• A study of more than 1,200 in-house and agency professionals found that while Welsh marketers are confident they bring value to business, almost a third of (30%) believe businesses struggle to understand the positive impact of marketing, with confusion over the definition and responsibilities of the profession undermining the role it can play in helping businesses survive the Covid-19 crisis.

Commenting on the research, Dr Gavin Davies, CIM Wales chair:

“Too many organisations continue to perceive marketing as a cost rather than an investment.

“With non-essential retailers in Wales expected to reopen from next week, the role of marketing is more crucial than ever. It’s essential marketing teams across the country step up and put their skills and expertise into practice to ensure local businesses not only survive but go onto thrive.

“Clearly, we must work as a profession to educate both our peers, and the wider business, on the importance of marketing, especially in these challenging times.”

Reacting to the new way of working

As business models change and adapt, CIM is urging marketers to upskill core soft skills such as communication, leadership and relationship building, alongside senior level skills such as strategic planning to ensure businesses are equipped for the weeks and months ahead.

How can marketing help save local businesses?

As we steer through current challenges, CIM has been working to ensure businesses can continue learning and development programmes. Local businesses can access a range of free resources from CIM including webinars, podcasts and training materials.

In addition, CIM recently launched a new ‘Digital Marketing Channels’ course, which offers 25 hours of practical advice and online study, including interactive learning, video classes, and a bespoke mix of audio support.

CIM’s six key takeaways for marketers

1. Do not assume that your co-workers understand your role or the value you can deliver. Make sure to share what you do in a way people outside of marketing will understand
2. In response to current restrictions, it is important to embrace technology, like instant messenger and video services such as Zoom or Google Hangouts to help maintain key relationships
3. As your role and responsibilities continue to develop under lockdown, it is important that you keep your core skills up to date. Take advantage of online training courses, such as CIM’s new Digital Marketing Channels
4. Challenge yourself, are your skills up to date allowing you to define your value to the business? A third of marketers found it hard to explain their role to others.
5. As we continue to work remotely, ensuring your workspaces are separated from your home life is vital for you to better concentrate on developing those core skills
6. It’s proven that marketing delivers huge value to business and the economy, and as we face these unprecedented times, marketing is more important than ever. Demonstrate how marketing can spot opportunities in order to future-proof businesses and deliver on objectives.

To access a range of free advice from CIM visit: https://www.cim.co.uk/membership/advice-and-support-coronavirus/