Report: 73% of CMOs Believe COVID-19’s Negative Impacts Will Be ‘Short-Lived’

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt across the marketing industry, but new research suggests that CMOs are not particularly worried about their businesses rebounding in the coming months.

Gartner recently released “The Annual CMO Spend Survey Research: Part 1” report, and statistics showed that 73% of CMOs believe that COVID-19’s negative impacts will be “short-lived.” In addition, Gartner data suggests that almost 60% of CMOs are building scenario plans that include a second wave of disease outbreak.

Over the next 18 to 24 months, more than half of CMOs predict that marketing will return to “business as usual.” However, 44% of CMOs are currently facing budget cuts as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that they are not in the clear just yet.

How Marketers Have Adapted Amidst the Pandemic

Overall, marketers have learned to adapt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and previous research suggests that their experience will change the way they work in the future.

Merkle published a special COVID-19 edition of its “Customer Engagement Report,” and data showed that since the outbreak, 74% of marketers have ultimately changed their approach to customer content. In general, 96% of respondents believe that these new marketing and service innovations are here to stay.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 50% of marketers have tried new marketing technologies or features, while 45% have become more customer centric in their messaging. About 42% have created a new transaction fulfillment capability, while 39% have added a new marketing channel.

A total of 54% of marketers believe that the importance of communicating with customers has become “significantly more important” as a direct result of COVID-19.