dc2012 iq

The 2012 Digital IQ

INDEX

Insight into the learning needs of sales and marketing professionals• skill levels• degrees of confidence around

digital marketing• preferred modes of learning• key areas of interest for future

development

2 DIGITAL IQ INDEX 2012

Objective: Provide stakeholders in the Australian marketing community with insight into the learning needs of sales and marketing professionals; specifically sharing insights on skill levels, degrees of confidence around digital marketing, preferred modes of learning and key areas of interest for future development.

Initially, the Digital IQ Index will focus on the gaps

between current digital marketing responsibilities and existing digital marketing skill levels. Over time, the focus will shift to adoption of emerging digital skill sets (eg. data analytics, content marketing, video, etc) and various modalities and methodologies of learning (eg. mobile learning, gamification, beyond the marketing department, etc).

Digital Chameleon seeks to provide marketers with benchmarks around digital marketing education that will empower them to make more informed decisions around hiring, mentoring and team development. It will provide sales and marketing leaders with a basis for measuring digital marketing skills acquisition that is now a requisite for a fully functioning, highly effective and competitive sales and marketing team.

Methodology: Participants from brand and media organisations participated in the Digital Chameleon Learning Needs Assessment from June through September 2012. A total of 350 respondents are represented in the 2012 Digital Index and represent a range of brand, agency and media businesses (including print and broadcast) working with Digital Chameleon during that period. Respondents hailed from News South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

70%HAD NO PRIOR

DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

DID YOU KNOW:According to Minding Your Digital

Business (McKinsey Global Survey, May 2012), 43% of senior marketing leaders say it is difficult

to recruit digital talent.

Like it or not, if employers want

and expect THEIR TEAMS TO POSSESS

DIGITAL SKILLS, THEY’LL HAVE TO take responsibility for

this education themselves


Executive Summary:Professional development in the sales and marketing arena has long been challenged by the absence of objective evaluation of results.

Traditional ‘training programs’ have, for the most part, failed to capture initiative-based progress and discrete outcomes. The advent of digital marketing channels has exacerbated this situation. New channels, technologies and consumer behaviours are emerging at such a rapid rate that traditional sales and marketing leaders are scrambling to keep pace with their own marketplaces. The first Digital Chameleon IQ Index has uncovered the following three key dynamics shaping digital marketing learning in Australia.

In summary, the 2012 Digital Chameleon Digital IQ Index confirms what most sales and marketing leaders already suspect—that their teams are far from adequately equipped to confront the challenges and opportunities represented by digital marketing. With that said, these same teams are eager and open to the right kind of digital learning programs. Those leaders who acknowledge their digital skills gaps-- and put in place initiatives to close them-- will reap the rewards of teams armed with the digital skills ready to compete in their marketplaces.

THE DIGITAL SKILLS GAP IS REAL AND IT IS SIGNIFICANT. Only 30% of respondents indicated they had prior digital experience, putting the onus on their current employer to fill the gap—this despite most are responsible for implementing digital solutions AND managing digital budgets. This disconnect exposes the reality that many sales and marketing pros are effectively working without a safety net when it comes to digital goals and organisation resources.

A MAJORITY OF SALES AND MARKETING PROFESSIONALS ARE LESS THAN COMFORTABLE ENGAGING IN FUNDAMENTAL DIGITAL SKILLS AND CONCEPTS. The most familiar topic for most respondents was digital advertising, but even in this category, less than a majority said they were comfortable with what they knew about the topic. In all other digital skill sets, respondents were far less confident of their ability to engage successfully. Until sales and marketing professionals achieve a high confidence level around digital, their organisations will be at a significant disadvantage vis a vis more digitally savvy competitors.

SALES AND MARKETING PROFESSIONALS ARE HUNGRY FOR DIGITAL MARKETING LEARNING—BUT THERE ARE CHALLENGES. Respondents overwhelmingly indicated a desire for more digital learning. With this said, two barriers remain: time and truly engaging learning opportunities. A large majority have said lack of time is a serious barrier to learning and that the learning they do prefer should be interactive and permit the learner to engage with the content. One path to confronting both these challenges is suggested by the fact that over 40% of respondents indicated a prior exposure to elearning, an instructional modality that speaks to both the time poor challenge and the need for true interactivity.

