Despite economic concerns, businesses will continue to invest in key marketing programs in the coming year, according to a 2009 Marketing Outlook survey released today by StrongMail Systems, Inc., the leading provider of commercial-grade solutions for marketing and transactional email. Results show that more than half (51 percent) of the nearly 1,000 global business leaders polled plan to increase their marketing budgets in 2009 to focus on programs that yield a higher return on investment (ROI), such as email marketing and search, while many will decrease spending on costly, less targeted programs like advertising and trade shows.

StrongMail’s 2009 Marketing Outlook survey found that only 37 percent of those polled expect to see a decrease in sales in 2009 due to current economic conditions; 22 percent believe their customers will spend about the same in 2009 as in 2008; and 19 percent think their customers will spend more next year.

Respondents across industries, with strong representation in retail, financial services, technology, and media and entertainment sectors, indicate that they plan to direct marketing budgets towards more personalized programs that will enable them to compete more effectively for customer dollars. As such, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of companies that plan to increase marketing budgets in 2009 will bolster email marketing programs, while 44 percent will add dollars to their search marketing campaigns. Those professionals decreasing budgets in 2009 will cut spend on marketing programs that don’t typically generate as lucrative a return, such as advertising (29 percent) and trade shows (19 percent). Only four percent of companies surveyed plan to cut email marketing budgets.

“Despite additional campaign costs, relevant campaigns increase net profits by an average of 18 times more than do broadcast mailings,” writes JupiterResearch vice president and research director David Daniels in the ‘The ROI of E-Mail Relevance Report’ (2005). “In addition, the use of Web analytics to target email campaigns improves revenue by nine times more than does the use of broadcast mailings.”

According to the StrongMail poll, nearly all businesses (81 percent) will either use the information available to them via customer databases, analytics tools or other resources to send more relevant emails to customers and prospects in 2009, or are currently considering tools to help them do so. Additionally, a significant number of organizations plan to experiment with new programs in 2009 to raise visibility and increase sales, like offering free-trials, promoting product giveaways and integrating social media strategies.

In the current economy, consumer goods and retail industries are being hit hard, and with this in mind, the Global Commerce Initiative (GCI) has published a new report entitled: “Succeeding in a Volatile Market – 2018: The Future Value Chain.”  The study is the result of a series of workshops that brought together a wide range of retailers, manufacturers, academics and industry organizations, including Capgemini, HP and SAP. These sessions revealed that for the consumer goods industry, market volatility resulting from the state of the global economy, fluctuating raw material costs and concerns about environmental sustainability has accelerated more rapidly than expected. Yet, despite the economic challenges, there are opportunities for retailers and manufacturers to grow and meet consumers’ needs through improved collaboration between partners and through sharing best practices that can help the industry to better prepare for the coming decade.

“The trends highlighted in the report underline the need for even more collaboration between all parties in the value chain as we move through these challenging times. We should treat this as an opportunity to continue to find solutions that better suit the changing needs of our consumers. As necessity drives invention, we expect to see many breakthrough solutions being adopted in the coming years,” said Chris Bull, Chief Customer Development Officer, Unilever.

The report also states that in ten years, the balance of economic power will have shifted, at both the consumer and the corporate levels; for example, the growing middle classes in Asia and the worldwide mass adoption of consumer technologies will drive new communication and purchasing patterns. The cost and availability of raw materials will affect supply chains, and environmental and socially sustainable sourcing will be an important option.

With an in depth focus on the Asian market, the report identifies the specific challenge of serving the needs of low-income consumers in Asia. Manufacturers and retailers have to cooperate on product development and customization to keep costs low and provide new product portfolios that suit low-income households without compromising on quality or service. Likewise, better logistics solutions and new retail models can ensure that products reach these households in the most efficient and sustainable way. The report describes this as affordable, available and appropriate.

“In the 10 years I have been in this industry, I have never before sat down with my industry partners and talked frankly about how, by working together, our industry can better serve our joint consumers. This is exciting and we look forward to supporting the ideas generated and fulfilling our commitments made on the Asian industry initiatives,” said Harry Ahn, Senior Managing Director, Marketing Group, Samsung Tesco. Ltd.