Today’s Marketer is Her Own Worst Enemy Because She’s Failing to Adopt New Technology

March 25, 2014

Marketing is one of the myriad sectors of business that in the digital era is being constantly disrupted by bleeding-edge technologies.

Every marketer is aware of the frequent bombardment of new tech, but only a select few are maximizing the opportunities, finds a new study from Adobe. Indeed, risk aversion related to the adoption of technology is actually harming many of them.

40% of marketers want to reinvent themselves but only 14% of those marketers actually know how to go about it, according to Adobe’s study. Titled “Digital Roadblock: Marketers Struggle to Reinvent Themselves,” the study goes on to suggest that 64% of marketers expect their role to change in the next year and 81% believe their role will change in the next three years. However, the path to reinvention remains a challenge: respondents cited lack of training in new marketing skills (30%) and organizational inability to adapt (30%) among the top obstacles to becoming the marketers they aspire to be.

“The shift to digital requires new technology, new approaches and, in many cases, entirely new roles for marketers,” explains Ann Lewnes, chief marketing officer for Adobe.

Half of all marketers say today’s ideal marketer should be taking more risks, but just 35% are comfortable adopting new technologies once they become mainstream, according to Adobe’s research, which was released this morning at its 12th annual Digital Marketing Summit, a conference of 5,000 marketing professionals. Similarly, 76% agree they should be more data-focused, but half are still relying on their guide to guide budget investment decisions. Further, 69% believe in a need to apply data to embrace “hyper personalization”—yet just 39% are currently using data to shape marketing strategy.

“The good news is that marketers see the change in front of them, and understand they need to embrace data, focus on creating personalized experiences and work across their social, web and mobile channels,” says Lewnes. “They just need to take the plunge.”

61% of marketers see social media as the most critical area of focus 12 months from now, followed closely by mobile at 51%. Print (9%) and TV (7%) ranked last.