Doom And Gloom In The Marketing Profession

Confidence among senior marketers in the UK has hit rock bottom, in sharp contrast with the position just three months ago, according to the latest figures from The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).

The latest Marketing Trends Survey shows that economic uncertainty coupled with fears over the war with Iraq has resulted in a collapse of confidence in sales targets. The confidence index, which measures marketers' confidence in their ability to meet sales targets, has dropped significantly from 98.5 in the Winter MTS, to 82.5, a record low.

The fall in confidence reflects pessimism throughout the marketing profession. Only 36% of respondents describe their sales plan as realistic, compared to 58% in the Winter of 2002. In contrast, 62% described their sales plan as very challenging and only 3% as over achievable, compared to 20% and 19%, respectively, in the Winter MTS.

The largest firms, those with a turnover of over £100 million, are forecasting 6.3% growth following only a 2.7% rise last year. Across the board, firms are planning a 1.7% increase in total sales resource this year, down from the 2.4% increase reported in Winter 2002.

In comparison to Winter 2002 there have been two major changes in firms' marketing focus. In the Winter MTS, higher margins were a focus for 66%, while improving product specifications was the primary concern for 58% of respondents. The latest figures show that improving existing customer loyalty and income generation is now of primary concern for 60% of those questioned.

'Clearly uncertainty about war in Iraq combined with a continuing consumer slowdown mean that senior UK marketers are concerned about the prospect of a recession,' says Mike Johnston, CIM's International Chairman.

The Spring 2003 Marketing Trends Survey was conducted by postal questionnaire between 14 February and 21 February 2003. The survey was targeted at UK resident members of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and other marketing professionals. All 120 respondents were in a position to give detailed information about their organisation's marketing and sales policies.

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