October 13, 2009

Tough Times Increase Pressure To Meet the Marketing Effectiveness Imperative

This report was written by Jay Milliken, Partner, Prophet, and Chiaki Nishino, Partner, Prophet. Businesses today are hunkering down with consumers clutching their wallets more tightly and companies scrutinizing every budget item to maintain profitability even as revenues are flat and costs rise. With marketing commonly viewed as a discretionary spend, it is one of the likeliest victims of the ax. Indeed, a recent survey of marketing executives discovered cuts underway at most large firms, with approximately 60 percent of them cutting or planning marketing budget cuts in 2008. The trick in this kind of environment is to cut wisely or possibly even increase investment in certain areas in order to emerge stronger when the recovery occurs. Indeed, some of the most enduring and successful marketing initiatives were launched in tough times. Now, it's imperative to step up the pace on the marketing effectiveness journey. And by using smarter approaches, the path will be considerably smoothed.