AustralianDigital SuccessReport

2019

Digital success is a foundational element for organisations of the future.

Here’s how more Australian companies are getting there — and what they’re focusing on.

Foreword

Executive summary

The biggest challenge?Finding talent

Making sense of the martech mess

The insights loop:Sending insights up the ranks

What next?

Methodology

2.

3.

8.

16.

24.

30.

31.

Contents

CONTENTS // PAGE 1

Foreword

Why look into digital success?

First, our research has shown it’s linked to company growth.

Second, it’s something many companies are struggling with.

No matter what industry you work in, you will have seen the landscape change and the pace pick up.

Like us, you’ve probably seen the internal, cultural challenges that come with digital change - and realised that these are the hardest parts to quantify and address.

After almost a decade helping companies make an impact through digital strategy and marketing, we wanted to know why some companies excelled and others struggled. There wasn’t any research that looked at the digital landscape in Australia, and globally, none that investigated the internal factors for digital success.

Ultimately, our mission is to help companies grow, whether that’s through strategy, implementation, or by equipping them with the tools and knowledge they need to drive change themselves.

Across the three years we have conducted this research, we’ve looked at what is holding lower-performing companies back and what’s driving the Achievers.

This year we sat down with 10 senior marketing executives and surveyed over 300 professional marketers to answer our burning questions.

Here’s what we found.

OVERVIEW // PAGE 3

Executive summary

• 88% of companies say finding digital talent is a challenge (single-most agreed upon statement in our research)

• 42% say it’s their biggest or major challenge

• 55% of Digital Achievers are increasing their investments into training & development, compared to 37% of Sideliners

#1 Train to attract and retainThe single greatest challenge facing organisations is attracting good digital talent.

#2 There is no silver bullet in martechMany marketers describe their martech stack as a “convoluted mess”.

• While 49% of marketers speak positively about their marketing stack, 1 in 5 have only negative things to say. 1 in 4 organisations have been duped into buying martech that didn’t live up to its promise

• 1 in 4 organisations have martech buyers remorse. The same number are unable to use the tech they’ve bought (not as easy as expected)

• There was no clear one-size-fits-all martech solution that differentiated the Achievers from the rest

Recommendation: Instead of competing in a tight talent pool, focus on what you can control: retaining your staff.

The highest performing organisations didn’t focus on retention factors like purpose alignment or a great culture. The differentiator was their investment in training and development.

Recommendation: The approach will look different for every organisation, but many of the high performers opted for a collaborative martech stack, integrating multiple tools to meet their needs.

They also made their choices based on customer needs - not internal desires.

#3 Ensure the insights loop is strongStrategy can be stalled by a lack of clear communication from senior to junior — and back up again.

• CEOs were 24% more likely than junior staff to believe that there was an effective insights loop from top to bottom

• Achievers were more likely than Sideliners to clearly communicate strategy down to junior staff (79% vs 32%)

• … and had better processes to enable juniors to feed insights up to management (79% Achievers vs 41% Sideliners)

Recommendation: Cultivate a good insights flow which is more than formal quarterly & annual feedback processes.

OVERVIEW // PAGE 4

Digital SidelinersDigital not integral to the organisation, staff stuck in the ad hoc ‘service swamp’.

Digital ClimbersA few good digital success stories and continual investment in tech and talent.

Digital AchieversDigital is central to everything the business does and prioritised for resources.

The report breaks companies into three segments based on their confidence in achieving digital success and implementing their digital strategy:

OVERVIEW // PAGE 5

In Australian companies, digital success is on the rise.% of companies in each segment,2018 vs 2019

53%51%

25%20%22%

29%

OVERVIEW // PAGE 6

Digital SidelinersDigital not integral to the organisation, staff stuck in the ad hoc ‘service swamp’.

Digital ClimbersA few good digital success stories and continual investment in tech and talent.

Digital AchieversDigital is central to everything the business does and prioritised for resources.

20182018 2019 2019 20192018

Digital success correlates with revenue growth.

