Over Half of Businesses Plan to Increase Marketing Spend

The latest survey by research group Mindmetre shows a growth in confidence from businesses when planning their marketing budget for 2012.

As reported by the BBC, 57.1% of the 2,000 firms questioned said they are looking to invest more in marketing while only 18.6% plan to make cuts. By comparison, the same survey in 2011 showed only 41% of companies wanting to increase their marketing budget and 42% had to prepare to cut back. Although there are worries over the UK being hit with another recession, these figures reflect how business owners understand the importance of spending in the right areas to encourage company growth.

One way to improve marketing productivity while seeing a clear return on investment is by integrating demand generation technology. A platform such as Profunnel’s will assist marketing and sales teams with their B2B lead generation, by increasing lead quantity, quality and conversion rates. Sales people are alerted of the activity and interests of warm allowing them target prospects with automated emails, tailored to suit their interests in specific services and products. This level of communication allows sales people to engage with leads who are at the final stages in the buying cycle - creating a greater rate for securing sales.

Visit Profunnel for more information on demand generation.

How will the ‘digital hub’ affect business?

As the Government unveils its plans to create a ‘digital hub’ in every community in the country, as part of an £830 million strategy to make sure the UK has the best broadband network in Europe by 2015, the new plans are set to have a huge impact on business.

Faster broadband will mean increased Internet usage for both consumers and business, enabling people to more easily research their options, make an informed choice and buy online. As a result, it is even more important for businesses in both the B2B and B2C sectors to build their customer understanding and use online marketing to maximum effect.

With more potential customers surfing the web, you need to interact with them and nurture them from the start to help win their business - and this is where the latest marketing technology can really help such as marketing automation. The boost in broadband is set to help us all, but as a business you need to capitalise early on the opportunities out there.

Visit the BBC article for more information on the Government’s broadband plans.