MARKET ANALYSIS OF THE NEEDS AND CHALLENGES OF MARKETING AND EVENT

MANAGERS

ERASMUS +

Project: DiMenSion

Intellectual Output 01

1

Contents

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 2

PURPOSE OF THE PAPER ....................................................................................................................................... 2

METHODS AND DATA COLLECTION ...................................................................................................................... 3

MEASUREMENT OF VARIABLES ............................................................................................................................ 4

RESULTS ................................................................................................................................................................ 5

DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................................... 6

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION ............................................................................................................. 8

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NEEDS FORM INVESTING IN MARKETING AND EVENT MANAGEMENT ....... 10

CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................................... 20

ANNEX ................................................................................................................................................................. 23

2

INTRODUCTION

Marketing development is a complex subject and should be approached in holistic way, covering

topics like: event management, sales, public relations, brand management, social and digital

media, organizational intelligence, ethics, leadership, personal attitude and thinking, etc. That is

why continuous education and specialization is essential for professional career development.

In developing countries, such as Macedonia, marketing professionals on managerial positions are

missing opportunities and offer for adult trainings. To address these problems and propose new

innovative learning opportunities for adult learners, the intended professional development

program will be in line with the needs and expectations of the marketing managers which will be

analyzed on a conducted survey.

Intellectual outputs are essential for every tailor-made project. In this paper we are examining

the behavior of the marketing and event managers, more specifically their needs and challenges

managers have regarding marketing and event management.

This market analysis is produced as an intellectual output in the project “Developing marketing

solutions for sustainable brands” – DiMenSion.

PURPOSE OF THE PAPER

The primary objective of this project is to develop marketing solutions for sustainable brands.

Solutions that will create competitive brands on the market through developing learning

environment, online courses, training activities and webinars for improving their management

and leadership skills. For successful realization of this aim we should first discover their current

level of education, current position, skills and techniques used at the working process, see the

needs and the gaps of education in some field of marketing, the way of thinking and make a final

decision for some tasks based on the results gathered from distributed survey, for current

position of the target group.

In order to reach the general objective, certain tasks were realized:

1. Define research method and samples;

2. Construct specific questionnaires;

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3. Collect data from the samples;

4. Analyze the collected data;

5. Summarize the data

In this paper are analyzed the results from the conducted questionnaire, as part of the first

Intellectual Output of the project - Developing marketing solutions for sustainable brands.

METHODS AND DATA COLLECTION

As mentioned before to make the analysis of the needs and challenges that marketing and event

managers have, a questionnaire was developed. First of all, the project target groups were

defined and they consist of marketing managers, event managers, entrepreneurs, who wish to

upgrade their knowledge and to be competitive on market and bring value to the company where

they work such as marketing agencies, some of the largest companies in the Republic of

Macedonia, banks, insurance companies etc. After that, we developed the interview questions

and contact list according to previously defined target group.

The questionnaire had 23 questions and the answer method included ranking, selection of

several answers and text. All questionnaires had open-ended and closed-ended (simple-answer

and multiple choice) questions, and were specially designed for the purposes of the project,

taking in consideration the specific characteristics of marketing event management. The time

needed to answer the questionnaire was about 8 minutes.

The questionnaire was distributed to 396 marketing managers and marketers using the online

platform Survey Monkey and with conducting interviews with marketers and marketing

managers. 163 respondents answered the questionnaire.

The specific project objectives and results were assessed according to the project activities, the

questionnaire of needs was distributed in May, 2018.

