Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for Railroad Companies. The following are the predicted Top 3 Opportunities/Challenges from the report for this industry for the upcoming 12 months:

The latest news coming from the industrial sector looks positive. Of companies responding to the most recent Global Spec annual survey, over half (51%) are expecting higher revenue this year when compared to 2009. And over 2/3’s say the company will meet or exceed revenue projections for 2010. To spur this growth, 17% of industrials have boosted marketing budgets.

Like all businesses, industrial firms are looking for better ways to find new clients and to hang onto existing clients. Companies in the industrial sector primarily engage in B2B marketing as they promote products ranging from capital goods to construction equipment to aerospace technology. While it might seem that their product lines are associated with the old economy, it would be a mistake to assume that these companies are sticking with old media.

Firms operating in the industrial sector are hoping for a solid expansion in 2010. And one way to increase sales will be to launch new products such as motors, tools, gaskets and machinery. The results of the new Grant Marketing survey reveal that over 90% of industrial firms will be introducing new or improved products this year. Along with the product launches, these companies will also boost advertising expenditures.

Conditions for U.S. manufacturers have been anything but positive since December 2007. These businesses have lost at least 1.96 million jobs and don’t plan to increase employment for at least another year. But senior managers, responding to a ThomasNet survey, believe conditions are looking up and they are carrying important lessons forward from this recession.

Amidst the news that the nation’s unemployment rate continues to rise and may reach 10% before the economic recovery really kicks in, some analysts are watching the staffing industry closely. While Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) predicts that 2009 will usher in an overall drop of 25% for companies in this industry, the firm is predicting an industry growth rate of 5% for 2010.