Investigating the employee skills gap within the digital marketing industry

Abstract

The inclusion of technology into the business world transformed digital marketing into a tactical tool to better conform to a customer-oriented strategy. As businesses digitalise operations, employees are expected to digitalise their capabilities. That leaves entrepreneurs with the concern of outdated skills sets of employees, hereafter referred to as a skills gap. A skills gap is described as the mismatch between the skills needed by the industry and the skills that current employees actually have. This dissertation aims to specifically outline the employee skills gap within the digital marketing industry. The study also elaborates on the collaboration between academia and the industry in developing well-prepared digital marketers. Artificial intelligence is also analysed within the digital marketing context, seeking opinions on whether it can replace human employees and if it therefore impacts the skills gap. Following fourteen semi-structured interviews conducted with senior members of digital marketing agencies, data shows we are yet to improve on practical capabilities such as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and data analysis, but the industry is also drifting away from the fundamentals of strategic thinking. The investigation suggests that bridging the digital marketing skills gap depends on both academia and industry, as these need to rethink their respective processes.