New research from The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) reveals that 76% of marketers say ad-blocking will be good for the industry as it will force them to be more skilled in the ways they engage with customers.
40% of adults in the UK have installed an adblocker according to a recent Mediatel study. However, the majority of marketers surveyed in the CIM study are positive that ad-blocking will encourage greater advertising creativity.
“Marketers are naturally skilled when it comes to embracing change and have a thirst for creativity,” said Chris Daly, chief executive of the CIM. “So it was positive to see the majority of respondents rising to the challenge of ad-blocking.”
The CIM’s findings also show that marketers’ top priorities for the year ahead are personalisation (42%), data-driven marketing (37%) and influencer marketing (31%), but they are also trying to wrap their heads around new technologies such as chatbots and virtual reality in an attempt to understand their customers better. However, the focus on these technologies is quite low in comparison, as only 8% of marketers highlighted these areas as a priority for 2017.
“It was encouraging to see that whilst marketers are starting to look at new technologies, delivering more personalised, targeted and influential campaigns still sit at the core of their everyday life,” Chris Daly added.
The research goes on to state that customer experience is also a growing focus for marketers, while 15% of respondents have gone through a major transformation process in the past year to ensure they stay relevant, but 28% feel they do not have the investment needed to follow suit. Meanwhile, 11% say customer experience is not a main focus of their business.
“I do question the 11% who say that customer experience is not a focus – no matter what business you are in, the customer should always be at the heart of the operation,” Chris Daly continues.
“More broadly, however, it’s encouraging to see customer experience is being given the consideration needed at a business level. But organisations cannot expect to deliver superior customer experience without making the necessary investment.”
