Five big
TAKEAWAYS
As with 2023, we wanted to consolidate some of our thoughts into what we think are some of the biggest lessons – so here they are, our five biggest takeaways from Art & Science 2024:
As with 2023, we wanted to consolidate some of our thoughts into what we think are some of the biggest lessons – so here they are, our five biggest takeaways from Art & Science 2024:
1.
People power: it’s still very much a thing
Across almost every dynamic we see the direct and growing influence of people. From increased business demands to better serve customers and employees, to greater oversight from procurement and bigger decision-makers, ‘more’ people are driving more decisions.
The audience’s preference is clear. They want to engage with other people, and they want to hear from other people, even if that’s through content. And when buying people and their skills, they want to hear even more.
Crucially, opinions haven’t changed and 79% of people say you’ll build more trust by treating them as human; as well as 84% who say there’s an art and a science to creating a positive buyer experience – and as we well know, art is a ‘human thing’.
2.
Shifting economic tides: more focus, more budget
Economically, 2023 was a challenge, and this was felt globally and across sectors. Whilst you wouldn’t call 2024 a new boom time, the outlook has been improving, and we think this can be felt in the results of Art & Science.
Firstly, the amount of people who seem to be constrained by budget limitations is down – this is clear from the results. At the same time there is a shift to consolidation for the purposes of focus and efficiency, rather than just for the purpose of cutting costs.
The majority still say tech decisions are as much about managing risk as it is creating value, and the amount of people focused on ROI and time to value is largely the same. However, other factors that affect behaviours suggest a greater emphasis on investing in working with others to achieve more.
2.
Shifting economic tides: more focus, more budget
Economically, 2023 was a challenge, and this was felt globally and across sectors. Whilst you wouldn’t call 2024 a new boom time, the outlook has been improving, and we think this can be felt in the results of Art & Science.
Firstly, the amount of people who seem to be constrained by budget limitations is down – this is clear from the results. At the same time there is a shift to consolidation for the purposes of focus and efficiency, rather than just for the purpose of cutting costs.
The majority still say tech decisions are as much about managing risk as it is creating value, and the amount of people focused on ROI and time to value is largely the same. However, other factors that affect behaviours suggest a greater emphasis on investing in working with others to achieve more.
3.
People do still buy from other people
At every stage of the buying process, the majority of people want to engage with other people – except perhaps, at the very first discovery stage, and even then, it’s 50/50. Their content preferences are shifting towards formats that lend themselves to interactions or insights with others, such as in person events and conferences, webinars and third-party reports. Even podcasts are more popular, perhaps because they allow for content to be delivered by people.
There’s a definite leaning towards most of these content types to be accessed and consumed digitally. Yet digital delivery shouldn’t be a barrier to interacting with others. It should enable more interaction instead of more isolation.
Importantly, your audience will give you time. They are spending more of their time-consuming marketing content, and the majority of that time is spent consuming the content you provide to them. You can maintain and grow the majority share of their attention by delivering more people-led experiences through your content.
4.
Thought leadership and insight is back on the agenda
Having assessed the differences between content and channel preferences when considering professional services over product, it’s clear that thought leadership and insight driven content wins out. Respondents do prioritise different kinds of content, and primarily it's because they are looking for an understanding of their industry. This makes sense when buying people and their skills.
The clear majority (84%) state that thought leadership content is more important when buying people and services. In addition, they want an understanding of their business and their needs. These are also priorities when assessing vendors for a product as well, just not quite as much, and overall content preferences lean towards thought leadership.
The popularity of thought leadership is having a bit of a resurgence in the industry, and our data backs that up (or the validity of it, at any rate). We do feel it’s important to make sure that what you consider to be thought leadership is also what your target audience considers to be thought leadership.
4.
Thought leadership and insight is back on the agenda
Having assessed the differences between content and channel preferences when considering professional services over product, it’s clear that thought leadership and insight driven content wins out. Respondents do prioritise different kinds of content, and primarily it's because they are looking for an understanding of their industry. This makes sense when buying people and their skills.
The clear majority (84%) state that thought leadership content is more important when buying people and services. In addition, they want an understanding of their business and their needs. These are also priorities when assessing vendors for a product as well, just not quite as much, and overall content preferences lean towards thought leadership.
The popularity of thought leadership is having a bit of a resurgence in the industry, and our data backs that up (or the validity of it, at any rate). We do feel it’s important to make sure that what you consider to be thought leadership is also what your target audience considers to be thought leadership.
5.
ABM, DBM and GenAI: it’s all good
Nobody panic, ABM is still popular. More than that, the results this year suggest that it is having a bit more of an impact and most people seem to be experiencing it the way it is intended. This could be a reflection of the slight shift in audience to a set who are more likely to be exposed to 1:2:1 strategies over 1:2:few.
Deal Based Marketing is also a strategy that is specifically recognised by the audience and, importantly, welcomed by them. More than that, they confirm that if you use it you’re only helping your chances of winning.
A surprising number of people are comfortable with the use of GenAI for content creation, but they become less comfortable the more personalised and specific that content becomes. Everybody’s clear though, us humans will always be better at it than AI. Phew.
