Wipro Digital, the digital business unit of Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), today released a new study that indicates the growing importance of MarTech-related skills for marketing teams across the U.S. and U.K. However, the study also indicated that despite this growing emphasis on MarTech expertise, many marketing departments are struggling to reap the full potential of their investment and deliver expected ROI.

While the survey found that 75 percent of marketing executives are confident in their own MarTech proficiency, only 6 percent believe that most of their marketing team is MarTech conversant. Over one-third of marketing executives believe that less than half of their team has the necessary expertise to deploy MarTech effectively, and over half (51 percent) of respondents noted the lack of MarTech competency of the wider team was a barrier to success.

However, many marketers are focusing on addressing this issue – they have made reskilling current marketers with the skills they’ll need for MarTech success, a huge priority. 84 percent of respondents reported that their company already has reskilling programs in place. Training marketers at every level to become MarTech proficient, reflects an industry-wide shift towards a MarTech-dominated world. Other key findings include:

MarTech expertise needs to start at the top: 81 percent of respondents indicate that it is important for CMOs to have MarTech qualifications and/or skills, with only one percent of respondents noting that MarTech is not as important as other skills for a CMO

MarTech skills overshadow strategy expertise: More respondents ranked MarTech (47 percent) among the top three most important skills for a CMO’s success than both Marketing Strategy (44 percent) and Business Strategy (37 percent) Previously high-valued skills – such as Brand Management (21 percent), Advertising (13 percent), and Sales (15 percent) – have significantly declined in importance

MarTech investments are set to increase: 62 percent of CMOs plan to increase MarTech spending in 2019. And, investing more heavily tends to translate into results Overall only 4% of respondents equating to $82M in spend terms were dissatisfied with the return on their MarTech investments.

“CMOs and marketing departments are aware that MarTech is key to creating and delivering relevant and personalized experiences to customers. However, too many marketers are struggling with implementation and changing how they work,” said Andy Coghlan, Global Head of MarTech, Wipro Digital. “Equipping marketing teams with the right MarTech talent and expertise is only half of the battle – the real challenge lies in determining how MarTech fits into the larger digital transformation and enterprise renovation program, and how to reinvigorate operating models, culture, and leadership, accordingly.”

Respondents noted some of the cultural and institutional challenges, beyond expertise, to adapting and integrating MarTech solutions, including:

Retrofitting new tech to outdated operating models: The survey found that over one-third of respondents say that their company modifies the technology to fit into existing operating models rather than exploring new ways of operating

Changing the way that marketing works: 64 percent of respondents noted that “changing the way that marketing works” is a major barrier to MarTech ROI

Fitting MarTech into the larger digital transformation picture: 43 percent of respondents noted that effectively integrating MarTech with other technology systems is a major barrier to MarTech’s overall success

Methodology:

In April 2018, Wipro Digital commissioned an online survey of 500 senior-level executives, employed with organisations with more than 1,000 employees, in the US and UK.

Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements

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