More Businesses Going Digital in 2010?

The next trend in corporate marketing is going to be relying less on traditional advertising and marketing agencies, according to the latest State of Marketing Report from the Chief Marketing Officer Council. Continuing to build online awareness and generating higher digital demand were the top initiatives reported for 2010 by the global affinity network of senior marketers.

Nearly half of the members surveyed (46%) reported that their companies are presently undergoing a “digital marketing makeover” or will be sometime in 2010. Fifty-eight percent said they were going to train and develop existing staff specifically in this area, and 36 percent expect to hire new talent with digital marketing skills. Forty percent of corporate marketers will be adding or expanding their support from agencies that specialize in digital marketing while an all-time low eight percent plan to conduct advertising agency reviews.

In reviewing where the digital marketing dollars are likely to be directed, 65 percent of respondents said they were evaluating investments in new social media and online communities, 43 percent in Internet media channels, 32 percent in mobile messaging and 31 percent in new methods of online content delivery. In contrast to 2009, most marketers are seeing their media budgets stay the same or increase slightly, with the biggest increases reported in interactive/Web marketing, social media, search marketing, SEO, and mobile communications areas.

I forsee many of these companies using old phone book money to put to better use online. A great first step is to revisit the design and setup of the current website that promotes the organization. Right now, a good rule of thumb is: if you haven’t made significant changes to your website in the last 24 months, go ahead and redesign it and have it redone in WordPress.