The news: Marketers are bullish about their jobs even though increased demands and limited resources make it harder to meet rising customer expectations, according to Salesforce’s State of Marketing report.

• 87% of marketers feel their work provides greater value now than a year ago, according to the survey of 6,000 marketers in 35 countries conducted from late June to early August of this year.
• Meeting customer demands is more difficult, said 71%.
• One in three marketers noted pressure from tightening budgets, and 71% cited trouble retaining talent.

Customer experience teams feel pinch: Resource shortages are particularly being felt with customer experience (CX) teams, noted our recent Spotlight report. Over 80% of CX leaders planned to outsource to agencies and consultants this year, according to January 2022 research from Telus International and Pulse.

• Budgets are a constant struggle: Only 27% of CX leaders have their own budget, and almost half the budgets plateaued or decreased, according to an April 2022 MyCustomer report.
• Labor is a top issue for CX teams that are being asked to do more with less, per March 2022 research from Verint. Contracting out services extends the CX team to complete priority projects.

Looking ahead: Consultancies and agencies have an opportunity to assist companies in building customer-centric cultures and increasing revenue and productivity in 2023. They can also provide much-needed analytics that offer clients insight into customer personas.

Go further: For more on customer experience priorities and best practices on contracting with agencies and consultancies, check out our Spotlight: A Guide to CX Agencies and Consultancies.