MESSAGE TO VENDORS: ‘What We’ve Learned in 2007′
Advertisers preach to an ‘ecosystem of influence’ and must hit prospects at the right stage of the ‘buying journey.’
By Hank Berkowitz
from AICPA Custom Media
The hazy dog days of August are upon us. But are they still lazy? Traditionally it’s time to take a breather, catch a little R&R and take stock of how the year’s been going before gearing up for the September whirlwind of pent-up decision-making and the Q4 budget grind. Anybody remember those good old days?
We’re not suggesting you’re a sloth if you don’t have your Holiday greeting cards already at the printer, but in today’s business climate, you better be ready to hit the ground running well before Labor Day. To make life easier on you, here’s a summary of what we’ve learned in this column this year (it won’t take up too much of your time):
Key Learning #1: Marketing budgets are set (and reset) on a year-round basis.
August has become the new September. Many of your colleagues are making those painful, post-Labor Day budget decisions right now. Marketing budgets seem to be evolving, readjusting and resetting pretty much on a year round basis.
Need proof. Less than half of you (45%) who responded to the spring CPA Marketing Insider reader poll told us you were nailing down your marketing budgets in the traditional October to December quarter. Almost a third of you (31%) said you were setting budgets the January to March quarter and 26 percent of you are waiting until the spring or summer quarters. It’s still painful, but at least the pain is more evenly distributed.
Key Learning #2: Marketers have more choices (and objectives) than ever.
The choices for B2B marketers are more varied than before and hopefully you’re taking extra time to think through your decisions and add effective new weapons to your prospect-hunting arsenal. The good news? Three-fourths of you (73%) have more dollars to work with than last year and 40 percent of you told us your budgets are 10 percent larger than they were they year before.
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Key Learning #3: Customer acquisition and lead gen are top marketing priorities in B2B. Branding is less important.
Top marketing priorities for AICPA clients in 2007:
Customer Acquisition
Lead Generation
New Market Growth
Brand Awareness
Product Penetration
Customer Retention
Thought Leadership
Source: CPA Marketing Insider and Bay Street Group Research, 2007
