Archive for the ‘Budgets’ Category
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Everybody knows that 2009 was a tough year, with marketing budgets in particular feeling the strain. Yet things are looking more promising for 2010 already – and on both sides of the Atlantic!
A survey conducted at the end of 2010 in the United States showed good news for marketers after a year in which 60% of b-to-b marketers slashed their budgets. BtoB’s “2010 Outlook: Marketing Priorities and Plans” report, based on an online survey of 376 B2B marketers, found that although almost half plan to maintain their existing budgets, nearly 40% will increase spending in 2010. Just 13% will be reducing their marketing spend this year.
As with last year, online marketing – including website development, e-mail marketing, search, social media, online video and webcasts – looks set to see the biggest boosts. This medium is widely acknowledged as being both cost-effective and measurable. Spending on innovative direct marketing and customer events both look set to rise also. More about this report can be found here.
Meanwhile, in the UK, the latest IPA/BDO Bellwether report indicates that optimism and confidence are growing. In spite of the report showing a ninth consecutive quarter of declining marketing spend, the rate of decline is clearly slowing. Spend is down only 7% compared to 15% in the previous quarter.
Indeed, marketing budgets for 2010 have been set higher than those in 2009 and, with 35% of businesses surveyed seeing improved prospects, companies are the most optimistic they have been for the past five years.
As with the trends seen in the US, online advertising budgets were revised upwards for the second quarter running while direct marketing budgets have also increased (by 2.2%) for the first time since 2007.
Why not read our white paper, Marketing Strategies in a Recession?
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B2B Marketing, Budgets, Credit Crunch, Digital Marketing, Marketing, Online Marketing, Recession |
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Wednesday, January 6th, 2010
Following Monday’s blog entry we can report that recent market research by B2B International shows that London’s entrepreneurs are more optimistic for 2010
London’s small businesses report that the recession is now having less of an impact on their business and levels of optimism and resilience remain high after the final quarter of the year, according to Business Link in London’s latest Business Confidence Index carried out by B2B International.
Although 69% of entrepreneurs tell us they are still affected by the recession, the impact is less significant – only 13% reporting they are extremely affected. This is a significant drop from 21% in July 2009.
The quarterly business confidence Index measures business sentiment of over 3,300 small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
This unique survey takes into account variations such as industry sector, sub-regional location, business types and business ownership (gender, Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME), Deaf and disabled).
Commenting on the Index, Patrick Elliott, Chief Executive of Business Link in London said: “Small businesses have always been resilient during times of economic upheaval due to their ability to adapt quickly. This flexibility, combined with their survival strategies and optimism, are likely to have shielded some businesses from the full force of the recession.”
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, added: “For the second week running another survey shows London’s small businesses can see light at the end of the tunnel. We have been working hard on their behalf and it is rewarding to see this sustained growth in confidence and to hear that, as we start turning the corner, our businesses are optimistic for the future.”
Mr Elliott continued: “However, entrepreneurs are not yet immune to the continuing tough economic climate. A note of caution is necessary to manage the months ahead.”
Reduced customer spending and sales generation are still key problems faced by established businesses. However, their impact on businesses has dropped significantly with only 20% concerned with customer spend in October, compared to 36% in July.
The food and drink sector is fairing better than it was in July due to increased customer spend. However, we are seeing a gloomier picture for the retail sector as customers cut back on purchases.
Declining profits and sales and cashflow constraints top the list of business activities hardest hit by the recession.
More home businesses are optimistic than ever before. They are telling us that they are marginally less affected by the recession than other business types (42% vs. 44%) and that they’re inclined to be slightly more optimistic about their overall future (17% vs. 14%).
Growth and optimism remain high on the agenda for the majority of those surveyed. The number of businesses looking to grow has increased from over half (59%) in February, to 63% in October. Levels of optimism remain unchanged since July (73% vs. 75%) with almost three quarters of those surveyed continuing to be optimistic about their overall business success.
“This cautious optimism is exactly what we advocate. The Index shows that entrepreneurs are refusing to get bogged down in the doom and gloom. Their strategies to tackle the worst impact of the recession are paying dividends,” continued Mr Elliott.
Online sales and trading have emerged as popular choices for growth over the next twelve months, making their way into the top 5 strategies considered. Despite this, increased marketing remains the top tactic favoured by businesses.
The manufacturing and property sectors are least likely to grow which suggests that they are simply concentrating on survival.
Two in five respondents are not planning on making further changes to their business to deal with the recession, an increase of 16% since July (40% vs. 24%). This is further evidence that businesses feel closer to recovery.
If you are a London based business and interested in taking part in the next quarterly Business Confidence Index then please e-mail: dbci@b2binternational.com
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B2B News, Budgets, Business, Business Confidence Index, Credit Crunch, Growth, Recession, UK |
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Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
Many marketers have been feeling the strain this year as their budgets and resources have come under increased pressure and increased scrutiny from senior management. But achieving more with less is not impossible, and can actually have some positive effects…
Budget cuts and recessionary demands have resulted in more businesses focusing on marketing accountability and measurement, as well as improved collaboration between marketing and other organizational departments (i.e. finance), according to the fifth annual Marketing Accountability Survey.
