams, these four profiles offer a simple and effective way to identify the current team mix, so they can ensure the right balance for an industry-winning team:

• Advancers: Making up half of our respondents, their priorities are exploring new marketing technologies and winning new authority for their marketing team within the organisation
• Advocates: This smaller segment, making up 30% of respondents, are predominantly influencer specialists and networkers who are focused on relationships, both internally and externally
• Adapters: These attribution experts (11% of respondents) are interested in optimisation, creating efficiencies and adapting creatives
• Architects: Making up 8% of respondents, this small segment are mainly occupied with where data originates and are focused on compliance and regulation

Delving deeper into these profiles and the data collected revealed marketers’ views on the greatest opportunities and fears for marketing in the year ahead which we explore in detail in our new report What Marketers Want: Five Strategic Opportunities for 2018.

The report provides insights into the below areas identified as focuses for marketers in 2018:

• Reducing waste in marketing spend
• Going global
• Changing customer expectations
• Video investment
• Seasonal marketing campaigns

Find out how Rakuten Marketing can help you acieve your 2018 goals, visit www.rakutenmarketing.com.au or contact rm-salesapac@mail.rakuten.com to speak to an expert!