Why is the market so sh*t? And when will it improve?

The question I am most frequently asked as a recruiter specializing in mid and senior level marketing positions is “What is the market like?”

Right now, I am in danger of boring myself with the pretty standard reply of “not great” (in fairness those who know me well will have heard far less sugar-coated responses). In the fifteen years that I have called Australia home, this is the toughest I have seen. But why?

There are some obvious factors:

• Rising interest rates
• Meteoric cost of living increases across core categories like fuel, energy, food and rent/mortgages
• Consequential reduction in discretionary spend
• Low levels of consumer confidence

These all impact B2C and D2C markets (those with which I am most familiar) and the common knee jerk reaction by most organisations is to rush headlong into cost-cutting mode. I stress cost, because that is largely what marketing is still seen as in Australia rather than an investment in the future.

Many, many years ago I wrote my final year dissertation (for my degree in Accounting & Finance…I know, so not me) on the argument that marketing expenditure should be treated as an investment not a cost. Mark Ritson (amongst others) has since made the case in far better style and with way more rigor…to the point it can now be considered best practice, not mere conjecture. Decades later, however, I still feel that the use of the word investment is very much a case of lip service and marketing is still mostly seen as a cost. Which makes it a soft target…not just the expenditure itself but the salaries of those doing the spending. This then precipitates some other factors regarding the state of the market:

• Several large “re-organisations” of major corporate marketing functions – leading to the casting aside of many accomplished marketing professionals.
• The tech crunch – a particularly tough one for Australia as we are often affected by global mandates for % headcount reductions to address problems being experienced thousands of Kms from our shores.
• Due to the rising cost of capital VCs are actually demanding hard returns (you know that antiquated concept of profit) rather than vain, top line growth…again leading to short-term cuts.

All of these factors have led to the largest imbalance between supply and demand (of marketing talent) in over a decade. It is therefore not unusual to witness volumes of responses to marketing job ads in the hundreds. (For my thoughts around this particular conundrum please see my previous nugget from November ).

Not a particularly pretty picture!

But it will change…because it always does. Recruitment is cyclical and hard times are always buffered by good times and vice versa. The only question is WHEN? Take your pick from highly credentialed economists and less erudite, myriad trend forecasters!

But - whenever that time is, it will go crazy because in addition to the growing ranks of displaced marketers, you can add in:

• Those close to burnout and desperate to leave where they are because they are doing two maybe three people’s jobs.
• Those who kept their heads down during Covid, for fear of the unknown, only to raise them and have them slapped back down due to economic uncertainty.
• And finally, those who were fine during Covid but then have been treading water since…again keeping their heads down due to the economic uncertainty of the last 12 months.

And that is just the supply-side. What about demand? I have witnessed, on far too many occasions, where cuts have been made only to be reversed 18 months to two years later. There is also the unforecast need to replace those who were spared the initial sword of Damocles, only to exit six months later of their own accord – burned out and disillusioned…a good proportion of whom will not come back at all.

So what is the message? Yes, it is tough. Yes, we don’t know when the toughness will end. But end, it will!

It is a veritable powder keg…calling Mr Fawkes…Guy Fawkes!

Other nuggets from around the traps over the last few weeks to power you up:

Anxiety Reduction Made Simple: The 3-3-3 Rule for Anxiety Revealed – a simple and effective technique to calm the farm.

Why AI-Powered Companies Are Considering a 4-Day Workweek – whoa steady on…is this a good news AI story! I think it is.

To Increase Your Productivity, Take a Nap – whenever I read anything extolling the values of a power nap, I feel compelled to share. I am a big fan.  

How to train your brain to deal with distractions, learn to concentrate, and refind your motivation I am sure I am not the only one easily distracted, so tuck into this to make yourself more focused and more productive…so that you can justify checking out the new releases on Netflix!

How to write to be read and remembered – not sure if I followed all the advice in this, hopefully you got this far down the page.  

As ever, here is a link to the Resources page on the Hire Aspirations website where I have gathered together some of the most lauded books, podcasts and courses to help you become the best possible marketer you can be.

And of course – if you do need help with some recruitment demanding the very best marketing talent:

Until next time, aim higher, be better,

Andy