Sideliners Climbers Achievers

All growth

84%77%

67%

33%23%

16%

Revenue declinedNo change in revenue<10% Revenue growth10-20% Revenue growth20%+ Revenue growth

OVERVIEW // PAGE 5

Growth

The biggest challenge?Finding talent.

The greatest digital challenge for companies in 2019 is not tools, strategy or execution.

It’s people.

This lines up with research from Deloitte and Hays that there is a significant undersupply of digital talent in Australia.

In the past, large multinationals have been able to afford to hire from the international pool. But, new visa restrictions are forcing them to hire locally, and local candidates are being lured overseas by tech firms.

This drives up competition amongst an already small supply of local talent.

There are big market forces driving a tight talent pool, and a lot of research on this topic already.

Instead, we wanted to focus on the issue that you can influence: retention.

In 2019, Harvard Business Review talked about the new hiring practices that are driving companies to spend big on attracting talent, with questionable ROI.¹

In the US, Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 95% of hires are made to fill existing positions, and most of those vacancies are caused by voluntary turnover.²

More companies are hiring externally than looking within, because they are struggling with “drastically poor retention”.

Retaining staff, growing talent and promoting internally is more cost-effective, time-effective and contributes positively to your culture.

With more digital roles than people to fill them, organisations need to respond to the talent shortage from within.

TALENT // PAGE 8

42% say it’s their biggest or a major challenge.

88% of companies say finding digital talent is a challenge.

TALENT // PAGE 9

For experienced digital marketers, in Australia, there’s no shortage of opportunities. The reality is many professionals are contacted weekly by recruiters with tempting salaries, perks and new opportunities.

In the 2019/20 financial year, 43% of employers intend to increase their permanent marketing staff levels.³

Australian companies arefishing for talent from a limited pool.

Hi Kyle,

Hope all is well. I came across your profile and was very impressed with your experience in digital marketing.

I just wanted to quickly touch base with you, to learn a little bit more about you and to see if you are open to new opportunities. My name is Stephanie and I specialise in Senior Marketing roles.

Happy to have a quick chat over the phone or a meeting over coffee perhaps.

If you’re interested, best to contact me on my mobile 0407 132 545 or you can email me at hilary@recruitment.com.au.

Look forward to hearing from you soon.

Stephanie ReateguiTalent Acquisition Specialist at Recruitment

New Digital Marketing Director opportunity

Hilary Whitman

Hi Kyle,

I hope you’re well and had a great weekend.

As an introduction, I work in the Digital Practice at Recruiter Inc. and am currently working on behalf of our client, a tech start-up who are looking for a Head of Growth to come in and roll up their sleeves to acquire users in one of the most competitive industries in Australia. A purely digital product, this role is responsible for setting the growth strategy across all digital channels, but also to execute that strategy with a best in class skillset and tactical mindset.

Justin Brasser

Head of Growth Opportunity

YesterdayRecruiter Hi Kyle,

I came across your profile as I'm currently looking for a Digital Marketing Services Director to join an independent transformation agency, and I think you could be a good fit. The salary is up to $145K package.

I’d like to tell you a little more about this position, my client and learn a few things about you as well. Are you open to new opportunities at the moment?

If so, I’d be happy to set up a call. I’m also happy to coordinate or answer any questions you may have via LinkedIn, if you prefer.

Melissa Venhousen

Exploratory Chat for New Opportunites

Last weekRecruiter

Recruiter Two weeks ago

How companies attract and retain digital talent:

Look for employees that share the org’s core values, vision & purpose.54%

Provide flexible working arrangements.48%

Create a fun culture within the office.39%

Offer an environment of continuous learning/education.37%

Provide time and resources to experiment with new tools & strategies.33%

We asked marketers what they’re doing to attract and retain digital talent.

The majority (54%) named purpose alignment as the key. For not-for-profits and NGOs, this went up to 78%.

Since 9 out of 10 companies list staffing as a major challenge — are companies going about this all wrong?

Is shared purpose enough? Flexible working arrangements, a fun work culture and shared values are no longer a nice-to-have bonus: it’s now assumed that a competitive employer will provide these.

