Experimenting with new strategies and using cutting-edge technologies and tools to drive reach and engagement is at the top of the agenda for marketers in 2023.
The eighth annual State of Marketing report from Salesforce surveyed 6,000 marketers globally to establish the challenges they are currently facing and how they expect the industry to change next year.
The main takeaway is that marketers are excited about leveraging more data and updating their tool sets and software to improve the quality of content campaigns.
The respondents revealed that the data sources they will tap into to inform decision making are expected to swell to the twice the size in 2023 compared to 2021.
Marketers are still using a mix of first-party and third-party data but Google’s decision to end support for cookies by 2024 is prompting a shift to the former.
Two-thirds say they already have a fully documented strategy to pivot to first-party data and zero-party data, the latter of which is defined as information that customers share voluntarily.
A recent study by Search Engine Journal found SEOs are expecting artificial intelligence to have a major impact on search optimisation in 2023.
The Salesforce survey backs this up, as 68% already have a fully-defined strategy for AI in place, with the tech being used to automate customer interaction and personalise content and customer journeys.
This will help marketers meet customer expectations, which is a task that 71% of respondents say was their biggest challenge in 2022.
The good news is that campaigns are improving overall, as 87% of marketers believe they are delivering greater value compared to 12 months ago.
