These cut backs can take a variety of forms, from reducing paid budgets to cutting back on staff.
We appreciate that businesses are looking to do what is best for their financial survival right now, which is why we are not going to write the article which tells you why you shouldn’t cut back on these budgets. Instead we are going to tell you to adapt.
Whilst many marketers are now shifting away from previous “targeted social good messages”, reverting back into their old sales driven propositions, it is important to remember there is no on or off switch for what we have seen over the past 10 months.
To compete in current markets it is vital that brands and marketers leverage what they have built during the first half of the year and build upon it, to use their brand as a tool to generate sales and growth.
To cut it short, a failure to invest in your brand through marketing channels could have a negative impact on your market competitiveness and long-term business prospects.
Where is marketing going?
Our latest insight document on the Autumn 2020 job market addressed a key insight that requirements for digital and technical skills are on the increase.
Specifically, we have seen large increases across the following:
Front & Back-end development
2020 has been a huge year for eCommerce growth, with 44% of consumers increasing their online shopping habits, commercial brands are having to adapt to new digital environments.
As part of this adaptation we are seeing a large increase in demand for front and back-end developers with experience across key platforms like Shopify and Magento, who are able to modernise company websites and help implement online sales channels.
This is likely to become an increasingly important need for businesses as the festive period approaches and longer-term. As a result, we strongly advise those businesses who are not yet operating within a digital sales funnel to consider whether this may be something they are willing to invest in to help propel growth during the final quarter of 2020.
Analytics and data analysis
It is only right that as businesses become more conscious about what they are spending, they want to ensure it is going into the right channels and is hitting their core markets to deliver a financial return.
This is rightly impacting how businesses invest across Marketing departments, with a higher emphasis placed on securing analytics and data experts to ensure businesses are on the right track and are able to provide a solutions driven approach to marketing.
If you feel as though your business needs some guidance with how to move forwards it may be wise to invest some of your hiring budget in an analytics and data expert.
Specialist marketing skills
Businesses want to get as much return for their money as possible at the moment, so hiring specialist talent is a key way to ensure you are able to complete specific projects to the highest of quality.
Our recent blog addressed that we are seeing key increases in demand for PPC, SEO, Social Media, CRM and eCommerce roles, which is in part driven by companies looking to enhance their digital presence to compete in a more digitally active consumer society.
If you are looking to enhance your digital presence in a specific way; perhaps you want to improve your SEO ranking or website user experience, then hiring a marketing specialist could be a key way to ensure you are able to achieve this vision.
If you are considering hiring across these disciplines we advise you to make a balanced judgement about who you may need and for how long. We are able to provide both temporary and permanent recruitment solutions to suit your needs and requirements. For more information about what may suit you best, you can view our blog on recruitment solutions or get in touch with us directly.