1

2

3


Q1. Personal responsibility for digital media/marketing activities: (347 responses)

Q2. Carries a budget for digital media/marketing activities: (346 responses)

Q3. Experience in digital prior to current employment (346 responses)

58%42%YES NO

56%44%YES NO

70%30%

NO

YES

Q4. Please share your level of familiarity with the following topics: (344 responses)

Online campaign measurementNot familiar 23%Barely familiar 25%Somewhat familiar 29%Familiar 19%Very familiar 4%

Competitors onlineNot familiar 14%Barely familiar 24%Somewhat familiar 34%Familiar 22%Very familiar 6%

Social media marketingNot familiar 11%Barely familiar 23%Somewhat familiar 34%Familiar 28%Very familiar 4%

Online audience measurementNot familiar 23%Barely familiar 32%Somewhat familiar 26%Familiar 17%Very familiar 2%

Search marketingNot familiar 17%Barely familiar 30%Somewhat familiar 28%Familiar 19%Very familiar 6%

Mobile marketingNot familiar 18%Barely familiar 34%Somewhat familiar 29%Familiar 16%Very familiar 3%

Display (online) advertisingNot familiar 9%Barely familiar 13%Somewhat familiar 26%Familiar 40%Very familiar 12%

Online media planningNot familiar 20%Barely familiar 30%Somewhat familiar 25%Familiar 20%Very familiar 5%

28%THE DIGITAL

SKILLS-TO-JOB RESPONSIBILITY GAP

DID YOU KNOW:On average, across eight key

categories of digital marketing capability, only 28% of the

respondents crossed the threshold of necessary working expertise

(familiar or very familiar with category).

The average skills levels across key digital marketing disciplines ARE

SIMPLY NOT ADEQUATE TO

THE COMPETITIVE CHALLENGES posed in today’s fast-evolving

marketplaces


Learn by doing 42%

Learn by doing and listening 16%

Learn by doing, listening and reading 19%

Learn by doing and reading 10%

Learn by listening 6%

Learn by reading 6%

Learn by listening and reading 1%

Q5. Please state your learning preferences (how you most like to learn new things) (343 responses)

Q6. Any previous experience with eLearning? (343 responses)

Q7. Biggest barrier to learning (349 responses)

Q8. Comfort level with current digital marketing skills: (305 responses)

72%LESS THAN

COMFORTABLE WITH THEIR CURRENT DIGITAL SKILLS

LEVEL

DID YOU KNOW:87% prefer to learn by doing,

either in combination with other types of learning or by doing alone.

This preference indicates higher engagement and more productive outcomes with interactive versus

static learning modes.

The biggest investment employers

will have to make IN SECURING THEIR

TEAM’S DIGITAL EXPERTISE WON’T

BE MONEY —it will be time

Not comfortable 22%

A little comfortable 25%

Somewhat comfortable 35%

Comfortable 13%

Very comfortable 5%

41%59%YES NO

Lack of time 70% Lack of money 10%

Don’t know where to source learning 20%


Q9. Digital marketing will be more important, stay the same or increase in importance over the next 12 months: (342 responses)

Q10. How useful would a digital marketing learning program be to you?: (342 responses)

92%WOULD FIND A

DIGITAL MARKETING LEARNING PROGRAM

USEFUL

DID YOU KNOW:Sales and marketing professionals

see the writing on the wall. 83% believe digital marketing will only grow in importance over the next

twelve months.

If employers fail to meet their staff’s hunger for digital

marketing education, THEY MAY PAY THE PRICE IN SUB-PAR

PRODUCTIVITY, lower retention rates and

increased recruitment costs

1%LESS IMPORTANT

16%STAY THE SAME

83%MORE IMPORTANT

Very useful 71%

Useful 21%

Somewhat useful 6%

A little useful 1%Not useful 1%

About Digital ChameleonDigital Chameleon helps clients mainstream digital knowledge and capabilities across their business. It is the only digital media and marketing learning company to combine modular self-paced eLearning with customized, practitioner-led face to face workshops. Digital Chameleon works with companies worldwide to integrate digital into the DNA of their businesses via a unique scalable, tailored, metrics-driven approach to digital learning. Digital Chameleon’s learning solutions have been endorsed by the Media Federation of Australia and the Asia Digital Marketing Association.

To learn more about Digital Chameleon, please visit us at: www.digitalchameleon.net61 2 9997 4417

dc2012 iq

Documents