Marketing study suggests going back to basics

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By: Wise Marketer Staff |

Posted on December 5, 2007

Marketing basics such as customer satisfaction, customer retention, segmentation, brand loyalty and ROI are considered 'very important' by 60% of marketers, according to the first annual 'Top Marketing Trends' survey by The Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG).

The survey, conducted for the group by Anderson Analytics, focused on top marketing concepts, buzz words, global areas of opportunity, targeted customer demographics, as well as the books that marketers are currently using for inspiration and growth opportunities.

Other top priorities
While the marketers weighed in on many marketing concepts a few key areas emerged. Search engine optimization (SEO) had wide appeal (42%) - a factor that was observed across marketers from all sectors. The concept of 'Green marketing' was another important emerging interest among 32% of marketers, and was identified by respondents as the "trendiest marketing buzzword".

"Senior marketers are facing an increasingly complex world with new technologies and new markets coming to the fore," noted Chandra Chaterji, a member of MENG's board of directors.

Global opportunities
But with regard to more global issues, China was seen as being the region with the best future opportunities by 52% of marketers, while India was the next most promising region (20%). Very few of the marketers surveyed cited other regions such as Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Latin America, Brazil, Russia, and Mexico, as comparable opportunities.

In terms of another important global issue - that of out-sourcing and off-shoring - the majority of marketers (77%) reported that their companies do not off-shore any part of the marketing function, and 50% of senior marketers are not in favour of off-shoring marketing functions, although almost 25% said they viewed the idea favourably.

Key target demographics
When asked about the most important customer demographics, senior marketing executives ranked Baby Boomers highest, with 88% ranking them as either 'very important' or 'somewhat important'. However, Generation X scored 86%, as did Hispanics, closely followed by women (85%) and Generation Y (84%).

Senior-level marketing executives were also found to read avidly to help them stay on top of relevant business information and insights. The most popular books were Good to Great, The World is Flat, and Blink. In terms of all time favourite business book ever read, 60% of marketing executives were keen to recommend Good to Great, Positioning, and Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

For additional information:
·  Visit MENG at http://www.mengonline.com
·  Visit Anderson at http://www.andersonanalytics.com