The 5th edition of the State of Marketing report takes a look at how marketers (and customers) fared globally over the last year.
Some of it is familiar – around the world customers are still crying out for better service (80% claim it’s as important as the products and services a company provides). And they still hate being treated like a number rather than a person (84% say getting this right is very important to winning their business).
Wherever they are in the world, people are still people.
But of course, marketers already know this. Everyone in our industry is trying to offer the personalised, real-time, omni-channel experiences customers expect.
Yet while all marketers are working towards that goal, different countries are at different levels of maturity on their journey.
So how do the UK and Ireland compare with marketers around the world?
Let’s find out.
We’re trailing on unified views
One of the most important parts of any modern marketing setup is having a single, unified view of the customer. It’s invaluable for knowing what’s been said before, how customers have contacted you recently, and what’s the best move you can make next.
So how many UK and Irish businesses have this level of insight? Well, according to our survey, only 42%.
That’s not the least of any of the countries we surveyed (coming just ahead of Hong Kong and Canada), but it is the third lowest.
And it’s dragging well behind leaders like Belgium, Mexico, India and Brazil, all of whom have a majority of businesses with a unified view.
Playing catch-up on real-time engagement
44% of UK firms offer at least one kind of real-time engagement experience for their customers. Sounds okay, right? But on the global stage, it’s not great – it’s the joint lowest of all the territories we surveyed (equal with Hong Kong).
The average across all countries was nearly 53%, and compared with Mexico where 62% of businesses offer real-time engagement, it’s proof we have a long way to go.
Artificial intelligence offers huge potential
When it comes to AI, the UK and Ireland are well ahead of their North American neighbours. We found that 31% of marketers on this side of the Atlantic have embraced the tech, while Mexico are on 18%, Canada 19% and US 21%.
So far so good.
But when compared with our immediate neighbours on the continent, we’re starting to trail behind. We’re on par with France, but Belgium, the Nordics and Germany are all pushing into the high 30s.
And in Asia, Japan and India are in the 40s.
There’s a long way to go – but the journey’s getting easier
Businesses in the UK and Ireland are adopting new technologies, but there’s a real risk that the being too slow to change may mean they risk being outmaneuvered by other businesses more willing and able to adapt to new ways of working.
But all is not lost.
88% of those surveyed in the UK and Ireland say that personalisation improves their marketing, and 85% say they have integrated marketing and advertising stacks.
So they recognise the value. And they’re finding new ways to make innovation a reality.
New tools and tech are becoming easier than ever to integrate. Where innovation used to be about high-risk guesswork, now there are tried-and-tested innovations that take much of that guesswork out of the equation.
Read the full State of Marketing report and find out more about how your business compares.
