Marketing has fundamentally changed in the last three years. Almost 78% of marketers agree they've seen more change in the previous three years compared to the last half a century. The pandemic accelerated digital adoption by a decade and drastically altered consumer buying habits — speed, relevancy, and agility are paramount. The future of marketing and creative teams looks very different as a response.
Our hiring experts reveal the key marketing trends they’ve seen so far this year. How have changing customer expectations and talent shortages shaped the future of marketing? How are marketing teams gaining traction at the boardroom table?
1. Marketing moves in-house
Businesses are starting to step away from outsourced marketing functions. According to research conducted for the Robert Half 2023 Salary Guide, businesses are starting to build out their own in-house talent via permanent hiring or contractors in a bid to lower costs and improve integration. The latter is especially true for marketing and sales teams, who are expected to become more aligned with one another in the future.
Our talent experts have noticed a distinct change in the skills and experience employers are looking for. Junior marketing talent is often asked to deliver work to a standard far exceeding their experience level, resulting in mutual frustration.
2. Digital marketing skills continue to rise in demand
Pure analogue marketing (print ads, direct response marketing, etc.) is steadily becoming a smaller part of the marketing team as digital marketing takes precedence. Research for the Salary Guide revealed ‘traditional’ brand marketing roles are taking a backseat as employers build out their digital teams to secure their slice of the growing eCommerce pie.
The demand for digital skills is directly responsible for the kinds of marketing roles businesses are hiring for. According to our research, SEO Managers and Digital Marketing Managers are two of the top roles in marketing for 2023, with strong demand for insight analysts, social media managers, and PPC specialists.
Our hiring experts also regularly see SEO, PPC, Google Analytics, and Salesforce/HubSpot as the most in-demand technical skills for creative and marketing roles.
Related: Attracting and retaining marketing and creative talent
3. Temporary vs permanent hires
Hiring data collected by Robert Half specialists has noted an uptick in interims, temps, and contract talent as businesses ramp up project work to counteract the current economic downturn.
Marketing Week recently reported seeing brands hiring contract talent to fulfil specialist roles while hiring permanent staff into generalist and core roles. In contrast, some brands have begun asking permanent hires to ‘flex’ into new areas to help close skills gaps.
Although a third (33%) of businesses say they plan to hire new, permanent roles in 2023, the trend for interim talent shows a more cautious, flexible approach. As a result, businesses get the support they need without committing budget to permanent hires during this uncertain period.
4. Data analytics in marketing is a must-have
Data is a marketer’s best friend. As well as facilitating quicker, smarter marketing decisions, data provides invaluable insights into your customers. McKinsey has reported that brands using data to personalise marketing to their customer segments enjoy five times more ROI.
It’s lucky, then, that our increasingly online lives generate more customer data than ever — 64% of the global population is now online, with the average user spending just over 6 hours a day surfing the web.
For the marketing team of the future to thrive, data analytics skills should become an intrinsic part of every role at every level, especially when it comes to making creative decisions and reporting on results. Data has become so integral to marketing efforts that some businesses choose to hire data analysts into their marketing function to guarantee a fast, accurate, expert overview of opportunities and value delivered.
Data analytics is vital for marketers in the boardroom, too. Reporting and results lend irrefutable gravitas to their ideas, opinions, and contribution, potentially helping them secure bigger budgets and buy-in at a top leadership level.
For more information on hiring trends in the creative and marketing industries, download your free copy of the 2023 Salary Guide here. Are you ready to begin building your marketing team of the future? Get in touch with our recruitment experts today.
