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The economic downturn has forced many B2B marketers to operate with smaller budgets and lower headcounts, with many opting to direct their efforts toward more narrowly defined targets, according to the recently published MarketingProfs report B2B Marketing in 2009: Trends in Strategies and Spending.

Survey participants were asked about the strategies they are using to deal with the economic downturn, what tactics they believe are most effective for them, and how their companies are likely to respond to new challenges.

Some 54% indicated that, in response to the recession, they planned to invest selectively to reach targeted segments and another 20% reported that, despite all-around cuts, they would focus on targeted segments. Very few (just 10%) indicated that they would increase marketing spending levels above those of competitors in an attempt to gain share:

Changes to Marketing Budgets for 2009

The survey responses indicated that 56% of large companies (annual revenue > $500 million) and 43% of medium-sized companies (annual revenue between $20 million and $499.9 million) expected decreases in their marketing budgets for 2009. Small companies (with annual revenues less than $20 million) were significantly more likely than large companies to anticipate budget increases for 2009 (31% of small companies anticipated increase vs. 16% of large companies).

When respondents were asked about how the economic situation would affect marketing dollars, 65% said that program dollars would be shifted among various alternatives and 50% said that their firms would institute hiring freezes or lay off temporary workers:

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B2B Marketers Shift Strategy, Focus in 2009

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