NEW YORK, June 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Seventy-eight percent of marketing executives believe corporate marketing will undergo a fundamental transformation over the next five years due to the use of analytics, digital and mobile technologies, according to a new global survey by Accenture (NYSE: ACN). However, a similar number of respondents (79 percent) believe their company will not be a fully operationalized digital business in the same amount of time.

Accenture Interactive's new report, CMOs: Time for Digital Transformation or Risk Being Left on the Sidelines, notes that marketing executives are chasing the digital vision as more than one third of the executives surveyed expect digital spending to account for more than 75 percent of their marketing budgets within five years, and 41 percent believe their spending on digital marketing will increase by more than five percent next year alone. This is a key finding from the new report based on survey responses of nearly 600 executives in 11 countries conducted between November 2013 and January 2014.

"As marketing executives are increasingly embracing digital they can be catalysts to help their company take advantage of the wider digital opportunity and protect against broader digital threats," said Brian Whipple, senior managing director, Accenture Interactive. "Marketing executives are well positioned to assume this role because the opportunities, as well as the potential and real threats, are all about the customer, the brand, the interface with the customer and how the customer is empowered. To be part of their enterprise's digital transformation, marketing executives should extend their vision of marketing beyond traditional boundaries."

Only 62 percent of survey respondents, however, believe their company currently provides a good customer experience. To turn this situation around, the report says that companies will have to improve their ability to build long-lasting customer relationships, design and deliver branded customer experiences, and make use of multiple channels, including an increased leverage of digital channels.

The report recommends several broad concepts that businesses should consider as they work toward achieving that goal:


    --  Increase collaboration with the C-suite, including chief digital
        officers and chief information officers
    --  Reverse engineer corporate marketing initiatives around desired outcomes
        rather than focus on sales transactions.
    --  Empathize with customers by changing the focus of marketing from
        something you "do to" a customer to something you "do with" a customer.
        Don't build marketing programs based on initiatives that target, capture
        and convert customers, focus instead on efforts that influence, engage,
        stimulate and help customers.
    --  Remember that the customer is not a transaction but an ongoing dialogue,
        a continuous engagement. It is a relationship that covers the whole
        spectrum of sales, service, retention and loyalty.

The report also recommends that marketing executives focus more on leading and transforming the marketing role - as digital transforms the enterprise - by creating multi-channel, personalized experiences for each customer across the brand incrementally, continuously reviewing the data and shifting tactics and technologies as needed. As part of the process, the report suggests that marketing executives should do more to integrate marketing channels with real-time analytics, invest in agile technologies and cloud-based services, and reorient the marketing model so that new talent with all the necessary skills in analytics, mobile and digital put digital marketing to its most effective use in boosting the customer experience.

Among the additional survey findings:


    --  There appears to be a generational divide in the importance of mobility.
        Marketing executives who grew up with digital - those under 35 - give
        more significant weight to the use of mobile (38 percent) than the older
        respondents (18 percent). Additionally, seven out of 10 marketing
        executives under age 50 believe mobile is an important channel for
        reaching customers and prospects, compared to fewer than five out of 10
        who are 51 or older.
    --  Respondents believe that front-line employees and customer word of mouth
        are still very important marketing channels, but the increase in
        effectiveness of email marketing, online display advertising and search
        engine optimization was significant with jumps of 14, 10 and nine points
        respectively from the 2012 survey. Interestingly, telemarketing saw a
        huge drop in both importance and effectiveness, decreasing by 23 percent
        and 10 percent respectively.
    --  Marketers in emerging economies are much more confident than executives
        in mature markets that their company has the ability to make the
        transformation to a digital business (70 percent vs. 38 percent) and
        more confident that their company can achieve that goal (71 percent vs.
        42 percent).
    --  Although marketing executives have had success in hiring more talent
        with digital, analytical and technical skills, the survey shows a
        10-point decline in customer and digital analytics capabilities compared
        to the 2012 survey.
    --  One in four marketing executives state a lack of critical technology or
        tools as the chief barrier to digital integration.

To learn more about Accenture Interactive's new report and explore the findings through an interactive data visualization workbook, please visit: CMOs: Time for Digital Transformation or Risk Being Left on the Sidelines.

Methodology
The 2014 CMO Insights survey is the fourth in a series of studies sponsored by Accenture and aimed at understanding the opinions, challenges and points of views of senior marketing executives from around the world. The results are based on online surveys across 11 countries and 12 industries with 581 senior executives in marketing surveyed. Most companies (91 percent) included in the survey have at least US$1 billion in annual revenues. The remaining nine percent have annual revenues of at least US$500 million. The survey was done online in November 2013 through January 2014.

About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 289,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world's most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

About Accenture Interactive
Accenture Interactive helps the world's leading brands delight their customers and drive superior marketing performance across the full multichannel customer experience. As part of Accenture Digital, Accenture Interactive works with over 23,000 Accenture professionals dedicated to serving marketing and digital clients to offer integrated, industrialized and industry-driven digital transformation and marketing services. Follow @AccentureSocial or visit accenture.com/interactive

Editor Notes


    Geography Analysis Global:

    Geography                       Count           Percentage

    USA                                       157                          27%

    Canada                                     51                         8.7%

    Australia                                  51                         8.7%

    Japan                                      50                         8.6%

    China                                      46                         7.9%

    Brazil                                     43                         7.4%

    France                                     42                         7.2%

    UK                                         36                         6.2%

    Germany                                    36                         6.2%

    Singapore                                  36                         6.2%

    Italy                                      33                         5.7%

    Total                                     581                         100%



    Functional Title Analysis Global:

    Functional Title                      Percentage

    Chief Marketing Officer or other
     senior marketing executive                                      44%

    Other Vice President/Director of
     Marketing                                                       32%

    Head of Brand                                                    11%

    Head of Communications                                            7%

    Head of Digital                                                   6%

    Total                                                           100%



    Business Model
     Analysis Global:

    Type                    Percentage

    Business to Consumer
     Company                                          38%

    Business to Business
     Consumer Company                                 32%

    Business to Business
     Company                                          30%

    Total                                            100%



    Industry Analysis Global:

    Industry                  Count     Percentage of Value

    Banking                          94                     16.2%

    Consumer Goods & Services        80                     13.8%

    Life Sciences-Pharma and
     BioTech                         51                      8.8%

    Retail                           51                      8.8%

    Insurance-Property &
     Casualty                        49                      8.4%

    Electronics and High Tech        48                      8.3%

    Telecom                          46                      7.8%

    Insurance-Life                   38                      6.5%

    Media & Entertainment            38                      6.5%

    Transportation & Travel          37                      6.4%

    Automotive                       34                      5.9%

    Life Sciences-Medical
     Products                        15                      2.6%

    Total                           581                      100%

SOURCE Accenture