The new year rings in the annual forecast of many topics, including B2B marketing spend. According to BtoB magazine’s “2008 Marketing Priorities and Plans” study, most B2B marketers (some 60%) plan to increase their 2008 marketing budgets – but fully 79% plan to increase their online marketing budgets. This number is up from 76% from 2007 predictions.

This really doesn’t surprise me. Online marketing activities are effective, can be targeted more extensively and can be more easily measured than most traditional marketing activities. That doesn’t mean you stop using other parts of the marketing mix. If something is working, keep doing it. If not, stop. That same philosophy includes online marketing activities as well.

Other key findings of the survey include:

• 62% said their primary goal in 2008 would be customer acquisition, 19% cited brand awareness and nearly 12% pointed to customer retention.
• Online will constitute more than one-third (nearly 34%) of marketing budgets in 2008, up from the nearly 27% cited for 2007.
• Areas where marketers said budgets would increase include website development (74%); email (70%); search engine marketing (64%); video (40%); webcasting (39%); banners (36%); sponsorships (30%); and social media (26%).
• Nearly 20% say they are using social media as part of the marketing mix: Among them, 53.8% use them for thought leadership, 40.4% use them for customer feedback, 31% for market research, 29% for advertising, 27% as a sales channel.

Another tactic that will see a spending boost in 2008 is event marketing, with 49.5% of marketers planning budget increases in this area. I’ve seen this trend with some of my clients, moving towards smaller, more focused conferences that provide the best venue for speaking with prospects. Sales people still see value in meeting people face to face and building relationships.

For more information on the survey:

• BtoB Magazine Online
• Marketing Charts