The Top Challenges Marketing Leaders Expect to Face in 2023 & How You Can Solve For Them [Expert Insights & Data]

Each marketer faces totally different challenges.

Perhaps you are struggling to maintain up with the most recent developments. Or maybe your workforce is discovering it troublesome to pivot your advertising technique as a consequence of main world occasions.

Immediately, advertising is so fast-paced that it may be troublesome to determine which areas you may wish to concentrate on to facilitate stronger development in 2023 and past. Which is why we requested 500+ advertising executives to foretell the highest challenges they anticipate to face in 2023 — so you’ll be able to plan your methods accordingly.

Under, let’s discover the worldwide points advertising leaders imagine they will battle with in 2023, in line with new HubSpot Weblog information from 500+ advertising executives. Moreover, hear recommendations on the best way to fight these challenges from consultants at Microsoft, ZoomInfo, and Sprout Social.

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1. Adopting a data-driven advertising technique.

Why It is a Problem

14% of selling leaders say adopting a data-driven advertising technique shall be a prime problem of theirs in 2023. And ZoomInfo’s Chief Advertising Officer, Bryan Law, sympathizes.

Legislation informed me, “We’re all feeling the pressures of a potential recession and nearly each firm will face challenges with income development and advertising spend in 2023. With doubtlessly fewer {dollars} to place in the direction of campaigns, adopting a data-driven advertising technique will be sure that each effort is as impactful as potential.”

To undertake a data-driven advertising technique, there are two massive levers you may wish to pull in 2023. Let’s check out these now.

What Can You Do?

Successfully Mix First and Third-Get together Knowledge

Microsoft’s International Head of Programmatic Evangelist, Daniel Godoy, informed me that it is important entrepreneurs hold first-party data in-mind in the event that they’re aiming to broaden their attain in 2023.

Godoy says, “Entrepreneurs really feel the stress to win the advertisements race in a wild WWW. Throughout this race, it is price mentioning that client media habits is altering, and promoting methods, too. With the cookies deprecation coming (though it has been delayed by Google), it ought to be on our radar that a minimum of 40% of browsers right this moment do not get alerts.”

He provides, “Shaping your technique by leveraging 1P or 3P trustable information turns into essential to broaden potential attain and begin piloting your information technique for the longer term.”

First-party data can finally make it easier to make sure you’re reaching the fitting audiences along with your advertisements and turning these audiences into high-quailty leads.

Develop Distinctive Messaging that Resonates with Your Prospects

To run a profitable data-backed marketing campaign, Legislation suggests first defining your viewers. He informed me advertising leaders must take the time to gather custom attributes, not simply fundamental descriptive data. Then, he advises leaders to create dynamic prospect lists via audience segmentation.

As soon as you have outlined your audiences and correctly segmented them, you may must develop distinctive messaging that resonates along with your prospects.

As Legislation places it, “You may want to determine the best way to convey your potential to alleviate their challenges in a novel option to penetrate the numerous market noise. Follow consistency in your general theme, and embrace contextual personalization when relevant.”

You may additionally wish to use information to succeed in the fitting consumers on the proper corporations. For example, Legislation informed me it is useful to make use of expertise to determine and have interaction on the contact or persona stage, and automate workflows that can help you attain individuals throughout channels. Lastly, you may want to check, measure, and iterate.

Legislation advises, “Earlier than you launch your campaigns, arrange metrics to assist perceive their efficiency. Use the info to verify that your messaging is reaching the fitting individuals on the proper time via the fitting channels. Knowledge ought to drive this course of and its iterations — and it ought to gas your complete advertising technique if you wish to see success in 2023.”

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In the end, getting ready a strong data-driven advertising technique in 2023 shall be important for outperforming rivals — particularly since information may help your workforce stay versatile and adaptive as developments or client preferences shift over time.

2. Maintaining with the most recent developments.

Why It is a Problem

Staying up-to-date on advertising developments wasn’t only a problem in 2022. 14% of entrepreneurs imagine maintaining with the most recent advertising developments will proceed to be their greatest hurdle in 2023.

This is sensible. From branded audio content material to augmented actuality (AR) experiences, there’s loads of trends we saw spike in 2022. As a marketer, it may be troublesome to decipher which developments matter most to your online business — and which of them you’ll be able to keep away from.

What Can You Do?

Reviewing up-to-date advertising studies like HubSpot’s 2022 State of Marketing Trends may help you keep knowledgeable on which advertising developments matter most to shoppers. You can even subscribe to advertising podcasts or newsletters to be taught extra about what’s occurring within the trade.

Alternatively, take into account asking your shoppers what developments matter to them. For example, maybe you create a social ballot to ask shoppers about their favourite TikTok reels — this data may help you higher perceive the matters that at present matter most to your viewers.

