How digitalization affects companies' marketing departments

80% of Swedish companies have digitalization ahead of them. That's one of the more challenging conclusions of Bohman Network's new report "Man meets machine: How digitalization affects corporate marketing & communications departments". Embracing new technology is creating stress and imbalance in many organizations. But take heart, in marketing and communications departments that are more open to change and more advanced in digitalization, job satisfaction is 33% higher.

Comprehensive investigation

For the past ten years, Bohmans Nätverk has analyzed how marketing and communications departments are developing and what challenges in the present and future that managers and employees need to relate to. The basis for the new report is an extensive survey conducted in the last quarter with more than 600 managers and employees in a majority of Sweden's leading marketing and communications departments.

Costly imbalance

In the report, Bohmans describes the consequences of digitalization and the impact it has on companies' work environment. Adopting new technologies can be both difficult and time-consuming, creating stress, imbalance and a climate where long-term value creation is often at odds with quick results. Employee engagement and job satisfaction decrease as the imbalance increases, ultimately costing everyone.

Four success factors

The companies that have overcome the digital steel bath and narrowed the change gap, i.e. the innovative and adaptable ones, are found to have 15% higher engagement levels and 33% higher job satisfaction than the average. This also means they are getting better at attracting new, relevant and skilled labor. Here are four points, in addition to digital maturity, that Bohmans highlights as characterizing the successful companies.

1. belief in the brand

The brand is the company's benchmark and the one with which customers have a relationship. The clearer and more coherent a company is in its current and desired brand position, the higher its credibility.

2. Leadership and entrepreneurship

A good leader has confidence in his or her employees. Leadership today is rarely about directing employees, but rather guiding them in a direction towards the goals the company wants to achieve. Entrepreneurship is a key concept.

3. innovation and courage

The combination of being supported and trusted, and owning the responsibility for driving an issue, project or product line without being micromanaged and micromanaged, builds trust and engagement among most employees.

4. Good corporate culture

A high-performing corporate culture in a marketing and communications department is based on a clear strategy with a purpose and direction, security in the form of trust in each other, transparency and continuous learning.

Order the report

If you want to read the full report, you can order it here from Bohman Network.