Every marketing team will have a different answer to this question, which will very much depends on each business’ Key Performance Indicators. In our conversations with clients and prospects core issues consistently emerge as top concerns in current industry surveys and commentary.
Key challenges for marketing teams
- Proving and Measuring ROI
Demonstrating the return on investment for marketing activities remains one of the most significant hurdles as AI introduces both opportunities and fragmentation of the ways a brand can reach its audience. The greater the number of routes to market, the greater the measurement challenge and the task of working out which activity influenced what action. Marketing teams are seeking to justify their budgets and provide clear links between campaigns and business outcomes. This is made more complex by multi-channel strategies and evolving attribution models.
- Managing Rapid Change and Digital Transformation
The marketing landscape is evolving at pace due to digitalisation, artificial intelligence, automation and emerging technologies. It’s difficult for any of us to keep up but marketing teams must stay ahead of these shifts, adopt new tools and ensure their business is appropriately upskilled.
- Accurate Data Informed Decision-Making
Data provides marketing teams with insights into customer behaviour, campaign performance and market trends, enabling more strategic and effective decisions. In accurate data can lead to bad decisions. The accuracy of the data used to inform human and AI decisions is critical, therefore it’s important that businesses team up with suppliers that can accurately connect the data to KPI’s and ongoing performance.
- Navigating Data Privacy Regulations
With stricter laws such as GDPR, marketing teams must find ways to leverage customer data for personalisation and targeting while maintaining compliance and building consumer trust. It’s not straightforward to implement privacy statements and tools accurately and in our experience businesses often get it wrong.
- Aligning and Integrating Teams
Breaking down silos and fostering collaboration across departments is crucial for delivering integrated, omnichannel campaigns and accurate measurement data. However, achieving this alignment in practice can be quite challenging.
- Resource and Budget Constraints
Tight budgets, difficulty in recruiting skilled talent, and the need to maximise the value extracted from every pound are ongoing concerns for many businesses, particularly in our uncertain economic climate.
- Keeping Up with Shifting Consumer Behaviour
Understanding and adapting to fast-changing consumer preferences and media use habits is vital to maintaining campaign effectiveness, but it remains a significant challenge especially as AI is disrupting search so much currently.
Summary:
| Challenge | Why it Matters Most |
|---|---|
| Providing/Measuring ROI | Justifies budgets, guides strategic decisions |
| Managing Digital Transformation | Maintains Brand relevance and competitiveness |
| Data Privacy Compliance | Avoids regulatory penalties, builds trust |
| Team Alignment/Integration | Enables coherent, omnichannel execution |
| Resource/Budgeting Constraints | Limits innovation and campaign scale |
| Shifting Consumer Behaviour | Ensures campaigns remain targeted and effective |
What is the most commonly cited "Biggest" Challenge?
While all of these issues are important, proving and measuring ROI is most frequently cited as the single biggest challenge. It underpins budget justification, informs strategic direction and allows for accurate reporting on campaign effectiveness. That said, in fast-moving organisations or sectors undergoing rapid change, managing digital transformation and keeping pace with technology is also considered a top priority.
There's no doubt that while marketing teams face a range of significant challenges, the ability to prove ROI and adapt to fast-paced digital and consumer changes is a huge issue in our industry today.
If you would like to know more about how equimedia solves the challenges facing marketing teams, please get in touch.
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| Author | Andrew Burgess |