Stressed out senior marketers spend more time ‘playing catch up’ instead of thinking about strategic issues, finds survey
Senior marketers are feeling more stress than ever and are battling to cope with changing demands in the industry while getting their day job done, a recent survey by marketing agency Octopus Group finds. But while marketers are aware they must become more strategic to tackle competitors in the market, they are increasingly doing tasks they should be delegating to others.
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The survey was conducted by Octopus Group’s research division, Loudhouse, and comprised 200 senior B2B marketing executives and 400 B2B buyers.
It highlights the struggle marketers face between delivering on strategy while getting the day job done. Part of the problem lies in their inability to delegate tasks effectively. 56% of those surveyed indicated they would like to be working at a more strategic level but 52% admitted to doing tasks that were initially delegated to others.
In addition, the survey also found that 61% end up working outside their contracted hours and while doing so, 47% find themselves catching up on admin. Marketers also find themselves getting side-tracked by attending unnecessary meetings (46%), playing politics (42%), and reading emails they have been cc’d into (39%).
“The research reveals that the demands of the nine to five mean that nearly half of all marketers are trying to think about strategy outside core hours. But they’re fighting a losing battle and instead spend that time playing catch up," said Billy Hamilton-Stent, co-founder & client strategy director at Octopus Group.
"Marketers can get their breath back by pulling creative levers, whilst also getting to grips with the needs of their customers. This will enable them to get ahead of competitors, and bring their businesses back into line with their customers so they can become the dominant disruptor in their industry," he added.
The Drum will be hosting a webinar on 30 March to explore the research findings in more detail, how this situation has arisen and what can be done to tackle it.
Watch this and other free webinars in partnership with industry experts here.