Marketing Budgets Increase for Q3 of 2011

For the first time since the second quarter of 2007, there has been a rise in marketing budgets across all sectors, according to the latest IPA Bellwether Report.

Although overall business optimism is at a low, the latest predictions for the third quarter of 2011 for marketing spending have ended a three-quarter episode of decline. 21% of the companies surveyed have reported an upward revision of their marketing budgets.

The largest increase at 16.6% has been accounted for online spending while sales promotion has also seen a rise – the first time in nearly four years.

The results show that businesses are attempting to override the negative financial period and realise that those companies who exert the greatest spend on their marketing, will be in a much stronger position than their competitors.

An investment in B2B lead generation and marketing automation can provide the winning formula for staying ahead in your industry - Profunnel offers a solution to strengthen marketing and sales productivity. The technology can track and monitor visitors on your website and focuses sales people on the warmest leads through real-time alerts, with the data integrated into the CRM. With the alerts regarding prospects’ interests, conversion rates and sales improve as sales people can react quickly to the information and approach prospects or current clients about their last website visit. Overall, the lead generation software streamlines marketing and sales activity and allows you to clearly identify your marketing ROI.

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Information Is Just As Important As The Technology

Business leaders need to receive more information about technology in order to understand the benefits for their company, according to the Financial Times.

A spokesperson for Gartner believes leaders need to ensure they are aware of how technology can be implemented in their business. Awareness of technological influences within the industry is important for businesses to stay ahead, Gartner says.

Although technology is an integral part of any business in the modern world, information on how technology can be useful and why, clearly remains an issue.

In sales and marketing, demand generation technology is proven to provide real advantages to businesses. Profunnel’s solution provides intelligent forensics for your website, tagging visitors and monitoring their activity. The system creates real-time alerts for marketers, illustrating the most interested prospects, developing your B2B lead generation. The platform also allows you to create targeted email marketing messages, tailored to the prospects’ interests. Receiving relevant information is more likely to increase their interest rather then a generic email. While the prospect builds a relationship with the brand and businesses are able to view the main appeal of their services, sale opportunities improve.

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Trusting Customers On The Rise

As reported on The Drum, this year’s Email Tracking Study by the Direct Marketing Association has revealed the level of customer trust in brands has increased, as a result of improved email marketing.

The DMA research recognises two key reasons for this rise – better email segmentation and improved targeted content. From 1,800 UK respondents, the study found more than half of consumers said the emails they have received in the last year have been of interest to them. Last year just 1 in 10 participants said this was the case, while the figure this year has jumped to 30%.

The results of this study bring positive news for brands that have focussed their email marketing campaigns to provide more tailored information to customers and prospects. For those businesses still looking to better their customer engagement, improving email marketing through integrated solutions could be the answer.

The latest email marketing solutions from Profunnel enable marketers to tailor their messages through various templates, ensuring customers receive information relevant to their interests. To find out such interests, Profunnel’s B2B lead generation software can track and monitor website visitor activity, capturing data such as which website pages are visited and how often. The intelligent lead scoring system alerts marketers of the hottest leads, allowing them to target these prospects with relevant information, which is proven to be successful in retaining interest in a company.

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Number of Marketing Jobs Higher Now than Pre-Recession

As reported on Marketing Week there has been a 20% increase in the number of marketing jobs created even when compared to before the recession hit in 2008.

A study complied by marketing recruiter EMR in conjunction with data from the Office of National Statistics, illustrates that 94,000 new marketing positions have been generated since 2007, signifying the 20% increase.

EMR suggests the report’s findings are a result of popularity in digital marketing, with 1 in 3 marketing roles now being digital-based compared to 1 in 6 in 2009. Social media is a key-contributing factor to the increase in the demand for digital marketers.

Businesses evidently see the potential of digital marketing but the extra marketing channels can make viewing a ROI more difficult. In addition, with more avenues for customers to connect with the company, more effort is required to engage with the customers.

Profunnel provides demand generation solutions that allow your company to adapt and grow in the digital marketing arena. Our social media software enables you to track inbound traffic from a multitude of social media applications while also giving the option of creating your blog within the system. This means you can closely analyse the impact of website traffic, so engagement with customers is more immediate and effective. From the same solution, the Multichannel Marketing Module facilitates the management of your campaigns, from the first click through to the final purchase, creating a clearer understanding of your ROI.

Visit Profunnel for more information on demand generation