However, most employers are ignoring something that is attractive to top candidates: an environment that prioritises their growth.

Interestingly — perhaps surprisingly? — those most confident in their ability to implement their digital strategies, are also the most likely to be increasing their investment in training.

This goes against ABS trends over the past 5 years, which shows a drop in the number of employees participating in work-related training.⁴

Who is increasing investment in training and development?

37%of Digital Sideliners

49%of Digital Climbers

56%of Digital Achievers

TALENT // PAGE 11

TALENT // PAGE 12

"We have a strong culture of upskilling people internally and hiring from within. When I structure my team, I make sure coordinators are involved across digital channels. That way there's a pool of junior to mid-level individuals that we can promote if we have an opening at that channel manager role."

Digital Marketing Lead

Chief Marketing Officer

"We are fortunate to get talent who have a heart for the work we do for vulnerable children — but I think if that's also not paired with a really strong digital intent, and leadership, and a roadmap and runway, then it's hard to retain digital talent because they want to be working on the next big thing."

The rapid pace of change makes constant learning essential to digital success.

If training isn’t encouraged and supported, staff can feel overwhelmed as they try to keep up. We’ve seen this drive digital talent into non-digital roles or positions at other companies.

When you invest in training for your digital employees, you extend their career aspirations at your company. New skills or additional training can often deepen your resume more than a title can.

Developing a training program that is valuable to your team and the organisation takes focus and investment. In this journey we see organisations moving through three levels:

Basic: mass approachThis offers the standards of what’s expected by in-demand staff, including a positive culture, flexibility and a view of advancement. At this level, training is mostly delivered in all-in sessions to ensure a shared baseline of digital skills.

Mid: team-specific approachFor teams where it’s harder to recruit or retain digital talent, focus on growing general skill levels. Start by identifying and addressing gaps in training with a team-based training plan.

Allow time and money for staff to grow in their own specialty areas: we see digital marketers in particular seeking out training that wasn’t addressed in their university courses, where industry is moving faster than formal training.

Learning can involve attendance at conferences or or customised team training that addresses specific gaps and pain points within your organisation. But it doesn’t have to come from outside the company: it can also mean sharing knowledge internally via lunch-and-learns, or using industry-standard tools and channels that will keep skills current.

High: personalised approachFor staff with in-demand skills, who are at risk of being recruited out of your organisation, a more focused, individual approach is best. Ensure this includes coaching time from their direct manager or an external subject matter expert, aligned to a formalised coaching plan.

This gives staff the advantage of a continuous growth trajectory, which would be broken if they were to leave their employer. It’s a long-term investment for both the employer and staff.

Key takeawayFocus on what you can control, and become a more attractive employer by moving through these levels: retaining digital talent is key for digital success.

TALENT // PAGE 13

Our take:Retaining talent isn’t just HR’s job

Three levels of digital talent retention:

Basic

Middle

High

• Good culture

• Flexibility

• Clear view of advancement opportunities

• Yearly professional learning in an all-in staff session

• Dedicated coaching time for digital staff with their line manager or a subject matter expert (internal or external)

• Personalised development plans outlining skills to develop aligned to business and personal goals

• Plus the benefits in middle and basic approaches

• Investment (money and time) in staff to attend intensive courses

• Identification of skills gaps, to create a team-based training plan

• Learning built into internal rhythms (e.g. monthly lunch and learns run by internal specialists, conference attendance, etc.)

• Investment in up-to-date, industry-standard tools

• Plus the benefits in the basic approach

TALENT // PAGE 14

TALENT // PAGE 15

Megan Wayman, Marketing Manager

Individual coaching provides the accountability I need to constantly adapt to the changing landscape, and take risks and make decisions that I normally wouldn’t consider.

For someone to support me in all areas – technical skill, leadership and personal growth – means I’m constantly seeing improvement. It keeps me engaged, accountable, and prevents me from looking elsewhere for career opportunities.

MARTECH // PAGE 16

Making sense of the martech mess.

