Two-thirds of the CMOs polled in the 2017 Marketing Performance Management Benchmark study said the pressure to measure value, impact, and contribution is growing. Enterprise marketers plan to ramp up their spending on analytics technology a stunning 83 percent over the next three years, according to the latest CMO Survey out of Duke University.

One way marketers dealing with this issue is a hiring binge to bring in data- and analytics-savvy personnel. But not all marketers are embracing this move to analytics with enthusiasm—there appears to be some "kicking and screaming" as they're dragged there by a C-suite demanding more accountability. That might describe how PR pros feel about analytics and measurement too. But it is a fact of life now, there's just no avoiding it anymore.

The 2018 Gartner Multichannel Effectiveness Study shows that social, mobile and digital are the main channels influencing your customers across their buying journey. And they're just a couple of points apart. These numbers are up significantly from 2017, so you can bet the C-suite is going to want data to evaluate how their companies are performing across these channels.

If your job includes interacting with customers, prospects, stakeholders, and others on social, mobile, digital or websites, now is the time to learn how to track and report results for awareness, interest, conversion, and advocacy.

This post was originally published by Meritus Media.