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Marketers Still Wary of Giving Consumers Control
Marketers' fear of surrendering control to consumers and their lack of understanding of new media is keeping them from fully embracing consumer-generated media, according to the fifth annual Marketing Management Survey, conducted by PRWeek and WOMMA member company Manning Selvage & Lee. Marketers' reported reliance on traditional online tactics says more about marketers than it does about the validity of CGM, according to Mark Hass, global CEO of MS&L. "This raises the issue of whether or not marketers really understand the concept of new media and CGM," he said. "Marketers who think that using a website or asking for consumer feedback on a website represent cutting-edge new media tactics are missing tremendous opportunities to build their brands."
Only 12% of senior marketers say CGM has a place within their marketing mix, according to the data. The survey also showed that while marketers acknowledge the power consumers wield, only 22% are "very willing" to let consumers shape their marketing initiatives.
When asked what marketing tactics they are currently using or will be using in the next year, 82% of marketers said "traditional online activities" like building websites, 70% said "targeting influentials," and 65% said "media relations." Only 43% of marketers indicated they were using or planned to use CGM.
Other findings:
* 71% of marketers say their company has produced a website, 50% have used consumer feedback to inform marketing/product strategies, 14% have used consumer-generated advertising, 10% have used text messaging, and 8% have used video blogs.
* 36% of marketers who use new media do so to stay ahead of the competition, 32% because of the cost-efficiency of CGM versus traditional advertising, and 31% because of the declining credibility of traditional advertising.
* 32% of marketers whose companies do not use CGM say it's because there's no clear ROI, 6% because they don't want consumers that close to their business, and 33% due to other reasons, including: "management doesn't embrace it yet," "we simply haven't given it enough priority to consider it at this point," and "we've had difficulty in getting the establishment to understand it."