Every year, digital marketing becomes a more complex machine, moving towards automation, personalisation and AI-powered engagement.

New technology has moved out of the remit of IT departments, and the responsibility has fallen on the laps of marketers. This is exciting — as well as overwhelming.

And the options are growing. Where 5 years ago there were roughly 1,000...

...now there are more than 7,000 martech options to choose from.⁵Once you do narrow down your shortlist, you then have to contend with the unrealistic promises of technology vendors, figuring out which need a grain of salt, which are completely irrelevant to you, and which come with fine print.

On top of this, external market pressures are pushing companies towards hyper-personalisation, leading companies to invest in technology as a knee-jerk reaction.

Unfortunately, there’s no across-the-board or silver bullet approach to the perfect marketing tech stack.

The research showed a long list of technology vendors, software and platforms with the best ROI. The big names such as Salesforce, Facebook, Microsoft and Google do garner enough mentions to place them at the top of the list.

But, 31% of responses were single mentions of different tools.

A further 28% couldn’t name which martech purchase had produced the greatest ROI for their company.

MARTECH // PAGE 17

1 in 4 experience buyer’s remorse after purchasing a martechsolution.

2 in 5 say they don’t know which tools to choose from.

1 in 5 describe their marketing stack using only negative terms.

1 in 4 are unable to usetheir own platforms.

Unprompted, open input survey.

Adobe

SAPGrowlabs

Marketo

SalesforceFacebook

MicrosoftGoogle

MYOBIBMMailchimp

BufferInstagram

Active CampaignZoho

HubspotSprout

4%4%2%2%2%2%2%2%2%

1%1%1%1%1%1%

4%8%

Which martech platform or solution provides the best ROI to your team?

31% were single mentions of products not listed below

28% of marketers were unsure or didn’t know

Lessons from the AchieversWhat we learned from Achievers was that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.

The two keys were:

1. Build a collaborative stack.

In many companies, the current martech systems are legacy platforms that have been cobbled together over the years to meet the most urgent needs.

Achievers spoke to the investment in getting their stack in order, with a calculated approach.

Sometimes that meant starting over with new systems, sometimes that meant investing in integrations and training. But Achievers didn’t ignore the problem or say “that’s just the system we’re stuck with”.

2. Choosing based on customer benefits, and strategy.

Let strategy guide your martech choices. Don't be led by shiny new objects or copying the competition.

MARTECH // PAGE 16

28%

31%

MARTECH // PAGE 18

MARTECH // PAGE 19

Our take: Choosingmartech strategically

1. Analyse your needs objectively Assess what you are trying to solve, and be specific. For example: we can’t personalise emails to our customers because we don’t have the right data, or our team are wasting time working with multiple databases.

The ideal way to identify your needs is by aligning technology to a customer journey map. The next best thing is a checklist of must-have and nice-to-have features to take to vendors.

2. Stay focusedAlong the way, you’ll be dazzled by great sales people who will push you towards the “the art of what’s possible”. Don’t let them distract you: stick to your list of needs, and whether their solution is the best to solve your present problems - not a far-off, future vision.

3. Test driveGet references and speak to other organisations that use the tech (ideally not from who the vendor suggests). There’s a big difference between the technical specs, or what a tool says it can do, and the reality of using it every day.

If possible, trial with the tool before committing, to understand how it works in real life, and real time.

The martech ecosystem is so complex that it's impossible for a specialist to have experience across the options.

Staff generally pick the tools they’re most familiar with, while vendors will push you towards their proprietary technology.

So how can an everyday marketer make martech work for them? 4. Budget for implementation

and trainingIf you have a set budget for a CRM, assume a good chunk will go into implementation and training. Tools that no one knows how to run are one of the most common causes of the martech mess. Be realistic about what you can in-source versus out-source, and depending on the scale of the rollout, remember it could span months and several headcounts.

MARTECH // PAGE 20

(continued)

5. Assign a championYou need a leader internally to drive usage and training across teams. Without a clear champion, users will be left to their own devices (hello expensive over-customisation).