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Marketing Management Analytics (MMA) study spoke to 95 senior-level marketers over the summer. Although the small sample size should be noted, some interesting findings include:
- Three-quarters of respondents reported a decrease in their 2009 marketing budget.
- Two-thirds agreed that marketers are now being expected to drive more sales with the same or lower budget.
- One-third says their teams now include representation from marketing, finance and research (up significantly from 22% in 2008), with 38% stating that marketing and finance departments share common metrics (up significantly from 27% last year), and 20% now claiming that strategy is developed jointly (up significantly from 9%).
- 92% of companies surveyed are taking steps to improve marketing effectiveness without spending more. Measures employed include:
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- Shifting from ‘traditional’ to digital media (70%).
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- Shifting advertising investment away from brand-building initiatives and towards promotional marketing (53%).
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- Moving advertising into lower-cost media, e.g. local TV spots instead of national and 15-second slots instead of 30-second ones (38%).
Almost half (46%) of respondents are satisfied with the impact of their marketing efforts on sales/ROI, twice as high a response as last year. The survey also highlighted a greater appreciation of marketing efforts by senior management.
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Budgets, Business, Marketing, Marketing Strategy, ROI, Recession, Reducing Costs, Sales, Uncategorized |
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Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
It won’t come as a big shock that the UK market research sector, like the majority of other industry sectors, isn’t recession proof and has been hit, at least to some extent, by the current recession.
The key takeaways from a recent ‘State of the industry survey’ by RSM are as follows:
- Six out of ten researchers have seen their budgets decline and only one in 20 has experienced an increase
- Research activity in most sectors is expected to experience a net decline, most significantly in the automotive and media sectors
- Most research methods will feel the impact of recession, with face-to-face hit hardest (48% expect to spend less on face-to-face research and only 6% expect to spend more).
- Web-based data collection will continue to increase, although at a reduced rate compared to previous years.
- The current discipline of carefully prioritising expenditure and ensuring the best possible ROI is expected by some to become common practice
This particular piece of research got us talking internally and we came up with the following trends that we have seen within our world at B2B International:
1. There are less market research specialists in corporates than ever before
Gone are the days when every corporate had a market research manager. Increasingly we are being commissioned by non-market research specialists — marketing managers, product managers, marketing directors and the like. This means that the briefs we receive are sometimes woolly and impossible to achieve (especially in timescales and costs). Timings are a real bugbear within B2B International as we never want to compromise quality although our clients often seem to be being leaned on by their management in terms of timing leaving unrealistic timescales to collect and analyse the findings. However, the recession has resulted in companies becoming keener to understand the pressures their customers are facing – a greater recognition of the interdependence of theirs and their customers’ success.
2. Every job is put out to a long tender list
Gone are the days when we used to visit a client to take a brief and proposals were submitted from just three companies. Nowadays clients bash their briefs out to (sometimes) dozens of agencies. The competition has never been fiercer and prices as a result have been driven down with clients sometimes placing too much emphasis on cost rather than quality
3. We need to be increasingly imaginative about research methods
Gone are the days when we used to do surveys based on a simple research method. Increasingly we are given complex problems that have to be answered with a range of different research tools. It is not unusual for us nowadays to mix online surveys with telephone surveys and qualitative with quantitative.
4. We are required to be strategic consultant’s as well as data collectors
Gone are the days when market researchers simply researched a market. Today, in business to business markets we are expected to be familiar with all the business and marketing frameworks that traditionally were the ground of McKinsey and Bain.
5. We are increasingly required to use multidisciplinary teams
Gone are the days when a sole researcher could carry out a market research project from beginning to end on their own. B2B International has brought together a diverse team with specialist skills ranging from pure research backgrounds through to statisticians, computer programmers and consultants that can act in an advisory capacity upon completion of a project
As usual, during any recession, research providers who supply quality and value throughout the difficult times will emerge stronger and fitter. However, with organizations continually looking to measure ROI on every pound spent, is the competitive landscape for business to business research changed forever?
Posted in
B2B Marketing, Budgets, Business To Business, ROI, RSM, Recession, Return On Investment |
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Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s latest Marketing Trends survey shows hints of increasing business confidence among UK marketers.
While 72% of the 1,223 marketers surveyed still do not think that the UK will completely pull out of recession by the end of this year, the number of respondents believing the situation will worsen over the next year halved – to 34% – compared to the last Marketing Trends survey conducted in autumn 2008. 35% expect business to improve throughout 2009, and more than a quarter (26%) believes the UK economy will improve over the next 12 months, a figure that compares favourably to just 11% in the previous survey.
However, almost a third of respondents are concerned over losing their jobs in the next 12 months and 18% of self-employed marketers worry that the recession may force them to close their business this year. Nevertheless, while 2009 is still anticipated to be a tough year overall, there are definite signs that British marketers believe the worst may soon be over.
Backing this belief, a survey of global marketers recently carried out by B2B International showed almost half of the respondents (47%) to be feeling optimistic about their own organisation’s prospects over the coming year.
Meanwhile, the latest Business Trends report by accounting firm BDO Stoy Hayward LLP shows that UK businesses expect the pace of economic decline to slow markedly over the next quarter, supporting the UK Chancellor’s predictions of a recovery starting in Q4 2009.
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Budgets, Business Confidence Index, Economic Downturn, Market Intelligence, Marketing, Recession |
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