Marketing leaders to prioritize safe, calculated moves in the 2021 business landscape, according to a recent report
In the ever-evolving retail landscape, Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are grappling with the complexities of the ongoing pandemic and the challenges it presents in their quest to achieve growth.
The pandemic has made recovery a daunting task for retailers, and CMOs are finding themselves at a crossroads. They are striving to strike a balance between expanding digital capabilities, changing strategies, and minimising risk. Many non-essential retail stores temporarily closed their doors and paused growth plans in 2020.
According to the latest Gartner CMO report, half of the surveyed marketers plan to reinvent or rescale six out of 11 key marketing strategies, with another 31.8% intending to reinvent or rescale eight out of the 11 key strategies. However, Augie Ray, vice president analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice, cautions that CMOs cannot reinvent and rescale everything while still executing effectively and remaining agile in a year that promises more challenges.
In this current retail landscape, 73% of chief marketing officers are planning to rely on existing customers for growth. This low-risk, low-return strategy conflicts with CMOs' eagerness to reinvent and rescale their key strategies. The survey reveals that 39% of marketers will focus on increasing sales of existing products, while 34% will introduce new products to the same customers.
Last year was a tumultuous year for CMOs due to pandemic-induced budget cuts and multiple hirings and firings at top retail brands. The marketing department's budget was significantly impacted by cuts in 2020, but Gartner's most recent CMO report shows that marketers are optimistic about their budgets bouncing back after a difficult year. In fact, 65% of CMOs were preparing for budget cuts, according to a Gartner report last April.
As consumer data becomes more readily available, retailers have new opportunities to personalise the shopper experience. However, attempting to reinvent too much simultaneously risks failing to do any one thing right while overburdening teams, according to Augie Ray. For every strategy CMOs try to reinvent, another must return to pre-pandemic levels and approach.
CMOs must try to avoid reinventing the wheel in 2021 and choose strategies to reduce or retire for every strategy they rescale. There are no search results providing information about a company leader who decided last year to reduce the share of their marketing department through cost-cutting measures. The challenges from last year made the CMO role more complex and, in some organisations, obsolete.
Despite these challenges, the retail industry continues to adapt and evolve, and CMOs are at the forefront of this transformation. As they navigate the complexities of the pandemic and the evolving retail landscape, their strategic decisions will play a crucial role in shaping the future of retail.
