Corporate growing pains - or control issue?
Friday, October 17th, 2008I’m always baffled when I read about these types of studies - the ones suggesting that companies cannot find adequate personnel to execute marketing initiatives. A recent study by Forrester Research indicated that paid search advertising remains on a growth trajectory and will reach more than $26.8 billion by 2009, but the largest companies are having the most trouble managing their campaigns. Is this really possible? Apparently the CMO’s of these companies don’t attend trade shows, hang out on Linkedin or Twitter, and maybe even neglect to answer their phone and email?
I’m pretty sure I could produce/identify a large amount of qualified consultants, agencies, and prospective employees - to meet demands such as this one in the search space. I’m also confident that this list could be produced within a few hours. The image below shows statistics from my Linkedin network. With 115 professionals in my direct network, I have access to over 6 million people who are just 3 degrees away! Additionally, I am a member of 12 professional Linkedin groups - each with large membership, providing additional access to qualified professionals.
Could the issue lie within the corporations themselves? Have they created a closed culture that resists the assistance of qualified 3rd parties?
- 78% believe managing large keyword lists is cumbersome.
- 59% say they currently have insufficient personnel to manage their paid search campaigns
- 69% said existing applications are not robust enough for their needs.
The only reason that would make sense to me would be financial. Beyond that, I’m confident that there is a qualified consultant, freelancer, or agency out there that can get the job done (regardless of industry). Vertical integration may not always be the best thing, and can often result in diminished returns when dealing with highly specialized deliverables.
About the study: In August 2008, JupiterResearch designed and fielded a survey of qualified individuals managing search marketing at companies with a search (PPC) marketing budget of $50,000 per month or more. According to the research, 53% of respondents spend between $50,000 - $250,000 per month; 30% spend between $250,000 - $1 million per month; and 17% spend over $1 million per month on search marketing. Some content from this post from marketingcharts.com
—————————————————————
Scott Templar is a digital media, marketing, and commerce consultant and can be reached at info@scotttemplar.com