After getting a listing of fascinating advertising developments, you’ll be able to strive implementing them on a small scale to see how they carry out for your online business. Testing is essential right here. You possibly can learn concerning the effectiveness of short-form video content material all day lengthy — however till you strive it on your personal model, you’ll be able to’t know for certain whether or not it truly issues to your viewers.

3. Going through elevated competitors from different manufacturers.

Why It is a Problem

Competitors is not a brand new idea for companies, but it surely’s a serious concern for a lot of entrepreneurs after they look forward. As social media and the SERPs change into more and more saturated with branded content material, many entrepreneurs battle to create content material that stands out.

In our HubSpot Weblog survey, 13% of selling leaders report elevated competitors from different manufacturers as their greatest concern for 2023.

What Can You Do?

To fight this problem, advertising leaders will wish to conduct a competitive market analysis, which may help you implement stronger enterprise methods and determine potential alternatives to out-perform your competitors.

Moreover, it is a good suggestion to ask your workforce to flag any fascinating ways different companies are leveraging. Your social workforce, as an illustration, can assess rivals’ social channels to determine any gaps of their present technique. Alternatively, your weblog workforce would possibly spotlight their private favourite blogs, and share takeaways they will apply to their very own content material.

Internet hosting common workforce brainstorms round new, progressive concepts may help you guarantee your online business is ahead-of-the-curve.

Nonetheless, you do not wish to simply comply with alongside along with your rivals’ methods. It is a good suggestion to check out new platforms to see what resonates along with your supposed viewers, even when your rivals aren’t utilizing these social channels.

4. Leveraging my CRM to its fullest potential.

Why It is a Problem

12% of entrepreneurs imagine their greatest problem in 2023 shall be leveraging their CRM to its fullest potential.

A CRM could be an extremely highly effective and efficient device for advertising, gross sales, and repair — however it may be intimidating and time-consuming if you do not know the best way to use yours.

What Can You Do?

To take advantage of out of your CRM, check out our ultimate guide to using a CRM. You may additionally wish to take into account buying a CRM that allows you to combine all of your different instruments in a single place.

Moreover, HubSpot’s Product Supervisor Alexa Starks informed me, “To leverage your CRM to its full potential, you may wish to broaden utilization with a flagship use case. In different phrases — determine a niche or ache level along with your present course of that’s solved by an underutilized function of the CRM. Then, evangelize how your CRM will handle that drawback and create extra connectedness inside the group.”

Starks provides, “Rinse and repeat to indicate how implementing further CRM instruments could make the groups lives simpler. Over time, it will improve adoption and ultimately result in a compounding impact, as a extra linked course of will increase the ROI of your CRM buy.”

If you happen to’re as an alternative battling the best way to construction your CRM, or which information is most crucial, Starks suggests you get head of your information by determining the core questions you may have of your information.

She says, “Think about you may have the solutions to these questions. Now, suppose via what next-level questions you may need after you obtain these preliminary solutions. Taking time to map this out may help align the workforce across the methods your course of could must shift to make sure the required information is on the market and structured correctly sooner or later.”

5. Having to pivot my advertising technique as a consequence of main occasions (e.g. recession, pandemic, political turmoil).

Why It is a Problem

The previous couple years have required companies to display new ranges of flexibility and adaptableness.

The pandemic, as an illustration, enormously impacted customers’ expectations and preferences in terms of social media. Now, customers’ spend more time watching videos online than they did pre-pandemic, and so they crave more fun and authentic content than they used to.

Equally, political turmoil and up to date modifications within the financial system have required companies to regulate their advertising methods accordingly to make sure they’re persevering with to fulfill the wants of their prospects.

Whereas it might really feel dangerous to put money into new methods or pivot as a response to main occasions, it is oftentimes worse to stay to the established order. Because the world modifications, your shoppers’ behaviors and desires change in response, so it is important you retain up with world developments to know what your shoppers’ wants are on any given day.

Plus, your advertising may appear tone-deaf if you happen to do not pivot accordingly.

All of which is to say: It is no shock that 11% of selling leaders imagine pivoting their advertising methods will proceed to be a roadblock for them in 2023 and past.

What Can You Do?

Godoy is aware of the problem of pivoting your technique appropriately. Luckily, he has an answer.

He says, “The pandemic has introduced modifications in our lives and in our work schedules — and hybrid work opens potentialities to steadiness work and private duties on the identical time. Earlier than, we had been decided to do sure duties at sure hours … however on this planet of right this moment, all of us dwell within the lacking center.”

He provides, “We’re paying an excessive amount of consideration to the higher and decrease facet of the funnel and ignoring what occurs within the center. The true journey displays that human choices don’t occur in a linear approach. Audiences uncovered to model and efficiency are 6X extra prone to convert. By capturing signals of intent and mapping this information, you may get readability on how the lacking center works on your model.”

