‘Diversity and inclusion’ is the data and marketing industry’s biggest challenge (58%), according to a survey completed by nearly 220 senior marketing professionals across the UK who judged the DMA Awards 2021.
‘Retaining talent’ (53%) and ‘Attracting talent’ (49%) were also seen as key issues, which will likely have been exacerbated by the severity of events over the past 18 months.
In addition, around half (48%) of data and marketing professionals surveyed also cited measurement as a challenge the industry must overcome – specifically around ROI. ‘Meaningful Measurement’ was the topic of a recent roundtable hosted by the DMA and Salesforce, discussing some of the findings of the ‘Meaningful Marketing Measurement 2021’ report and what can be done to overcome these challenges.
85% of professionals said their brands (or clients) have been more compassionate and thoughtful in their marketing approaches during and coming out of the pandemic.
“Talent has become of increasing concern to our industry, and society more widely since the pandemic began. Diversity, inclusion, talent acquisition and retention are the biggest challenges. People are what matter most and this is reflected in senior marketers’ views on the most pressing issues. This is also echoed by the vast number of organisations becoming more thoughtful and compassionate with their marketing approach,” said Tim Bond, Director of Insight at the DMA. “The DMA is very aware of the issues our industry is having with talent attraction, retention and inclusion, so we recently created a graduate jobs recruitment board to help young talent find their first roles. In addition, the DMA recently partnered with professional associations across the UK to call on the government to support industry-led jobs and skills training programmes – to address the UK’s digital skills crisis by upskilling and reskilling professionals across the UK.”
After the difficulties faced in 2020, this year has been a much more positive one for most of the organisations surveyed. Indeed, the positive sentiment felt about the ‘last 12 months’ has multiplied from 23% this time last year to 84% today. Moreover, future expectations are even more encouraging, with 94% of businesses having a positive outlook for 2022 (compared to 36% last year).
To view all of the latest bitesize infographics, visit: https://dma.org.uk/research/dma-insight-positivity-and-compassion-grows-but-challenges-ahead
