mchen@heraldsun.com; 419-6636
DURHAM -- Marketers are more optimistic about the economy than six months ago, but still recognize that low prices are consumers' top priority, according to a new survey by a Duke University professor.
The third semi-annual Chief Marketing Officer Survey showed optimism about the economy increased dramatically from February. Overall, 59 percent of 511 marketers surveyed are more optimistic about the U.S. economy than they were a quarter ago.
Christine Moorman, a professor of Business Administration at the Fuqua School of Business and founding director of the survey, noted that marketers flipped from pessimism to optimism between February and August.
Six months ago, 59 percent of those surveyed were less optimistic about the economy. In August, just the opposite was true.
"It's astonishing to see that kind of adjustment," Moorman said. "I expected things to be shifting, but not that dramatically."
Consumers continue to be sensitive to pricing, with 34 percent of top marketers ranking it as their customers' top priority, up from 30 percent in February.
But other shifting factors in the economy are leading to more optimism among marketers, according to Moorman.
Some 49 percent of marketers are expecting an increase in purchase volume in the next year; 44 percent are expecting the purchase of related products and services; and 35 percent are predicting an increase in new customers, according to the CMO Survey.
"These are consumers that have been sitting on the sidelines," Moorman said. "They're ready to jump in now, even if they're not going to be able to charge the prices they were previously. [The marketers] are expecting the economy to rebound because of these other forces. This is good news."
The survey also revealed a shift in spending away from traditional advertising. Marketers are planning to decrease spending in traditional advertising by 8 percent over the next year and put that money toward Internet marketing, with particular emphasis on social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace.
Keith Moore, the new chief marketing officer for e-mail marketing company iContact, said the 8 percent decline in traditional, "offline" advertising is probably a conservative projection.
"Marketers can't track the impact in offline marketing," he said.
The Durham-based company has grown by leaps and bounds during this recession, increasing its employees from about 150 in the beginning of the year to 185 now. Moore was among the recent hires.
As for the economy as a whole, Moore said he believes it's going to be a slow improvement.
"I think the housing market is going to drive a lot of things, but it's going to be a while before we see significant increases," he said.
The marketers survey is also in line with Duke's recent survey of chief financial officers in which some 54 percent of CFOs in the U.S. were more optimistic about the economy than in the previous quarter.
Moorman said marketers were more optimistic probably because the survey was conducted two months later and marketers are more aware of consumer attitudes.
"They're sitting at the edge of their organizations with their ears to the ground," she said. "They're more likely to perceive changes in consumer behavior."
