Marketers are targeting new customers and forsaking old
Marketers are using their budgets to target customer acquisition over retention in order to see them through the recession, according to a Marketing Society poll carried out in partnership with Royal Mail.
More than a quarter (28%) state that customer acquisition will be the key focus for funds over the next six months, while less than a fifth (19%) say they will use most of their budget to retain customers.
The Marketing Society surveyed 115 marketing directors over their plans for the next six months in an online survey conducted in July and August. The poll found that “generating sales to boost the bottom line” was the overriding priority of a third of senior marketers while brand building ranked in fourth place, cited by just 8% of respondents.
Marketers also identified search engine optimisation/natural search and direct mail as the two most important media tools over the coming financial year, ranking 52.2% and 44.2% respectively.
Cinema, which no one identified as the most important, and mobile advertising with just 4.4% of votes, were considered the least vital media channels of ten options.
Mark Thomson, media director at Royal Mail, says: “Marketers appear optimistic that economic recovery lies ahead. An acquisition play is timely to position for when consumer and business confidence returns. But there needs to be an equal focus on cross-sell and upsell once new customers have been acquired, and it is here that mail has a proven pedigree.”
