After several years of making cuts, B2B marketing leaders are increasing their budgets 6.7% in 2011 over 2010 levels, with tech-services companies driving much of the expansion, according to a report by Forrester Research.
Tech-services companies plan to increase marketing budgets 17.0% on average in 2011. Other sectors planning increases include the following:
- Finance and insurance: 7.8%
- High-tech products: 5.9%
- Business and professional services: 4.3%
- Manufacturing: 4.3%
By contrast, pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers are reducing spending in 2011, roughly 2.8% on average from 2010 levels.
Below, other findings from the report, Bigger B2B Marketing Budgets Come With Great Expectations, based on a survey of 563 global marketing executives.
The three biggest B2B investment areas in 2011 are product marketing and management (21.3%), lead origination (15.7%), and branding (13.5%).
B2B brands continue to gradually shift priorities to better align themselves with today's buyers:
- Community and interactive marketing is expected to account for 7.4% of 2011 budgets, up 0.9 points from 2010.
- Lead nurturing is expected to account for 7.2% of spending, up 0.8 points from a year earlier.
About the data: Findings are from Forrester's survey of 563 global marketing executives, conducted in the fourth quarter of 2010.
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