‘Lack of training preventing marketers from future-proofing their brands’
Marketers feel a lack of on the job training is holding them back from being prepared to face the challenges they expect to be confronted with in the next five years, according to a major new research project.
The Marketing 2020 study of which Marketing Week is a partner, conducted by EffectiveBrands, found there is a significant degree of nervousness among marketers as to whether they are fit for the future – with only just over half (56 per cent) say their skills are good or very good in terms of their job requirements in the upcoming five years.
The study suggests this may be linked to the lack of internal training offered to marketers. A third (33 per cent) of marketers say they receive no formal marketing training whatsoever. In the UK 37 per cent of marketers say they receive no marketing training.
Just under a quarter (24 per cent) of marketers say they do receive more than three days of training a year. This figure rises to 35 per cent over marketers deemed as “over performers” – those whose companies’ revenue growth is ahead of competitors – and falls to 19 per cent among “under performers”.
Elsewhere, another factor identified as affecting marketers’ preparedness for the future are the discrepancies between global and local marketing teams, which may lead to inconsistencies in the ways their brands are presented around the world.
While 83 per cent of global marketing chiefs say they support the strategy of the brands they work for, the figure falls to 72 per cent among regional heads and 66 per cent at a local level.
Marketing 2020 is a research project led by consultancy EffectiveBrands, which involved a survey of more than 10,000 marketers and other business professionals from 92 countries. In addition, EffectiveBrands conducted interviews with more than 250 marketing chiefs from brands such as General Motors, Coca-Cola and Unilever. Partners in the project are Marketing Week, ISBA, SpencerStuart, MetrixLab and Adobe.
To find out more about the issues holding marketers back from future-proofing themselves and their businesses – and how to combat them – read this week’s cover feature.