Understanding your prospects’ habits and intent is a essential part of guaranteeing you’ll be able to shift rapidly in case your advertising efforts aren’t working. That is additionally the place agile advertising comes into play. Agile advertising helps you execute by working in brief sprints, which helps entrepreneurs rapidly shift their focus, adapt to buyer wants, and alter priorities.

Agile advertising may help your workforce change into extra adaptable when world occasions upend your earlier plans and power your workforce to shift focus. And it might assist groups rebound extra rapidly from potential income losses.

Think about, as an illustration, how Doordash reported an working lack of $616 million in 2019 — after which grew to $2.89 billion in revenue in 2020. Their agile strategy throughout the pandemic enabled them to answer their shoppers’ wants by delivering COVID test kits and launching the #OpenforDelivery campaign to help eating places.

Basically, Doordash pivoted rapidly to help their buyer wants, and dropped their pre-planned advertising strategy to undertake a brand new, extra well timed one.

Lastly, it is important you regulate each advertising developments and world occasions to make sure you’re pivoting your technique when vital.

To make sure you’re up-to-date on the most recent developments, you may wish to monitor your social media channels to reply appropriately to prospects. Moreover, take into account leveraging social listening tools to maintain up with developments occurring within the trade.

Most entrepreneurs are goaled on two metrics: Site visitors and leads.

Which is why it is sensible that 11% of selling leaders anticipate that producing site visitors and leads will stay their prime problem in 2023.

Even when entrepreneurs are doing nicely with these metrics, they will at all times wish to enhance them.

6. Producing site visitors and leads.

Why It is a Problem

Google search options like featured snippets and pictures have made it more and more troublesome to get site visitors to your website in any respect. Actually, 65% of Google searches now end without a click.

Social media can also be changing into saturated with 24/7, around-the-clock content material. Because the creator economy booms, it is changing into more and more troublesome for manufacturers to create content material that stands out.

In the end, advertising leaders are struggling to provide demand for his or her content material. Plus, they’re not sure which platforms will show greatest for his or her enterprise — and the best way to promote their content material successfully.

What Can You Do?

To fight the problem of making high-quality content material that resonates along with your viewers, you may wish to use efficient instruments to correctly observe the forms of content material that performs greatest along with your audiences.

As soon as you are creating the kind of content material your viewers desires, the main focus shifts to selling it in a approach that makes your viewers take discover.

Greater than ever earlier than, persons are being flooded with content material. Customers do not even want to make use of a search engine to search out solutions anymore. As a substitute, articles fill their information feeds or buzz of their pocket by way of cellular notifications. To maintain up, take into account exploring alternate distribution strategies — like SMS or podcasting — to extend model consciousness.

Moreover, you would possibly check out influencer advertising to generate extra site visitors and leads. Micro-influencers, as an illustration, have excessive charges of engagement and are sometimes seen as consultants on sure area of interest matters — so discovering a micro-influencer that aligns nicely along with your model may help you generate high-quality site visitors and leads successfully.

7. Hiring prime expertise.

Why It is a Problem

11% of selling leaders report hiring prime expertise as their prime anticipated battle of 2023. And Jamie Gilpin, Chief Advertising Officer at Sprout Social, agrees. She informed me that hiring and cultivating prime expertise is a key focus at Sprout Social as they head into the brand new yr.

Gilpin says, “As a self-discipline, advertising is ever evolving, which requires candidates with distinctive, extra various ability units. Social media particularly is taking part in a bigger and bigger function in each model’s advertising technique and requires extremely expert professionals with in-depth data of social media’s shifting panorama.”

She provides, “With new platforms, options, and extra shoppers preferring to work together with manufacturers on social, advertising groups are tasked with hiring and growing expertise throughout their advertising operate who understands the full affect social media can have in your group.”

What Can You Do?

To draw prime expertise, you may wish to focus in your employer model.

As Gilpin places it, “To draw expertise with distinctive ability units, our firm has labored extremely laborious to construct a robust employer model that clearly communicates our values and tradition to present and potential workers. A technique we’ve been capable of amplify that message is by leveraging the social affect of our personal workers.”

She continues, “By going past our personal social channels and by serving to our workers change into model advocates on social, we’ve seen the visibility and authenticity of our content material develop. Whether or not we’re saying a brand new product, sharing an organization tradition initiative, or selling a job opening, our workers have change into our best asset in constructing the kind of model consciousness that may assist us proceed to develop our workforce in 2023.”

Strengthening your employer brand is among the only methods to draw prime expertise, and leveraging your workers’ distinctive views will make it easier to display extra authenticity in your recruiting supplies. In 2023, advertising leaders may also wish to take into account how they will flip their workers into model advocates.

Eager about different prime challenges, developments, and alternatives being mentioned amongst advertising leaders? Check out Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader: Data from 300+ Marketing Directors on How to Take Your Team to the Next Level. Together with the info, you may hear from consultants at Uber, LinkedIn, G2, SEMRush, and extra.