Seventy of percent of marketing executives said timely delivery and access to content is one of the best ways marketers can improve the value of their marketing consumables, according to [download page] an August 2011 study from the CMO Council. Another 54% of respondents to “Mapping & Tracking The Optimized Marketing Supply Chain” said fresh content that is up to date and accurate is one of the best ways to improve consumable value.
Beyond these two timeliness-related factors, other popular choices included access to content that can be customized to specific needs (48%), consistent content including pricing, branding and product information (42%), and recommendations for additional products or services that are complementary to search results/past order history (34%).
Timeliness also Affects Operations
Marketing executives also consider timeliness of consumables an operational issue, as a leading 41% of respondents said product information taking too much time to arrive is the most common operational/process issue regarding consumables they experience.
In addition, requests made through sales/customer service not processed in a timely fashion is tied for second-most-common operational/process issue (36%) with no online ordering available. Another online issue, lack of direct download from website (30%), follows, with another timeliness issue, requested materials on backorder (23%), placing behind products never arriving and materials arriving in damaged/poor condition (28% each).
4 in 10 Marketing Execs Toss at Least 31% of Consumables
A combined four in 10 (42%) marketing executives throw out 31% or more of the marketing consumables they receive. This includes 23% who throw away more than half, 9% who throw away 41-50%, and 10% who throw away 31-40%.
Only 8% of marketing executives say they throw away 0-5% of consumables. Another 17% throw away 26%-30% of consumables, the second-most-popular percentage range. This means six in 10 (59%) marketing executives throw away more than one-quarter of the consumables they receive.
Other Findings
- 31% of respondents have experienced difficulty in finding, ordering, using or requesting promotional literature, and 37% have sometimes experienced difficulty.
- Close to half (47%) of respondents rate their experience with ordering and receiving consumables a 3 on a five-point scale (1 being the worst), with 29% rating it a 4 and 6% rating a 5, meaning about eight in 10 (79%) have had an at least satisfactory experience.
36% of Marketers Find Consumables Valuable
Fewer than one in three (27%) marketers find marketing consumables timely and valuable, containing the exact information needed to make sales, and another 9% say they are impressive and persuasive, according to other study results. The remaining 64% of respondents to “Mapping & Tracking The Optimized Marketing Supply Chain” had negative comments about the quality and value of consumables.
Twenty-three percent said they get too many consumables, which wind up in storage or the trash. Other popular negative responses include too few to make an impact (18%).
About the Data: The CMO Council and BPI Network surveyed 113 marketing executives.