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MEASUREMENT OF VARIABLES

Most graduated marketers gain basic knowledge and experience in the marketing sector during

and after they finish University. Universities in Macedonia are focused on theoretical knowledge

and very low on practical and useful knowledge. People who work in field of marketing are used

to gain knowledge and experience by themselves, learning by doing. In the field of event

management in Macedonia there isn't any subject or training in this field. The marketers are

facing great demands in the complex and changing business environment, and they need tools

and knowledge how to deal with all the challenges. Challenges and opportunities like this require

new marketing and event management skills for the marketers in order to be successful in their

work. The growing expectation on great results can be met if these marketers continue their

education and gain new marketing and event management skills. We need to have in mind that

most of these marketers work full time and have special needs as adult learners. More

specifically, adult learners are self-directed (and can benefit a lot from on-line learning courses),

learning from experience and learning by doing (so they will invest their new insights on their

work and private life), and, also, their readiness to learn is directly linked to what they need to

know (they wish to resolve actual problems and find solutions to their challenges).

With our constructed survey we tried to address these problems and propose new innovative

opportunities for adult learners and to develop professional courses specialized only for them,

we asked the marketers and marketing managers with lot of questions including:

- The investment in marketing and event management, as one of the key factories for

development of a business, is this investment is seen as an expense and does the

company / agency or institution invest in education in MEM

- Which techniques are used to measure the results of the investment in MEM

- We put questions about the position of MEM in organizational structure, challenges

marketers and marketing managers face daily, the need of cooperation with MEM

agencies, questions form the aspect of education in the field of marketing and event

management and the affection from event management

- Ranking the attractiveness and demands of the marked services in the past and the

relevance of the training courses that out target group would like to participate.

With all of this different but connected questions, our survey was completed and distributed and

helped us to collect response from which we can see the gap between the need of marketing and

event management in our country and its development.

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RESULTS

The 23 questions for our survey can be separated into three parts according to the information

we wanted to be gathered from them. The first part consists of three demographic questions

about the gender of the marketers and marketing manager, age and their formal education. The

other three questions, from the other part of the survey, were connected with the organization

from which they are part of, as a type of the organization, size of the organization and their

position in the organization as a manager – first level of management, middle level of

management and top management. And the last questions were the more specific from the first

and they were the following:

- How many years in your career you had management positions?

- At what level of management in the organizational structure would MEM (marketing

event management) be positioned?

- What are the challenges you face daily?

- Is investment in marketing and event management seen as an expense?

- Do you think that companies need to regularly cooperate with MEM agencies, or can the

desired effect be achieved with their own sectors and staff?

- Do you think that the events are a tool for bringing together employees / collaborators /

business partners and contributing to more efficient and effective work?

- Which techniques you use to measure the results of the investment in MEM?

- What are the techniques you use to measure the results of an investment in MEM?

- Have you attended or still attending trainings and / or trainings for re-training in the

marketing or event industry?

- Does your company / agency / industry invest in education in MEM?

- Does event management affect the improvement and strengthening of the corporate

climate, internationally towards its employees, but also external to its associates and

customers?

- Suggestions for the development of the MEM industry in Macedonia.

- Would you like to be part of the only regional educational program for the MEM

specialization?

- Rate according to the attractiveness and demands of the marketed services in the last 3-

5 years?

The design of the questionnaire is included in the report as an Annex and it’s attached by the end

of the document.

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DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

In our analyses we will start with some demographical data which is very important information

about Macedonian marketers and marketing managers. We need to know what the level of

formal education is because from this information we can make some thought about their

performance.

More than a half from the responses were information given by female (61.22%) and the rest of

the responses were given by male.

Male 38.78%

Female 61.22% Table 1: Gender of the respondents

One of the demographic questions which was put in the questionnaire was about the age of the

marketers and marketing managers. This is important for seeing and getting information about

are they young, middle age, old managers with huge work experience, and this can be crucial for

making decision about how long will they still be on this position and be prepared to learn, get

more knowledge about marketing and event management and improve their own skills.

Up to 30 years 20.41%

31-40 years 51.02%

41-50 years 20.41%

More than 50 years 8.16% Table 2: Age of the respondents

The Table above consist percentage of marketers and marketing managers to their age. The

conclusion in this part is that most of the respondents are at the age between 31-40, relatively

young willing to learn and improve their skills in marketing and event managing.

