Growth of B2B Marketing Budgets to be Slow

Commentary & Analysis

Growth of B2B Marketing Budgets to be Slow

By David Dodd
Published: March 9, 2010

A recent survey by Target Marketing magazine indicates that B2B direct marketing budgets will grow only slowly in 2010. Over half (55%) of B2B marketers responding to the "Media Usage Forecast 2010" survey (conducted in January 2010) said they expect 2010 budgets to be the same as 2009, while 23% of respondents expect 2010 budgets to be higher, and 13% expect further cuts. Nine percent of respondents indicated they weren't sure how 2010 spending would compare with 2009.

These findings are similar to the results of a November 2009 survey by BtoB Magazine. In that survey, 47% of respondents expected 2010 marketing budgets to be flat, 39% expected more spending in 2010, and 13% expected more cuts in 2010.

The Target Marketing survey also reflects the continuing shift to online marketing techniques and channels. When asked where they expect to increase spending in 2010, marketers (both B2B and B2C) responded as follows:

E-mail - 68.4%

SEO - 47.7%

Paid Search - 45.2%

Advertising on Web Sites - 32.9%

Direct Mail - 31.8%

Webcasts - 24.5%

Affiliate Marketing - 22.0%

Outbound Telemarketing - 20.2%

Mobile Marketing - 19.3%

DR Space Advertising - 12.1%

Insert Media - 10.9%

DR Radio - 6.1%

DR TV - 4.3%

With respect to direct mail, Target Marketing said, "Compared to last year's numbers, the percent of marketers expecting to decrease their budgets for direct mail has dropped a few percentage points, while the amount stating they don't use direct mail held steady; the result should be a flat year in terms of investment."

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G. David Dodd is available for speaking engagements and consulting projects. To get more information contact us here.

G. David Dodd is a principal of Point Balance, LLC ( www.pointbalance.com ), an executive education and management consulting firm. Point Balance provides cutting-edge management education programs designed for printing and publishing executives. The firm also provides management consulting services involving business strategy development, strategic marketing, cost management (including activity-based costing), business process management, and balanced scorecard performance management systems. Dodd is a co-author of Activity-Based Costing for Printers: An Implementation Guide, the authoritative resource relating to the use of activity-based costing by printing and publishing firms. Dodd also co-authored Making Value Added Services Work, a comprehensive reference tool for printing company managers who are just beginning to consider diversification or who have already added new services and are not receiving the benefits they expected.

David Dodd can be reached at ddodd@pointbalance.com,931-707-5105.

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