Report: 67.9% of Marketers Missing Opportunities to Keep Up with the Industry Due to COVID-19

Many marketers have relied on face-to-face business interactions to resonate with their target audience. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, new research suggests that they may be missing out due to a lack of this type of communication.

A report titled “The Future of the ‘In-Person’ Business Economy” from The 614 Group recently suggested that marketers are losing out on several aspects of their day-to-day business as a result of COVID-19. Respondents were asked which primary functions of event attendance they were missing out on as a result of the pandemic. At the top of the list were the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the industry (67.9%) and meeting new business and prospects to generate leads (64.4%).

Approximately 56.3% of marketers also said they were losing out on quality time with current clients, and 37.6% said they were missing a key part of their company’s marketing.

The General Impact of COVID-19 on Marketing

This is not the first data to suggest that marketers have been forced to make changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

LinkedIn published a report titled, “COVID Marketing Impact and How Marketers are Responding,” and statistics suggested that for most marketers (76%), being forced to shift marketing priorities has been their top challenge as a result the pandemic.

Other obstacles include budget cuts (74%), advertising investments and planning (69%) and switching in-person to virtual events (69%). About 67% of marketers stated that COVID-19 has had at least “some impact” on their campaign strategies, while 18% said it’s had a “major impact.”