81% of Marketing Leaders Have Contingency Plans in Response to Disruptions

• Gartner Survey Finds 81% of Marketing Leaders Have Contingency Plans in Response to Disruptions, But Just 21% Follow Them

• Marketers Who Follow Their Contingency Plans Achieve Success Against Organizational Goals

Eighty-one percent of marketing leaders have established a contingency plan to respond to disruptions, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc. However, just 21% of respondents said they follow these plans, as marketers weather the storm of continued economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

A Gartner survey of nearly 400 marketing leaders conducted in November and December 2022 revealed that 44% of digital marketing leaders who enacted a contingency plan during an economic disruption event exceeded organization year-over-year profit growth.

“With ongoing economic and geopolitical disruption, contingency plans are more important than ever,” said Greg Carlucci, Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice. “Having a plan is a good first step, but following through on that plan when disruption occurs is what really matters.”

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2023 Multichannel Marketing Survey

Marketers are struggling to identify metrics that demonstrate multichannel marketing’s effectiveness.

Multichannel marketing’s rapid evolution has provided new opportunities to reach and engage customers. Yet marketers still struggle to measure the impact of these efforts — both in terms of user experience, commercial returns or ROI.

The latest Gartner 2023 Multichannel Marketing Survey highlights a holistic approach supported by a measurement strategy focused on just three to four metric types. This can help organizations make better sense of multichannel marketing’s effectiveness and more confidently communicate its impact on marketing channels and content performance.

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Marketers Fight Disruption With Budget Agility

Nearly all respondents reported adjusting their marketing budgets in response to the current economic environment.

Positive budget adjustments are an effective way to counter disruption: Respondents who increased spending relative to their contingency plan were nearly two times more likely to achieve year-over-year profit growth than those who decreased spending or did nothing.

In contrast, just 5% of respondents decreased their spend, reflecting marketing leaders’ increased appetite for budget to deliver against their organizational objectives.

The three most utilized digital channels for B2B marketing organizations executing their 2022 marketing strategy were email marketing, social advertising and SEO, highlighting the effectiveness of these channels during times of disruption.

Gartner webinar, “Rethink Your Multichannel Marketing Strategy To Be Best-in-class.”

The 2023 Gartner Multichannel Marketing Survey provides the latest benchmarks and insights to help chief marketing officers and digital marketing leaders more effectively manage multichannel marketing complexity.

Gartner's free marketing webinar explores the survey findings to determine the state of multichannel marketing today. Attendees will get recommendations on what changes to make to improve multichannel performance and be best-in-class.

• Discover the limits and risks of overinvesting in multichannel marketing

• Determine the most effective strategic approach to multichannel marketing

• Get short- and long-term guidance for adapting a more effective marketing approach