More marketing professionals will get a pay rise this year than last but by only 3% or less, according to the FY 2019/20 Hays Salary Guide.
The report, based on a survey of more than 3,400 organisations, shows 90% of employers will increase their marketing staff salaries in their next review, up from 87% who did so in their last review.
However, the value of increases will fall.
Almost two-thirds (65%) of employers intend to raise salaries at 3% or less, up from 57% who did so in their last review.
At the other end of the scale, 4% of employers, down from 9% last year, intend to grant pay increases of more than 6%.
The number of employers who will increase salaries at the mid-level, between 3% and 6%, is unchanged at 21%.
“Evidently, the aggregate effect of several years of sedate salary increases is taking its toll and we’re now seeing a tug of war over salaries,” says Eliza Kirkby, regional director of Hays Marketing & Digital.
“On the one hand, we have professionals telling us they’ve prioritised a pay rise and are prepared to enter the job market to improve their earnings. On the other, employers tell us they want to add to their headcount and are being impacted by skill shortages, yet they plan to curtail salary increases."
There are exceptions. Employers are increasingly looking for Campaign Analysts and Market Insights Analysts to drive more sophisticated customer profiling, impact measurement and ultimately lead to more precise and accurate decision-making.
However, supply fails to meet demand and as a result, salaries are becoming very competitive in this area.
“Content Specialists are another area of high demand, sought to work alongside Marketing Analysts and Digital Channel Managers to deliver to the increasingly complex campaign requirements and in the assessment of performance and progress," says Kirkby.
"We’ve seen salaries increase for those who specialise in data science, analytics or content."
Content Managers and Communications Executives with content writing and video production skills are a growing focus of demand.
While technical content producers, such as those using a CMS to manage and publish content, have not seen any salary increase, creative content specialists are receiving an increase as employers look for people with exceptional writing skills along with technical knowledge.
Marketing and CRM professionals with experience using automated AI customer relationship management platforms are also in growing demand.
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