Region’s marketers hopeful on recovery

Friday, 25 September 2009 12:36 Editor
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Over 40 per cent of East Anglia businesses belive the UK economy will improve in the next twelve months, compared to 26 per cent nationally, according to a survey by Further Search Marketing and the Chartered Institute of Marketing and Further Search Marketing in the region. Over half of those surveyed said the recession had led to their product or service offerings changing.

Twenty per cent of marketers who were asked in the east “feel strongly” that the UK will pull out of the recession by the end of the year, compared to just 14 per cent nationally.

Philip Preston, the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Regional Director for the east of England and Greater London, said: “It’s reassuring to see that businesses in the region are staying positive as the economic climate remains gloomy. The country as a whole is still gripped by uncertainty but East Anglia businesses appear determined to work hard through the slump and to adapt to the changes.”

Many east of England businesses said they would be trialling new marketing activities in the next year. Twenty-seven percent said they would trial social media marketing, 22 per cent were planning on using a blog and 20 per cent will try search engine optimisation . Some 55 per cent of companies strongly agreed with the statement: ‘Those who invest in marketing through a recession are best placed when the recession ends.’

Steve Jaggard, co-founder of Further Search Marketing said: “More companies in the east are realising the importance of innovative marketing methods to boost business at this difficult time”, he said.

“We have seen a continuous rise in demand for services such as SEO and social media marketing as more business owners see the return on investment they offer. The survey highlights the growing awareness of online marketing in this part of the UK.”

Last Updated ( Friday, 16 October 2009 08:54 )