Analysts and Data Scientists in Short Supply as MarTech Expands
A new survey by Rocket Fuel reveals marketers are embracing digital channels and marketing technology. However, the rapid expansion of marketing tools has created a greater need for analysts and data scientists.
One in five respondents said a lack of analysts to manage emerging technology was a key barrier to adoption for multi-channel attribution, cross-device delivery and tracking and data management platforms.
“One reason driving the demand for analysts: the ever-expanding set of platforms being added to marketing technology stacks. Each new platform adds a new dashboard, new implementation headaches, and new integration issues, requiring more experienced analysts to manage the tech and the process of aggregating data and reporting from across the stack,” the authors of the survey wrote.
Data experts are also more in demand as digital channels (particularly mobile) are becoming more prominent and marketers shift budgets away from traditional mediums (TV, print and radio). Digital display advertising draws about 22 percent of marketing budgets and 64 percent indicated they would be using mobile channels more in 2016.
The data clearly showed marketers have a thirst for knowledge about emerging marketing technology. A total of 91 percent of marketers surveyed indicated they were interested in learning more about data management platforms this year.
The Rocket Fuel survey included 204 marketers and agency professionals to understand current trends in marketing technology in 2016.
Data Management Issues Slow MarTech Adoption
The “2016 MarTech Data Report” from Openprise found that two-thirds of marketers do not use a marketing automation platform (MAP).
Of the organizations who said they have marketing automation in place, nearly half (45 percent) claim that a lack of time is holding them back from advanced marketing and 23 percent indicated managing all the data was a challenge.
Budget was also a hindrance to adoption. Out of the marketers who don’t have an existing MAP, 34 percent state that it’s because they have a tight budget.