New York—Understanding and engaging customers, using new media such as social networks and digging deeper into data are some of the top trends for 2009, said a panel of top marketers at BtoB’s Best Luncheon Tuesday.
Top marketers from companies including American Express Co., Eastman Kodak Co., IBM Corp., Motorola Corp., Oracle Corp. and Siemens Corp. discussed strategies they will use to drive marketing next year in a tough economy.
“We will be increasing interactive, coupled with strong analytics for database marketing and better segmentation,” said Eduardo Conrado, corporate VP-global marketing and communications at Motorola Corp.
Tom Haas, CMO at Siemens Corp., said, “We will really be engaging the customer more through white papers, deeper product information and thought leadership programs. It’s important to show that Siemens is part of the solution in solving problems that our customers face.”
Sharon Driscoll, VP-worldwide advertising and interactive at IBM Corp., who accepted a top marketer award for Diane Brink, VP-global technology services at IBM, also pointed to the need for companies to show they are part of the solution in these challenging times.
“We are really focused on share of confidence and share of leadership,” Driscoll said, discussing new metrics that IBM is developing to measure the effectiveness of its marketing programs.
Social media was another top trend discussed by top marketers.
“We’ve been doing a lot with social networks, and it will become an even more important part of our arsenal of marketing tools and activities,” said Dan Goldstein, senior director of marketing at Oracle, who accepted a top marketer award on behalf of Judith Sim, CMO at Oracle.
Jeff Hayzlett, VP-chief business development officer at Eastman Kodak Co., who was named 2008 Marketer of the Year at the luncheon, cautioned companies to be careful when using social media.
“As employees engage in it, you really need to think about what they are saying when they are putting their signature and your logo on Facebook or Twitter. You need to ask, ‘Is this an extension of our company or an extension of you?’ If it has our logo on it, it changes things.”
—Kate Maddox
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