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As we can see from the Figure 1 most of the respondents have Master degree (51.02%) and none

of them is with high school. 42.86% have Master degree and 6.12% of them are PhD in their filed.

Figure 1

43%

51%

6%

Baccalaureate Master Ph.D

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

According to the results from the conducted survey, Macedonian marketers and marketing

managers mostly work in companies which give services to people (75% of the respondents). The

size of the organizations which they work is less than 50 employees which means that they work

for in small organizations. Most of them work on managerial position less than 5, or between 5

to 10 years. But there were also some managers who work on that position for more years.

Figure 2

More than half of the respondents work in organizations with less than 50 employees, 25% in an

organization with more than 250 employees and 22.92% in an organization with 50 to 250

employees.

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Services

Products

Other

Number of responses

9

Figure 3

Their position in the organization is presented in the Figure 4. It’s clear that in our country most

of the marketers and marketing managers work as a Supervisor, department manager or Team

leader. Small part of our respondents work at the second level of management or they manage

the first line managers and this position include the managers and deputy head. It’s not small

number of marketers and marketing managers who are at the highest position in the

organization.

Figure 4

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Less than 50 employees

From 50 to 250 employees

More than 250 employees

Number of responses

First level management (supervisor, department

manager, team leader, etc.)

56%

Second level of management

(managers and deputy head)

21%

Top management (executive director, owner, member of

the board, etc.)23%

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SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NEEDS FORM

INVESTING IN MARKETING AND EVENT MANAGEMENT

On the question about the investment in marketing and event management as one of the key

factors for development of a business 64% of respondents answered that investing in marketing

and event management has a significant influence in the development of the business /

industry, 30% said that the investment depends on the type of business, that is, in certain

businesses is a key factor, but in certain it is not. More than half of the marketers and marketing

managers answered positively, and from that we can highlight that investment in this field is

important in our country.

Figure 5

Regarding the question about the level of management that MEM would be, 44,90% of the

respondents answered that they would position it as a separate sector with an experienced

team of employees, according to the size of the firm, while 22,45% would form a separate sector

that would cooperate with MEM agencies.

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Yes, it has a significant influence in the development ofthe business / industry

It has minimal significance and influence on development

Does not affect the development of the business / industry

Depends on the type of business, in certain businesses is akey factor, in certain not.

Number of responses

11

Figure 6

The majority of respondents (62%), answered that one of the challenges they face daily is the

that marketing and event management is seen as an expense rather than an investment, 48%

of the respondents stressed the lack of quality and trained staff, and 38% of the respondents

sees the lack of awareness of the importance form the business sector as a challenge they face

daily.

Figure 7

Further, on the question of whether investment in marketing and event management is seen as

an expense, opinions are divided (34%) of respondents answered that MEM is specific and the

way of proving the return on investment is difficult and 34% also answered that there is low

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Top management

Middle management

A special sector with an experienced team of employees,according to the size of the firm

A special sector that would cooperate with MEM agencies

Number of responses

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

Marketing and event management is seen as an expense…

Lack of quality, trained and innovative staff

Lack of appropriate technology and software

Non-recognition and awareness of importance from the…

Anti-competitive behavior

Inability to accurately calculate the ROI from investing in…

Low cost of service by MEM agencies

Lack of specialization and expertise in just one field

Number of responses

12

awareness of the importance of the MEM, 30% of respondents said that business requires short-

term and fast results, while MEM is focused on long-term visions and effects, and that impact

of the general environment in the country, political and economic crisis - directly affects the

strategies of the business.

Figure 8

As we can see on the Figure 9, 51% of the respondents think that the companies should have

their own sector for MEM and to co-operate with foreign experts and MEM agencies, while

29% said that companies should hire experts only when needed for certain activities.

