Pandemic fuels increase in digital marketing budgets: 10 key survey findings

Laura Dyrda (Twitter) -

Consumers are expecting more from their digital experience, and businesses are shifting more resources toward digital marketing as a result, according to marketing website The CMO Survey.

A special COVID-19 edition of the site highlighted a Duke University survey of marketing leaders at for-profit U.S. companies. It shows:

1. Customers are placing more value on the digital experience than before the pandemic, according to 84 percent of respondents.

2. Companies are investing more in building customer-facing digital interfaces, according to 60.8 percent of respondents.

3. Sixty-eight percent of CMOs are using employees to promote online activity and another 61.8 percent are using employees to improve digital interfaces.

4. Marketing has become more important than before the pandemic, according to 62.3 percent of the respondents.

5. Twelve percent of respondents said that firm budgets hit an all-time high during the pandemic, and 11.4 percent reported highest-ever revenues in recent months.

6. Marketing departments are leaner, with 9 percent of marketing jobs lost during the pandemic.

7. Smaller marketing departments are relying more on social media, with 84.2 percent of marketers using it to build brands and 54.3 percent using social media for customer retention.

8. Fifty-four percent of marketers say their social media budgets are up an average of 74 percent since February and now make up an average of 23.2 percent of the marketing budget. Social media is also contributing more to company performance than ever before, according to the survey.

9. Seventeen percent of marketers report losing more than 50 percent of their revenue during the pandemic

10. Overall, the survey respondents expect revenues to increase 4.2 percent in the next year.

More articles on digital marketing:
Walgreens, Kaiser Permanente among top-viewed healthcare ads during pandemic
Utah Hospital Association launches campaign urging people to wear masks
The messages hospital marketing execs are using to bring patients back

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