Ten Trends and Predictions for Successful Marketing in 2009 [Article]

Companies face an interesting start to the 2009 calendar year. Many major organizations have recently elected to rescind or completely forgo forecasting their fourth-quarter 2008 and first and second quarters of 2009 due to highly uncertain conditions. This article focuses on just ten of the MANY trends, observations and predictions for the coming year that all marketers should account for in their planning process to help navigate through the uncertain economic conditions. Admittedly, this is a list from my own research, but it’s based on what I’ve seen in presenting to over 1000 people this past year and talking to dozens of marketers about their plans. For a broad perspective on the 2009 marketing predictions, I suggest visiting the aggregation site, www.2009marketingpredictions.com.

1. Marketers apply lessons from the 2008 Presidential campaign.
2. Marketers will measure absolutely everything.
3. Insurgent marketers will win big market share.
4. Customer data will be the most precious marketing resource.
5. Everyone becomes a marketer.
6. Marketers focus on targeting.
7. Consumers expect feedback loops; companies respond.
8. Mobile and location really begin to matter.
9. Tactics will still lead before strategy.
10. B2B Marketers will increasingly seek a ‘thought leadership’ based approach to marketing.

It seems that marketing always finds itself in challenging times. If it’s not the economy, it’s competition, growth, product launches or something else. The most successful marketers keep a constant eye on trends and keep their ear to the ground to learn what’s new and afoot in the marketplace.

For more on marketing predictions for 2009, I recommend visiting www.2009marketingpredictions.com to keep up on predictions from across the marketing world.

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