Figure 9

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

The manner of proving the return on investment is specificand difficult

Business requires short-term and fast results, and MEM isfocused on long-term visions and effects

Low awareness of the importance of MEM

Impact of the general environment in the country, politicaland economic crisis - directly affects the strategies of the…

It is not seen as an expense, on the contrary, it isincreasingly invested in the development of MEM

Number of responses

Companies according to their

size should invest in their own

experienced teams and sectors for MEM

18%

Companies should have their own

sector for MEM and cooperate in parallel

with domestic agencies

51%

Only when needed companies to hire experts for certain

activities29%

Companies should only cooperate with foreign experts and

MEM agencies2%

13

The majority of the respondents (78%) responded positively, and consider the events as a tool

for bringing together the employees / collaborators / business partners and contributing to

more effective and efficient work.

Figure 10

On the question which techniques you use to measure the results of the investment in MEM we

received the following answers:

System data from demand and payment of products we offer

Direct calls or scheduled presentations (meetings)

Questionnaires and telephone calls

Not established

We do not measure

Smiles

Don’t have

Tracking the trend of sales

FB insights, Twitter analytics, Google Analytics, Google My Business combined with sales results

МЕМ is an investment, so it's not a priority in ROI, but one of the tools is to reward consumers who directly

participate in purchasing products and presenting fiscal accounts

Depending on the event, there may be different techniques

Sales reports

Surveys and measurements of satisfaction questionnaires

Research

Increase sales, new customers

Number of fasting websites, contacts and accepted job offers

Analyzes, clipping

Questionnaires, surveys, interviews, analyzes

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Yes

Nether agree nor disagree

No

Number of responses

14

According to their experience of measuring the ROI from investing in MEM, 34.04% form the

marketers and marketing managers said that MEM has qualitative benefits and advantages that

are difficult to measure and prove, while 29.79% of the respondents think that the method of

measurement is specific and requires a lower a period for reliable results and that there are no

precise methods and techniques proven as a successful measure.

Figure 11

The average ratings from the ranking of attractiveness and demand of the market services in

the last 3-5 years according to their attractiveness and market demands are the following:

Digital and social media marketing 4.44

Advertising 4.00

Event Marketing and Management 3.52

Marketing analyzes and research 3.40

Creative thinking and innovation 3.13

Public Relations - PR 2.92

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

The method of measurement is specific and a longer…

There are simple measurement techniques

There are no precise methods and techniques proven as a…

Has qualitative benefits and advantages that are difficult…

There is not much experience in measuring ROI

Number of responses

15

Figure 12

From the aspect of education in the field of marketing and event management, on the question

does the respondents attended or still attend on trainings in the marketing or event field, 36.73%

of the respondents answered that they attended or still attend courses and specialized

educational programs and that they gained experience through practical work, that is, lacking

education in this segment.

Figure 13

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Advertising

Event Marketing and Management

Marketing analysis and research

Digital and social media marketing

Creative thinking and innovation

Public Relations PR

6 5 4 3 2 1

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Yes, online training

Visit courses and specialized educational programs

Postgraduate studies in marketing and event management

Self-education using business foreign literature

Experience through practical work, lacking education in thissegment

Number of responses

16

Marketers and marketing and event managers were asked to rank the trainings according to

relevance and which training they would like to participate and the average assessments given

by the respondents are as follows:

Innovative Marketing Tools and Techniques 6.39

Event Marketing and Management - Concepts and Design 6.17

Sustainable development of events 5.97

Business Intelligence and Leadership of Events 5.73

Creative thinking and innovation 5.72

ROI from investment in MEM 5.69

Digital and social media marketing 5.43

Event Challenges and Risks 4.86

Psychology of consumer 4.56

Events and impact on emotions 4.18

Figure 14

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Event marketing and management - concepts and design

Event challenges and risks

Business intelligence

Sustainable development of events

ROI from investment in MEM

Innovative marketing tools and techniques

Digital and social media marketing

Creative thinking and innovation

Psychology of consumers

Events and influence on emotions

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

17

On the question whether their company / agency / institution invests in education in MEM,

43.75% of the respondents answered that their company not always invests in education in

MEM and it depends on the need.

