Technological changes spell change for marketing teams

As marketing and technology collide, a new report from Technology for Marketing, the Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing, and Pure360 reveals how marketing team structure is changing in response.

by Helen Leggatt

Companies with up to 49 employees have an average of 3 people in the
marketing team. At the opposite end of the spectrum, companies with 5,000
employees have an average of 45 marketers, according to the 'Marketing Team Structures Report 2017'.

The report highlights how technology is changing marketing and its associated teams. Marketers are increasingly resourcing and restructuring to keep up with technological changes. A third (33%) of marketing teams expect to become more specialist this year, found the report.

Furthermore, with just 12% of marketers saying they 'own' the martech they rely on, that means the vast majority rely on internal partnerships (I.T. dept) or external agencies to get results.

The skills considered most important for today's marketing teams are 'marketing strategy', 'content production', and 'customer insight', although importance varies between B2C, B2B and Not for Profits.

"This report highlights the changing relationship between marketing and IT that will perhaps herald the most significant developments in digital marketing and skills going forward," says Jane Cave, MD at the IDM. "It seems to me that great digital marketing often emerges from the crossover points between different skill sets. The merger of marketer insights and technologist skills will provide significant advantages to any business."