European marketers expect greater role in revenue growth, finds study

Western European marketing executives expect to have a greater role in revenue growth and strategy as their responsibilities shift from advertising and branding to e-commerce and customer retention, a new study by The Economist Intelligence Unit finds.

The study, The rise of the marketer – Western Europe finds that while advertising and branding are their most common responsibilities today, e-commerce, customer retention and customer cross-selling are seen as their key responsibilities in future.

Examining the responses of 256 marketing executives from Western Europe – that were part of a global survey – the study also found that marketers in the region have greater responsibility for the end-to-end customer experience than their peers in North America: with 65% saying they are expected to manage that today, compared to just 51% of North American marketing executives.

A further 81% say it will be their responsibility in three to five years, against 71% in North America.

These findings help to explain why two-thirds of respondents expect marketing to be viewed as a “revenue driver” in three to five years’ time, compared to 57% who say it is today.

Similarly, 70% believe that the marketing function will play a significant role in shaping company strategy in future, compared to 50% who believe it does now.

“The digitisation of the customer relationship offers marketers an opportunity to create more value for their organisations,” says Pete Swabey, senior editor at The Economist Intelligence Unit.

“But while it is encouraging that they are confident their capabilities will grow, marketing executives must face the challenge of transforming their department if they are to capture that opportunity.”