6. When budget allows, use a tools agnostic tech advisor.They’ll be able to look at your ecosystem and objectively provide you with martech analysis and recommendations.

MARTECH // PAGE 21

Senior Content Manager

“There is no organisation that I've worked at that has not faced some problem with their martech stack, especially when you get things thrown into the mix like GDPR or the privacy crisis at Facebook.”

Head of Marketing & Tourism

“We learn through other people's mistakes and learn what's working for other people. I'm not gonna go into a meeting and demand that because I saw an impressive presentation from a vendor at a marketing conference that it's time for us to change all of our martech systems.”

MARTECH // PAGE 22

Chief Technology Officer

“Technology is now a continuous affair not an ad hoc affair. You need people who understand the subject matter to help you understand how to continually evolve and innovate, and change as the technology develops around you.”

The insights loop:Sending insights up the ranks.

In the first two years of this research, we heard about the challenges faced by digital staff; hurdles that other departments would never face.

A junior accountant doesn’t have to convince their CEO to adopt best practice approaches to a balance sheet. But digital staff in Sideliner (and sometimes Climber) organisations, often had to convince leaders to adopt a more user-focused, integrated and digitally-minded approach in order to simply do their jobs.

Many had limited experience influencing at a senior level, and weren’t equipped with the tools to make their case.

This drives ineffective and unrealistic strategy, stalls digital results and also drives digital talent to leave the organisation because they feel frustrated and under-valued.

Our 2018 research pointed to this as a symptom of an organisation without digital literacy.⁶

This lack of literacy is further entrenched by a culture of “the way things are done”.

A 2011 survey from Capgemini revealed that 55% of respondents identified culture as the number one hurdle to digital transformation. In their most recent survey, the figure rose to 62%.⁷

Meanwhile, in research from Acquia, 1 in 2 digital leaders said their digital strategy lacked support from staff and other departments — and more than 1 in 3 said they lacked support from their own board.⁸

This potent combination of low literacy and entrenched cultural barriers will stop digital success in its tracks.

INSIGHTS LOOP // PAGE 23

Strategy

Insights

The insights loop

Senior Management

Implementing Team

INSIGHTS LOOP // PAGE 24

INSIGHTS LOOP // PAGE 25

There is clear communication between those setting and executing digital strategy

79%

Climbers48%

Sideliners32%

Achievers

% who agree

We asked marketers how their organisation communicated strategy and insights.

The data revealed that Digital Achievers had strong north-south feedback loops.

Strategy is clearly communicated down to junior staff, and these junior staff have channels to communicate insights up to management.

This supported last year’s finding that digitally-curious leaders are essential to success, but also indicates the kind of open-minded culture that digital needs to flourish.

One word of caution: data indicates that CEOs were 24% more likely than junior staff to believe there was an effective insights loop from top to bottom.

Don’t assume you have an effective insights loop — ask your staff first.

INSIGHTS LOOP // PAGE 26

There is guidance and processes to help junior staff feed insights to management

79%

Climbers61%

Sideliners41%

Achievers

% who agree

The insights loop is essential because digital success requires you to be close to your data and close to your customers — which means being close to the channels.

This allows you to pick up trends before they take off, see a crisis boiling before it erupts, or identify opportunities that are difficult to spot from a distance. Sometimes you have to jump on these quickly — red tape can’t get in the way.

Your search specialist might see a competitor bidding on new terms in search results, meaning they’re repositioning their brand to become a greater threat to yours.

Or, your social community manager might notice themes in customer comments that indicate a growing wave of discontent — or a need that could be capitalised on.

These insights will shape strategy, so it’s important that your specialists have a chance to communicate what they’re seeing.

INSIGHTS LOOP // PAGE 27

“You need to show that your organisation tangibly values digital talent: they don't have to fight to be heard. They can get a clear runway at being the best they can at their jobs.

Show evidence you've got strong ambition digitally, in the form of your digital plan, and its integration to your corporate strategy and your marketing plan.”

Chief Marketing Officer

“The COO meets directly with my social media manager who works underneath me.