Figure 15

In the context of whether the event management influences the improvement of the corporate

climate, 57,14% of the respondents answered that they influence the improvement of the

brand, 48,98% answered that they have motivating energy, and 36,73% think that MEM

improves the networking and opportunities for new projects, ideas and development are

opened up.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Not at all

Yes, always

Not always, depends on the need

We invest in education ourselves

Number of responses

18

Figure 16

Further, on the request of their suggestions for the development of the MEM industry in

Macedonia, the respondents gave the following answers:

Continuous development and improvement... constantly

Uniqueness, not just attach ideas and projects to collect the money of customers

Education, courses available for everyone

I do not have

Information

Conferences in the field, sharing success stories

Requests for creating multiple public spaces for keeping up to date events

To be practiced on a regular basis

To present a creative event to companies that can afford it, to make a business plan specialized

for their business or service and to get the benefits of that event

Specialized training and agencies

Association for events, debates, conferences

Trainings

Education for MEM benefits through real case study examples

Education, workshops for exchange of experiences

Sinergy between institutions, agencies, awareness-rising activities on the importance of MEM

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Yes, they affect the brand’s

improvement

They have a sharein productive and

profitableoperations

They havemotivating energy

Networking andopportunities for

new projects, ideasand development

Not an importantfactor in

strengthening thebusiness climate

They have minimalsignificance, they

are more cost thana desired positive

result

Number of responses

19

According to the conducted survey, on the last question, the majority of the respondents, i.e.

83.33%, answered that they want to be part of the only regional educational program for the

Specialization for MEM. Knowing that is very important for further development of the project.

Figure 17

83%

17%

Yes No

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CONCLUSION

This professional development program for marketing and event management will be taught

using contemporary training methods, such as problem based learning, game based learning,

case study method, etc. It will be organized by using blended learning concept – a combination

of traditional and e-learning concepts. All materials and activities will be available to adult

learners through a distance learning system. The excellent quality of training, learning and

examining methods, utilizing the possibility of new media, significantly contributes to high quality

learning opportunities.

The professional development program will be developed based on EU wide transparency and

recognitions tools, the European Qualification Framework and in line with EU policy in the field

of adult learning. In order to ensure the quality and recognition of the program, international

accreditation guidelines and procedures would be used.

From the answers of the respondents we can conclude that currently, there are lack of specialized

trainings in the area of adult education offered in Macedonia which would allow marketing

managers to acquire the needed competences in marketing and event management and also

support them in developing marketing solutions for sustainable brands. Macedonian marketers

said that they gained experience trough practical work because of the lack of education in this

field. Because of that most of them said that they want to be part of educational program for

specialization for marketing and event management.

As part of this paper, we made an infographic from the key findings of the analysis.

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23

ANNEX

Survey design for analyses the needs and challenges of engineering managers.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The IEGE Scientific Research Institute, accredited by the Ministry of Science and Education, conducts research

that is part of the European Program Erasmus + K2 Cooperation for innovation and exchange of good

practices - strategic partnership in the field of adult education.

The survey focuses on the importance and the need to invest in marketing and event management as one of

the leading business industries.

Please share your experience with the needs and challenges that marketing and event managers face.

The questionnaire is anonymous. All data from this survey will be analyzed and presented exclusively for the

project.

Thank you for your participation and honest answers.

1. Is investment in marketing and event management one of the key factors for

the development of a business?

- Yes, it has a significant influence in the development of the business / industry

- It has minimal significance and influence on development

- Does not affect the development of the business / industry

- Depends on the type of business, in certain businesses is a key factor, in certain not.

2. At what level of management in the organizational structure would MEM

(marketing event management) be positioned?

