• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, February 1, 2012

While most companies are all over Facebook and Twitter, CMOs confess they are at sixes and sevens with their digital marketing strategy. The Boston Consulting Group reports that 77% aren’t sure where best to reach their customers, a critical component of any digital strategy.  And 55% say they have only “minimal or informal metrics to measure the impact and return on investment of digital marketing efforts.”

The study, “Marketing Capabilities for the Digital Age,” included marketing execs at 31 major corporations in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the U.S., and found that 96% use Facebook, and 83% Twitter. But even these major social platforms are tricky, with renegade or rogue pages causing problems. One exec reported that once the company started using social media, it realized it already had 200 different Facebook and Twitter accounts in markets around the world. And overall, the execs expressed concern that they had been able to link their social-media strategy to business objectives.

There’s also an ongoing disconnect between what these marketers think consumers want (73% think people are looking for information on social sites, and 69% believe they seek reviews) when consumers either want a discount (61%) or to make an actual purchase (55%.)

While managing platforms is problematic, managing people isn’t easy, either, with 29% saying that hiring or retraining talent is a problem, and few think they have the necessary training in place.

“The companies that are doing a good job often have a center of excellence, where they are building a true test-and-learn culture,” Katherine Sayre, a BCG partner and coauthor of the report, tells Marketing Daily. “You don’t want everyone at the company thinking about the next platform, but someone has to, and there needs to be controlled experimentation. Leadership has to show a commitment to digital channels by providing brand dollars, but there has to be a system to report back quickly, so what works can be shared, and what doesn’t can be shut down.”