A new study from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) has revealed that over half of the marketers in the UK (59%) are finding it increasingly hard to predict “fast-changing” consumer priorities following the pandemic.
The survey, which explored the views of 500 UK agency marketing professionals, highlights how marketers are concerned about the future of the brands they represent and the fitness of their business models.
“Nine in ten (91%) believe their brand must evolve to keep operating, and over a quarter (28%) feel there is even a need to radically overhaul their business model within the next decade in order to survive,” CIM said.
The pandemic and rising inflation have increased consumers’ expectations of brands, with importance placed on company values and the convenience of purchases.
Some 83% of marketers believe that being able to have products or services delivered at home is what customers value the most. Overall “value for money” and the “environmental footprint” of products were also deemed as highly important to consumers, according to industry professionals.
A number of high-profile brands have responded to this consumer expectation, with John Lewis transitioning its popular ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ to a focus on ‘Quality and Value’.
The marketing institute added: “Four-fifths (78%) of marketers believe it is their role within their business to represent the voice of the customer, however it is clear many are struggling to understand changing consumer habits.”
“Marketers have a responsibility to balance the shift towards convenience and ensure they are shaping the right societal behaviours.”
Less than one in five marketers (19%) feel they have the skills needed to successfully carry out their roles of predicting how consumers will act. Last year, just half of the marketers CIM surveyed (51%) had attended external training courses.
CIM CEO Chris Daly added: “We are living through extremely turbulent times; from the pandemic and the ongoing climate crisis – to rising inflation, and most recently the Ukraine crisis.”
“It’s clear from these results that consumers now expect brands to do more than just deliver value, but also actively engage with societal and political issues. If our industry is to really bounce back, marketers must invest time in getting to know their customers, and carefully consider what matters to them most.”
Marketing growth coach Danny Denhard and Starcom strategy director Dan Coleman share their take on how marketers should adapt to this constant change in consumer values and behaviour.
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Danny Denhard, marketing growth coach and trainer
Denhard found the CIM Research to be a “fascinating” insight into how and what marketers are thinking.
“We have all experienced shifts over the last few years,” he began. “It will be a tech-driven roller-coaster for many in the coming years, without the proper thought and reshaping of marketing departments.”
Denhard believes that marketers need to take a step up and evolve roles around the customer, as the report highlights a number of recent trends, including the demand for instant results.
“Over the last decade, marketing teams have reacted to a number of different periods, from the consume era of the web (web pages with mostly text), to the creation phase of the web (YouTube to Facebook to Instagram and TikTok). During these times marketing departments have struggled to understand how to be relevant and how to cut through the noise.”
He added that the “constant stream of content to consume” via numerous feeds and inboxes means that gaining that cut-through is a “collaborative effort and not as simple as creating more content and digital ads”.
“Running pricing changes, leveraging different partners, and investing in better tech are often the best strategic steps to take, rather than having to make a drastic change. Big change often negatively impacts the internal team leading to poor execution.
“It took years of careful and strategic planning alongside a flexible road-map for Disney to build the infrastructure, redesign its departments and build internal confidence to shift its business to support Disney+.”
Denhard also believes the time has come for marketing leaders to consider how they will reshape their organisation to get closer to the customer as they look to “understand how technology and the use of apps is changing the marketing landscape”.
He states there will have to be some “hard internal conversations” between marketing, product and finance leaders to address the fact that “some marketers feel their brand is out of touch with changed consumer needs”.
“Consumers’ behaviour is resetting. This is tied to the return to the office, return to travelling, return to some normalcy – and with this we have started to reset back towards 2019. It is time for marketing departments to arrange strategic long-range planning and put together detailed plans.”
“Act one year ahead, plan three years ahead and think five years ahead.”
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Dan Coleman, Starcom strategy director and media context expert
Coleman puts the difficulty in predicting consumer behaviour down to a plethora of societal reasons.
“I completely empathise with the findings as it’s often difficult to understand consumers. Maybe our snow blindness is caused by the blizzard of data from digital media. It’s often difficult to get a holistic view of what is happening.”
At the same time, Coleman points out that long-held marketing wisdoms are being challenged.
“Brexit uncovered the uncomfortable truth that many of us remain in a metropolitan bubble unaware of the reality of life outside London.
“Last week’s local election results further demonstrate big shifts – Wandsworth, the absolute bastion of Thatcher’s Conservatives, voting Labour would have been unthinkable, even at the height of Tony Blair’s popularity.”
A number of rapid changes in UK society over have also changed the game for many in marketing. Coleman describes it as being at a “great turning point”.
“We are used to choice, to individual tailor-made solutions ‘because I am worth it.’ Yet Black Lives Matter showed a deep longing to congregate around a cause. It feels to me that we are at a great turning point after a pandemic, a technological revolution, a cost-of-living crisis, 10% inflation and a war.
He also points out that trust in UK institutions – particularly the Government and the media – is “consistently low”.
“Whether you are ‘woke’ or livid about Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) there’s a lot of anger and uncertainty. I would also argue this is an amazing opportunity for brands to be beacons, to provide certainty, to stand for something and do some good.
“Brands that get these things right can dominate this new era.”
With post-pandemic, financially-squeezed shoppers behaving differently and brand-loyalty constantly coming into question, it’s clear that now is the time for marketers to slow down, take stock and find out exactly what their customers really want in 2022.
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