December 19, 2006

Overall, more than 62 percent of B2B marketers plan to substantially increase their marketing budgets for 2007, according to B2B Magazine's New Year Marketing Priorities and Plans survey.

Polled during the last two weeks of November among over 550 marketing executives, the study found that more than 29 percent of them expect their budgets to remain flat in the coming year, and 8 percent plan to reduce them.

Of those planning to increase their marketing budgets in 2007, more than 31 percent said they plan increases of 20 percent or more. On average, about 26 percent said they plan increases of between 10 and 14 percent, while 19.6 percent said they expect increases of between 5 and 9percent.

Then 11.5 percent of B2B marketers that were polled said they expect increases of between 15 and 20 percent, while less than 11 percent said they plan an increase of less than 5 percent.

According to the survey, the biggest increases will come in online marketing.

About 75.6 percent of B2B marketers surveyed plan to increase their online budgets next year.

When asked what their primary marketing goals would be for 2007, 62.3 percent of online marketers said customer acquisition, while 19.5 percent opted for brand awareness.

Less than 11 percent selected customer retention as their primary marketing goals for 2007.

Source: eMarketer