The secret lives of marketers is an annual report compiled by Dotdigital and includes research findings from a survey of 1,500 people across the UK, US and Australia (500 in each). The aim of the report is to get a consensus about the current challenges and areas of focus for marketing teams. Here we share a summary of key findings from the report and what they mean for your association team.
The make up of current marketing teams
Firstly, let’s set the scene. Here are some top stats about the structure and set up of marketing teams.
- The majority of marketing teams surveyed are small, 38% of people surveyed were solo marketers and only 1% had more than 10 people. This is a big shift compared to 2025.
- 86% of teams are centralised (flowing up to one global leader).
- 42% of people surveyed said there were more managers than non-managers and of those larger teams, they are typically split by discipline, e.g content marketing, product marketing.
- 82% reported budgets have increased compared to last year, and this was consistent across the 3 regions. Most people reported an increase between 10 and 24%.
Zentso’s thoughts
These results aren’t surprising; it’s a common theme for associations to have to ‘do more with less’ and here that relates to team members. Small teams are being expected to manage a wide variety of channels.
In terms of budgets, this is positive news! It’s important that the budget it prioritised according to goals, that’s why we think it’s essential to have the right technology stack that aligns with your goals. Your AMS system should support your team, save them time, and automate manual processes. Having more budget doesn’t necessarily mean having more software and technology, as this can often mean staff end up having to learn more systems and data silos occur. Instead, having a strong centralised AMS can help your team complete tasks more efficiently.
Check out our post ‘Inside the habits of top-performing membership organisations‘
Marketing priorities and channels
The report then looked at the top channels marketers were using and how they rated their effectiveness.
- Increasing revenue remained as the key priority for marketers. This was closely followed by improving customer retention and loyalty, improving brand awareness, better use of data and analytics, marketing database growth – all at 27%.
- 76% of marketers are focusing more on brand marketing
- The top 5 marketing channels being prioritised are: website personalisation, content marketing, organic search, mobile, and events and webinars
- In terms of channels showing the best return on investment, Email and CRM Marketing (email, automation, lifecycle journeys) was the top channel. This was followed by organic content marketing, mobile marketing and paid social.
- Email marketing is viewed differently by generations – 62% of baby boomers see email as a high priority compared to only 23% of Gen Z.
- Mobile messaging channels (SMS, MMS, Whatsapp) are seeing higher levels of prioritisation than email (26% vs 22%).
Zentso’s thoughts
As the report highlighted, email is the top channels for driving return on investment but only 22% of marketers shared they were prioritising this channel. This might be that teams already have tried and tested methods and a strong email platform in place.
With a wider use of channels, the challenge of disconnected systems becomes bigger. Having data across systems means it’s harder to make strong conclusions on the effectiveness of channels. When systems don’t talk to each other, a small team ends up doing more manual work. This includes exporting lists, copying data between platforms, building reports by hand and double-checking that member records match. When your CRM, email, website and reporting tools work together, it makes it easier to see what channels are working and make data-driven decisions on what channels to prioritise.
Zentso has pre-built connectors to integrate your marketing channels with iMIS and Salesforce, including email marketing and SMS. View our app store here.
AI
It wouldn’t be a discussion about marketing if there wasn’t a section on AI!
- 99% of marketers use AI and 94% trust it
- 36% of people surveyed said AI makes their life easier
- Top concerns about the use of AI include AI impacting jobs, the impact on the environment and a belief that using AI is seen as ‘cheating’
- ChatGPT is the top AI tool being used
- 65% said AI speeds up productivity. Reasons why it slows productivity include time spent having to learn new tools, time spent on prompts and time spent on unreliable outputs.
- 36% of marketers enjoy using AI, this is higher amongst Gen X and Baby Boomers
- AI is being used the most for content creation, research and insight gathering, ideation and brainstorming.
- Marketers spend time fact checking statistics and research, reporting based on owned data, and internal comms.
Zentso’s thoughts
With AI, it’s unsurprising that website personalisation, content marketing and organic search are top priorities for marketers as these are key channels AI is referencing.
Many channels and platforms now have AI built into the platform, whether that’s support with segmentation, content generation or automated programs. With concerns arounds AI, it can be a good idea to create a policy about how AI can be used by your team. Ultimately, AI should be used to help your team drive engagement with members.
Check out our post ‘5 areas to consider when using AI in your membership organisation‘
Final thoughts
While the secret lives of marketers focuses on marketing teams broadly, many of its findings closely reflect the realities faced by membership organisations and associations. Small teams are being asked to manage more channels, deliver measurable results, use AI, and improve member retention. The report reinforces the importance of having the right foundations in place: connected systems, reliable data, efficient processes, and technology that supports rather than complicates day-to-day work.
This connector allows two-way Email Marketing system integration to make personalised e-marketing a reality. We currently have integrations between Dotdigital and either iMIS, Salesforce or Fonteva.
Additional resources for you
If you liked this post, check out our other articles on similar topics.
How membership organisations and associations can use AI and automation
4 ways you can implement AI and automation
The importance of measuring digital engagement
In this webinar, we explore:
- What digital engagement means
- How to introduce engagement scoring
- The importance of having a single source of truth
Where does your member data go the moment someone types a prompt in an AI tool?
Zentso’s CTO shares his thoughts.