Specialist in internet advertising targeting, Criteo reveals the figures from its study relating to the new 2021 challenges for marketing departments. After a year disrupted by Covid-19 and impacted advertising investments, the year 2021 is taking shape in a new light : increased investments in digital marketing, largely driven by e-commerce.
Three to four years, these are so many years gained in terms of digital acceleration and innovations in the Retail industry. And if we still needed new proof, this observation is shared by marketing professionals in France : while more than a third say this period has enabled rapid digital transformation of business processes, 45% believe that marketing has become an essential component, mainly due to increased digital marketing activities. otherwise, forced to rethink their marketing strategies in view of the health context, seven in 10 marketing professionals say the share of digital marketing spending in their business increased in 2020.
Adapted marketing plans
Faced with an increasingly complex health context, marketing professionals were forced to review their marketing plans and readjust their main strategic axes. Pour 2021, efforts will focus more on e-commerce, since 61% of them consider online sales to be the most influential parameter in their marketing plans. With three major objectives in mind. Acquiring new customers (49 %) : without surprise, this objective, cyclical and structural, comes first in marketing plans. Retailers have been forced to go digital and reach new consumers online, which were significantly similar to those in their physical points of sale. Customer loyalty (45 %) : during the first confinement, consumers have discovered new e-commerce sites, whether pure players or e-sites- trade in their favorite brands. Marketing professionals have redoubled their efforts to capture and retain these new customers, acquired mainly on this digital aspect. The development of new offers (43 %) : in 2020 and forced march, brands have had to reinvent themselves considerably and, Thus, develop new offers (digitalization of points of sale with click & collect for example…). These efforts will need to intensify in 2021, since 42% of marketing professionals consider omnichannel to be a major area of development. And while customer loyalty represents one of the priority objectives for almost half of professionals in the sector, the trust of their customers is also a key priority in their marketing plan (51 %).
Goals and concerns
The objectives of digital marketing support those of the marketing and strategic plan. And in order to address that of customer loyalty, supporting the download of an app comes out on top (67 %) when deploying digital advertising campaigns. Indeed, loyal and with a shopping basket above average, consumers who have downloaded an application represent the premium customers of a brand. However, it is also necessary to continue to keep this channel alive (for 22% of marketing professionals) to remind them of their existence. But concerns accompany these objectives. First, dependence on GAFA. While three quarters of marketers confirm their business uses Facebook – followed closely by Instagram (62 %) et Youtube (59 %) -, dependence on GAFA represents a major source of concern for 31% of them. Beyond this dependence, another source of concern remains, notably brand safety, which has become a determining criterion for marketing professionals : 48% of them are worried about appearing next to hateful content or false information. So, when carrying out digital campaigns, more than one in two marketing professionals (55 %) believes it is necessary to stay in tune with the needs and interests of its customers and to strike the right tone towards its customers (52 %). otherwise, for 29% of marketing professionals, the notion of brand value constitutes an essential common thread for 2021.
Gilles Giudicelli, director of research at Criteo
“2020 was a year exceptionally rich in challenges and lessons for the marketing and communication sector. Marketing professionals have had to reinvent themselves and turn even more towards digital to find new growth drivers.. It is therefore clear that the start of this decade was indeed marked by “test and learn” for digital marketing.. 2021 will be the year it comes to fruition. “Physical brands have quickly taken on the challenges of digital and the efforts made to date must continue to intensify. The major challenge for this year will be to retain these new consumers., acquired digitally, by continuing to address them with a fair and appropriate tone. Without ever forgetting to offer them an online experience that matches that of physical commerce. Omnichannel must, obviously, remain a priority »
Study conducted by Criteo among 1,000 senior marketing executives worldwide, including 102 in France. 87% of responses in France come from CMOs (chief marketing officer), digital managers and regional marketing directors ; 70% comes from retailers and brands. The majority of responses come from companies using multiple sales channels (stores and e-commerce).
