C-Suite Outlook 2022 Midyear Survey: Implications for Marketing and Communications Leaders

Such has been the unpredictability of recent times that one CEO was heard saying: “I know what I am doing in two weeks’ time. I can guess what I will be doing in six weeks’ time. But I cannot tell you what I need to be doing in three months’ time.”

Against the backdrop of black swan, grey swan, and even ugly duckling events, The Conference Board sought to take the pulse of CEOs and their C-suite colleagues around the world to provide insights for what’s ahead. Out latest report, C-Suite View of Volatility, War, Risks, and Growth for Global Business acts as an interim C-Suite Outlook to complement our full survey, C-Suite Outlook 2022: Reset and Reimagine, published in January 2022.

Sixteen questions were fielded between May 8 and May 25 with the Ukraine conflict, economic concerns, and COVID-19 variants all in play. A total of 750 responses were returned, which allows for a robust indication of the critical issues. The full report can be accessed here, and what follows are four areas of elevated interest for those in marketing and communications teams.

Insights for What’s Ahead: Implications for Marketing & Communications

There is clear alignment across the C-Suite on the factors that will most impact their businesses in the next 12 months as a result of the Ukraine conflict including energy price volatility, higher input costs, and cybersecurity. However, CEOs have a more intense focus than the C-suite on the longer-term impacts for the business.

• The customer is still primary in company decisions related to the Ukraine conflict, but business response in crisis is also being driven by the board, regulators .and investors. Customer importance in decisions related to the Russia-Ukraine war underlines the importance of knowing customer behavior well and tracking customers’ attitudes and perceptions, especially when it comes to crises and emerging issues.
• In times of crisis, communications cadence and content is vital to all stakeholders. Create plans for what will happen next centered on your purpose and your corporate strategy but also shape your organization and processes so that are ready to react quickly to what you cannot plan for.
• The biggest challenge for external communications is the issue of rising prices. Communicating the story to your customers is one to be handled carefully but one where honesty and transparency is the key to preserving trust
• CEOs believe the coalescence of regional blocs will present strategic challenges in the future so scenario planning should begin now. This will have implications on those businesses that operate globally. Think about how you might structure your teams, how you build and sell your brands and how you manage your communications in a world that is more divided economically.