It's been a conscious effort to break down or flatten out that structure as part of the transformation the company's going through. That’s put us in a nice, healthy position.”

Digital Marketing Lead

INSIGHTS LOOP // PAGE 28

What does a good insights loop look like?

Our interviewees told us that it’s more than formal monthly or quarterly reporting processes: staff also need to be able to feed insights and hunches as they see them.

In interviews with Achievers, they suggested the following recommendations to facilitate this flow:

• Start with a collaborative culture• Regular meetings and brainstorms with

juniors leading insights-sharing - one of our interviewees even mentioned that in a previous company, the two company heads would do rotating internships with different teams.

• Executive - junior mentoring • Intranet and apps like Yammer, Monday

and Slack• Dashboard reporting, to make data

accessible• Champion those implementing to show

that their work is important, so they’ll feel safer to speak up

Our take: How to encourage the flow of insights

INSIGHTS LOOP // PAGE 29

Co-create strategyTop down strategies often fail because they’re out of touch with the customers. Ensure staff on the channels and closest to your customers contribute their insights, hunches and user needs.

Train staff to be data-driven storytellersHelp staff to hone their ability to craft insights from data, giving them meaning and impact. Your job is to craft a story that gets the whole organisation engaged and on board.

With junior staff, this also means helping them to see when their insights are significant, and merit a flag to their manager.

Set the expectation of digitally curious leadershipEnsure leaders have high digital literacy, so they can ask the right questions. This should be the expectation - not an option.

They should also seek out conversations and insights from staff using the channels or directly communicating with customers.

Schedule regular check-ins with junior staff to get their insightsThis is a time for managers to provide coaching, but juniors should also prepare a summary of what they’re seeing on the channels. Together, they can unpack the significance of what they’re seeing and turn the data into a story.

A strategy is only as good as the team implementing it. To give your team the best chance at success, it’s critical to encourage the insights flow in your own organisation.

Here’s four ways you can help build the flow in your company.

What next?

Although it’s tempting to think of digital success as tactics and tools, our research for the last three years has consistently shown success is driven by strategy and brought to life by people, process and tools.

To ensure long-term digital success, your company should prioritise the following:

StrategyBuilding strategy that’s user-focused, and informed by data and insights from your team. This will help you to make the right choices about people, process and tools.

PeopleRetaining digital staff through an investment in training.

ToolsGetting your martech stack in order by looking for complementary tools that address customer needs — not simply internal desires.

ProcessCultivating an effective insights flow throughout the organisation.

Companies that address these priorities boost their odds of becoming organisations that consistently deliver value to their users.

WHAT NEXT? // PAGE 30

1. https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-publications/aadp2018.pdf2. https://hbr.org/2019/05/recruiting3. https://www.hays.com.au/report/HAYS_2286214. https://www.abs.gov.au/work-related-training5. https://chiefmartec.com/2019/04/marketing-technology-landscape-supergraphic-2019/6. https://ntegrity.com.au/research/7. https://www.capgemini.com/fi-en/resources/the-digital-culture-challenge-closing-the-employee-leadership-gap/ 8. https://www.information-age.com/company-culture-biggest-factor-holding-back-digital-execution-say-heads-digital-123470799/

References

METHODOLOGY // PAGE 31

Research administered by independent market research agency, The Insights Grill.

Supporting Event Sponsor,Blue Bike Solutions

Survey of 307 Australian Marketing Professionals

May-June 2019

ROLE48% Executive team33% Department head19% Staff

COMPANY SIZE1-5 n=406-20 n=6621-200 n=106201-499 n=32500+ n=59

ORGANISATION TYPEAgency n=47Commercial n=182Government n=17Not for profit n=56Other n=3

Interviews with senior managers from the following organisations:

*Note: A small number of respondents chose not to disclose their organisation size or type

Methodology

SalesforceMarketo

FacebookLinkedIn

Growth, for good.

ntegrity is a Melbourne-based digital agency.

From strategy to execution, we help take your marketing — and impact — to the next level.

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