Senior Marketers Tepid on Off-shoring

Less than a quarter of senior marketing execs in a US survey say their companies off-shore any part of the marketing function; and less than a quarter like the idea. Anderson Analytics conducted the survey of trends and opinions for member organization The Marketing Executives Networking Group (MENG).

MENG has more than 1,600 members, consisting of marketers at VP level or above in their organizations. The organisation's first annual survey, Top Marketing Trends for 2008, focused on concepts, buzz words, global areas of opportunity, targeted customer demographics, and inspirational writing. 607 responses were received between October 19 and November 20.

Marketing 'basics' are still regarded as the cornerstone of the profession - 60% rating them 'Very Important' - despite the rise of new areas like Search Engine Optimization (42%) and 'Green Marketing' (32%) - the latter was considered the trendiest marketing buzzword.

In terms of key customer demographics, the execs rank Baby Boomers highest but Gen X, Hispanics, Women, and Gen Y are all rising in importance as distinct target groups.

China is viewed as the region offering the best opportunities for the future (by 52%) but India scored a healthy 20% in second place.. Few marketers saw other regions such as Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Latin America, Brazil, Russia, and Mexico, as comparable opportunities.

'Senior marketers are facing an increasingly complex world with new technologies and new market segments rising to the fore' according to Chandra Chaterji, a member of the MENG Board of Directors.

On the outsourcing finding, Tom Anderson, Founder & Managing partner of Anderson Analytics, comments: 'A lot of companies are engaging in 'knowledge process offshoring' (KPO) ... For instance in my specific area of marketing, market research, almost all of the larger companies are trying their hand at offshoring while trying to keep it as quiet as possible'.

The execs rated Good to Great, Positioning, and 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as their all-time favourite business books.

Not-for-profit networking community MENG is on the web at www.MENGonline.com , and Anderson Analytics at www.andersonanalytics.com.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.