Survey of Enterprise CMOs: COVID-19's Impact on Budgets and Tactics

Marketing Strategy — Tue., Aug. 25, 2020

Many CMOs at large companies are facing budget cuts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but most expect the economy to improve in the next 18-24 months. According to a Gartner report, 45% of enterprise CMOs say their firm has reduced their 2020 marketing budget, while 22% say there has been no change. In response to COVID-19, 61% of enterprise CMOs launched special communications to customers and 47% deployed listening tools to monitor customer sentiment.

The pandemic has made many CMOs risk-averse, with 37% seeking to conserve the status quo and 32% taking only limited risks. However, 57% of CMOs expect their company's ability to meet performance goals to return to business as usual in the next 18-24 months. The research was conducted between March and May 2020 among 432 marketing executives in North America, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the marketing budget of large companies. While some CMOs are taking a conservative approach, most are optimistic that the economy will improve in the coming months. Understanding how CMOs are responding to the pandemic is useful for other organizations looking to optimize their marketing strategies.

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