Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

As the recession fades, B2B operators that had slashed advertising and marketing are planning to increase those budgets this year. Some industries will put more money into marketing than others. And they’ll be measuring the returns on these investments carefully according to a new report from Forrester which was highlighted in a recent BtoBOnline column.

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

Local marketers, especially service providers, are focused on establishing an online presence with social media this year. And many of these operators are also upping the budget for search marketing. But what specifically should these small operators be promoting in their online campaigns to attract the attention and business of consumers? A new survey by WebVisible reveals that consumers want varying information depending on the type of professional they’re seeking to hire.

The traditional personal computer continues to shrink – to about the size of a smartphone. While super-small mobile phones were trendy a couple of years ago, new research shows that consumers want specific functionality on their phones. This functionality requires real estate and smartphone manufacturers are likely planning to release new hardware to keep consumers happy.

Marketers are working harder than ever these days to reach consumers with their promotional messages. But consumers have found more channels to engage with – like social networks and mobile phones. As ad budgets continue to be squeezed, smart marketers are taking a closer look at their media mix and optimizing their spending to lower costs and improve results.

Now that employers have started hiring again, albeit slowly, consumers may decide to spend more money. If consumers don’t begin spending, the economic growth rate may slow or stall. The Harris Poll has been tracking consumer spending patterns on specific product categories since 2009 and the most recent data issued by the company suggests that caution is still the order of the day, indicating marketers may have to shift their strategies to encourage spending.