- Top management

- Middle management

- A special sector with an experienced team of employees, according to the size of the firm

- A special sector that would cooperate with MEM agencies

3. What are the challenges you face daily?

- Marketing and event management is seen as an expense instead of an investment

- Lack of quality, trained and innovative staff

- Lack of appropriate technology and software

- Non-recognition and awareness of importance from the business sector

- Anti-competitive behavior

- Inability to accurately calculate the ROI from investing in MEM

- Low cost of service by MEM agencies

- Lack of specialization and expertise in just one field

24

4. Is investment in marketing and event management seen as an expense?

- The manner of proving the return on investment is specific and difficult

- Business requires short-term and fast results, and MEM is focused on long-term visions and effects

- Low awareness of the importance of MEM

- Impact of the general environment in the country, political and economic crisis - directly affects the

strategies of the business

- It is not seen as an expense, on the contrary, it is increasingly invested in the development of MEM

5. Do you think that companies need to regularly cooperate with MEM agencies,

or can the desired effect be achieved with their own sectors and staff?

- Companies according to their size should invest in their own experienced teams and sectors for MEM

- Companies should have their own sector for MEM and cooperate in parallel with domestic agencies

- Only when needed companies to hire experts for certain activities

- Companies should only cooperate with foreign experts and MEM agencies

6. Do you think that the events are a tool for bringing together employees /

collaborators / business partners and contributing to more efficient and effective

work?

- Yes

- Nether agree nor disagree

- No

7. What are the techniques you use to measure the results of an investment in

MEM?

..............................................................................................................................................................................

8. What is your experience in measuring ROI from investing in MEM?

- The method of measurement is specific and a longer period is needed for reliable results

- There are simple measurement techniques

- There are no precise methods and techniques proven as a successful measure

- Has qualitative benefits and advantages that are difficult to measure and prove

- There is not much experience in measuring ROI

9. Rate according to the attractiveness and demands of the marketed services in

the last 3-5 years?

- Advertising

- Event Marketing and Management

- Marketing analysis and research

25

- Digital and social media marketing

- Creative thinking and innovation

- Public Relations PR

10. Have you attended or still attending trainings and / or trainings for re-

training in the marketing or event industry?

- Yes, online training

- Visit courses and specialized educational programs

- Postgraduate studies in marketing and event management

- Self-education using business foreign literature

- Experience through practical work, lacking education in this segment

11. Rate the training courses of relevance you would like to visit? (1 lowest / 10

highest)

- ROI from investment in MEM

- Innovative marketing tools and techniques

- Event marketing and management - concepts and design

- Business intelligence

- Sustainable development of events

- Digital and social media marketing

- Creative thinking and innovation

- Psychology of consumers

- Event challenges and risks

- Events and influence on emotions

12. Does your company / agency / institution invest in education in MEM?

- Not at all

- Yes, always

- Not always, depends on the need

- We invest in education ourselves

13. Does Event Management affect the improvement and strengthening of the

corporate climate, internally towards its employees, but also external to its

associates and customers?

- Yes, they affect the brand’s improvement

- They have a share in productive and profitable operations

- They have motivating energy

- Networking and opportunities for new projects, ideas and development

- Not an important factor in strengthening the business climate

- They have minimal significance, they are more cost than a desired positive result

26

14. Your suggestion and suggestions for the development of the MEM industry in

Macedonia?

.......................................................................................................................................................

15. Would you like to be part of the only regional educational program for the

MEM Specialization?

- Yes

- No

16. Age:

- Less than 30 years old

- 31-40 years

- 41-50 years

- More than 51 years

17. Sex

- Men

- Women

18. Education:

- Bachelor's degree

- Master

- PH. d

19. Type of organization:

- Services

- Products

- Other

20. Size of the organization:

- Less than 50 employees

- From 50 to 250 employees

- More than 250 employees

21. At what level of management you work?

- First level management (supervisor, department manager, team leader, etc.)

- Second level of management (managers and deputy head)

- Top management (executive director, owner, member of the board, etc.)

27

22. How long are you on a managerial position?

- Less than 5 years

- From 5 to 10 years

- From 11 to 20 years

- More than 20 years

23. If you are interested in being part of this European project please leave your

email and contact phone so that we can communicate to you for all future

activities.

Name:

Company:

City:

E-mail:

Phone number: