Customer acquisition a priority, survey says

Marketers are prioritising their budgets on customer acquisition over retention to see them through the recession, according to a study by the Marketing Society and Royal Mail.

The study of top UK marketing directors revealed that 28 per cent believe acquiring new customers will be a key focus over the next six months.

However, just 19 per cent agreed that they will be using the majority of their budget for retaining existing customers, despite much commentary over the past year promoting the importance of customer retention during a downturn.

The general drive to generate sales to boost the bottom line was the overriding priority for 34 per cent of marketers.

Brand building, generally viewed as being a key marketing priority during buoyant economic times, came in fourth with eight per cent of respondents citing this as a main concern.

Almost half of marketing directors believe that their overall marketing budget will remain the same until the New Year.

While 25 per cent believe their marketing budget will continue to be squeezed over the coming months, 26 per cent are more optimistic, thinking that their budget will increase before January 2010.

The study also identified search engine optimisation/natural search and direct mail as the two most important media tools within the marketer's armoury in the coming months.

Around half of marketing directors said they will play an important role in achieving their objectives.

Cinema and mobile advertising were considered the least powerful channels in the current climate, with 0 per cent and four per cent respectively.

Traditional above-the-line media, including television (12 per cent) and radio (10 per cent) were also found to suffer, having been eclipsed by other digital channels such as online display (25 per cent) and paid search (20 per cent).

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