Mobium Creative Group releases results of survey on how your business is attempting to reduce the costs and improve efficiencies of marketing communications

2003-07-22

Mobium Creative Group conducts bimonthly marketing surveys on topics that address grassroots issues of change important to business-to-business (b-to-b) branding, advertising and marketing professionals. Surveys are conducted through the Mobium website, which contains one of the industry’s largest aggregations of business marketing and branding data. The current, on-going survey, powered by B2BWorks, measured what tactics companies are implementing to reduce costs and improve marketing efficiencies. The answers we received ranged from the obvious to the surprising. You can view this survey and past surveys at:
http://www.mobium.com/community/surveys/survey_4_result.asp

The results

We asked our online readers, most of whom are marketers, to select the tactics that they have implemented. A look at the top responses shows a wide variety of cost-cutting/efficiency tactics in play. These range from plucking obvious or traditional low-hanging fruit like ad spending, personnel or travel, to craftier moves such as migrating communications online and measuring ROI. These are the top 10 responses:

Some of the highlights of the survey

The Maui sales convention is on hold
Some budget items that traditionally consume larger budgets are getting the axe, from trade shows (index:158) to business travel (143). Lower down in the results, we are seeing some attempt to balance the travel cuts by using increased more web- and video-based distance collaboration.

Fewer hands, more in-house work
If you’re feeling stressed lately, you’re not alone. The top-cited tactic of reducing agency costs by taking more work in-house (183) may be colliding with the tendency to reduce staff (143). Work that stays outside is often going to smaller agencies or freelancers.

Ad spending contracts, but gets smarter
Though overall ad frequency is frequently a target for cost-cutting (169), you’re finding new ways to target more efficiently and selectively (143). That’s important, as wholesale frequency cuts can greatly reduce overall program efficiency and effectiveness if not handled strategically.

The Mobium analysis

We see some encouraging news in the lower range of the rankings.

Internal marketing programs, which we believe are vital for ensuring the company delivers its brand, seem to be escaping the hatchet.

There’s also a less-than-average tendency to shift dollars away from brand advertising and into direct response and PR. Perhaps the notion that "branding" is ineffective compared to more hard-boiled PR and direct response tactics isn’t widely shared among business marketers, despite some post-bubble pundits’ advice. We take this as a good sign and a vote for more sophisticated business communication strategy.

The Mobium bottom line

Measuring returns to prove value to senior management -the mantra of our friend Don Schultz, is gaining a foothold in the business world, with an index of 138. Marketers appear to be waking up to the fact even "soft" activities as branding and public relations can show positive ROI.

And although marketers are aggressively negotiating lower rates, they are resisting the pull to award work to the lowest-cost bidder. Another indication that despite the troubled times (or perhaps because of them), professionals recognize the difference between price and value.

For additional information on this and other surveys contact Steve Lundin, at (773) 881-4670 to arrange an interview with Guy Gangi and Gordon Hochhalter of Mobium Creative Group.

About Mobium Creative Group

Mobium Creative Group is a full-service, integrated business branding and communications firm specializing in business-to-business integrated communications, branding, relationship marketing, interactive media, and information architecture.  Clientele include MeadWestvaco Corporation (MWV), NEC-Mitsubishi, Motorola GTSS (MOT), CNH Global (CNH), NovaMed Eyecare Inc. (NOVA), Farm Progress Companies, Tellabs, and Ondeo Nalco Company.

In January of 2002, Mobium launched its new Web site which is an interactive book that helps business marketers, communicators, brand builders and change agents, as well as its own employees, better define revolutionary paradigm shifts and explore ways to take advantage of them.

The company has been named Agency of the Year for 2003 by the Business Marketing Association and recognized as one of the top three business-to-business agencies of its size in the country by Crain Communications’ BtoB magazine.