2022 was tough for marketers, primarily due to the economy. Gartner recently released its marketing predictions for 2023, and their prognostication does not see any improvement for the new year. 

The economy remains the primary influence for marketers. While inflation has eased somewhat, there are still fears that a recession may hit during 2023. Economic pressures often lead to cutbacks in marketing departments.

Consumers also face cutbacks when economic times are tough. In September of 2022, Gartner’s research found that consumers are shifting brand behavior to lower-cost products. Consumers are also eschewing in-person shopping for online shopping – coming at a time when it’s more difficult to deploy and measure digital campaigns as third-party cookies and iOS and Android identifiers are deprecated.

Gartner sees three major trends that will affect CMOs in 2023:

• Shifting consumer behaviors that add to the uncertainty
• Cross-functional collaboration that negatively affects marketing outcomes
• Disruptive market dynamics that diminish core tactics for winning consumer favor.

CMOs will need to move quickly to redefine and demonstrate brand value in an unpredictable environment. They will also have to navigate internal politics that can be complicated. They may also need to run counter to the concept of breaking down organizational silos that has been prevalent for the past several years. Gartner’s research has found that CMOs who describe themselves as independent often outperform CMOs who are collaborators.