Chicago—BtoB’s “2008 Marketing Priorities and Plans” survey found that 60.1% of b2b marketers plan to increase their marketing budgets next year.

The survey of 213 b2b marketers was conducted online during the last week of November and the first week of December.

The biggest budget increases will be seen in online marketing, with 79.1% of marketers planning to boost their online budgets next year.

Also, the average percentage of the marketing budget spent next year on online marketing will be 33.8%, up from 26.5% this year.

Another tactic that will see a spending boost in 2008 is event marketing, with 49.5% of marketers planning budget increases in this area.

Direct mail will also get a boost next year, with 49.0% of respondents planning to increase their direct budgets.

The primary marketing goal for 2008 is customer acquisition, cited by 62.4% of respondents, followed by brand awareness (19.3%), customer retention (11.7%) and other objectives (6.6%).