IDM sets out 10-point 'Survive and Thrive' formula for 2009 B2B Marketing Conference
Released 15 January 2009: In the run-up to its annual business-to-business marketing conference, the Institute of Direct Marketing has issued a 10-point formula to help organisations survive and thrive in the current economic recession.
Neil Morris, IDM Deputy Managing Director, says "In order to sustain – and, more importantly, improve – marketing performance in 2009, businesses must ensure their marketers continue to have access to the knowledge and skills they need to deploy the very latest techniques and up-to-date practices. They must draw on the latest innovations, underpinned by sound marketing principles that deliver optimised, measurable programmes. Our 10-point formula was devised while planning the 2009 IDM B2B Marketing Conference, and conference delegates will hear leading B2B experts examine the formula's recommendations in depth."
The IDM 10-point formula to survive and thrive during a recession:
- Make full use of today's ecosystem of influencers
Optimise your marketing and communications by adapting them to all the influences and influencers that impact results. - Reinforce your brand values
Focus on your core brand and service values, and build aggressively on them to sustain your brand's pre-eminence. - Stay on top of buyer-led markets
Develop unrivalled intelligence and insight to ensure you remain best placed to meet your customers' changing needs, behaviours and buying strategies. - Keep your eye on the long-term
Don't abandon your strategic marketing goals for the sake of short-term sales imperatives. - Arm yourself to protect your budgets
Equip yourself with the ammunition to demonstrate and defend the contribution your marketing plans and programmes make to the long-term success of the business. - Embrace new ideas
Don't squeeze out innovation. Continue to experiment with and invest in new media, channels and modes of business. - Seek out new opportunities from existing programmes
Look within your existing marketing and communications for new upsell and cross-sell opportunities. - Review your metrics dashboard
Ensure you have identified the relevant indicators and critical metrics that are fit for monitoring your marketing's performance in today's turbulent and dynamic marketplace. - Stay positive and plan offensively
Commit your marketing and your team to a positive 'survive and thrive' attitude – and to coming out of recession ahead of the competition. - Make time for yourself
Remember the importance and necessity of your own continuing professional development. Don't get left behind while looking after the house!
The 6th Annual IDM B2B Marketing Conference, which takes place in London on March 31, has once again attracted today's top B2B marketing practitioners among its speaker faculty. Together, they will explore innovative new techniques (influencer marketing, for example); reveal groundbreaking new research (the behaviour and attitudes of SME customers – to be published February 2009); explore today's most effective new technologies (web video, social media...), and will demonstrate the proven effectiveness of all their methods and ideas via real-world up-to-the-minute case studies.
For the full conference programme, including session details and speaker information, visit www.theidm.com/b2bconference. The IDM would like to thank this year's sponsors, including D&B, Aprimo and Pitney Bowes.
Notes to Editors
For more information contact Juliet Hilditch .
