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Leigh Hopwood, Marketing Consultant at Redd Marketing and Chair of the Chartered Institute of Marketing looks at the 5 greatest challenges

The art, or science, of marketing is adapting fast to the changing nature of business. The challenges marketers face today are more diverse to business success than ever before.

Earlier this month CIM (the Chartered Institute of Marketing) released the top five marketing challenges today. Are they the same for you?

It’s the additional value add that you offer that can deliver a sustainable business

Leigh Hopwood Leigh Hopwood Marketing Consultant at Redd Marketing and Chair of the Chartered Institute of Marketing

1) Demonstrating ROI

How often do you throw money at a ‘good idea’? Proving marketing delivers is definitely challenging.

Deploying best practice techniques to gather the right data to measure marketing activities and then communicating this success to the Board is what marketers need to overcome.

How do you know how effective your marketing is?

2) Lack of fundamental marketing knowledge

This is probably one of my biggest bugbears.

So many people have fallen into marketing yet lack knowledge of the core marketing principles.

They may be good at managing an event, or doing social media, but without the basics this activity may just be noise and not moving you towards achieving your business goals.

You wouldn’t put your accounts into the hands of an unqualified accountant, why would you put your marketing investment into the hands of an unqualified marketer?

3) Understanding customer behaviour

That’s a good one!

CIM has done some research into consumer trust and discovered that it is decreasing year on year. As a result, brand loyalty is under threat.

Customer behaviour can sometimes be fairly predictable, but new and emerging behavioural patterns are making it more difficult to engage, acquire and retain customers.

How well do you know your customers, and your potential customers?

4) Keeping up-to-date with digital

Too often I come across great marketers who haven’t yet grasped this ‘new channel called social’.

Or don’t know the power of tools like Google Analytics to help develop creative marketing campaigns.

And how marketing automation (CRM, email and content platforms) can ensure effective marketing by delivering the right message to the right person at the right time.

It could be a real problem if you’re not up to date.

5) The changing role of product management

Selling a piece of equipment or a service is one thing, but it’s the additional value add that you offer that can deliver a sustainable business.

Product marketers are under pressure to create value propositions that deliver a crucial competitive advantage; the installation of the Mitsubishi Electric product is a critical part of the customer experience.

How are you addressing this challenge?

Read the full article here.

Leigh Hopwood, is Marketing Consultant at Redd Marketing and Chair of the Chartered Institute of Marketing