Danny Turnbull, GyroHSR General Manager, examines whether the business to business sector is likely to slump or flourish under a tougher economic climate.

In the 16 years that I have worked in B-to-B communications, I have seen the industry grow from the old trade and tech days when it was perceived to be a poor relation to the more glamorous B-to-C sector, into an extremely sophisticated and competitive multi billion pound, global industry.

Latest estimates from Keynote suggest B-to-B marketing expenditure to be 11.3bn per annum in the UK alone.

GyroHSR has its roots very firmly in this specialist sector and the annual publication of our B-to-B Marketing Insight Report underlines our commitment to increasing the formal knowledge base in this sector.

Whilst the B-to-B sector has become increasingly crowded, the rush of new entrants has done little to improve the formal knowledge base which, whilst extremely well researched at an academic level, still suffers terribly in terms of credibility, cohesiveness and rigour at the cutting edge.

The latest report is available to purchase from B-to-B Marketing (http://www.b2bm.magazine.co.uk/) or alternatively drop us an email to claire.lyall@gyrointernational.com to see if you qualify for a complimentary copy.

The report certainly makes for interesting reading, and Im heartened to see that the quality and spread of respondents has improved year on year which is, Im sure, a reflection of the improving stock of the sector.

One of the most encouraging findings for me from the report was how positive the sector is regarding activity and expenditure over the coming year, especially as many of our counterparts in the B-to-C sector are reporting the opposite… . In fact Im sure there is a famous quote about what smart marketeers do in a recession???

Its no surprise that expenditure is being increasingly diverted towards the most quantifiable and responsive media such as direct and digital, with falling expenditure on press. Conventional channels are still important tools in the B-to-B marketeers armoury but its digital that represents the largest growth opportunity with over 40% of marketeers stating that this is not currently being best used, an issue linked to a lack of understanding of the media. This does not surprise me and represents an important opportunity or challenge for digital media providers to address.

Whilst B-to-B budgets are perhaps less substantial than in B-to-C markets its good to see that they are being increased and it would seem that this correlates with both more formal budgeting and a drive towards marketing accountability. However its amazing that over 50% of our sample still dont measure return on marketing investment, and link this to an inability to do so (another famous quote struggling to get out!). And whilst the research shows that the importance of brands in this sector is increasingly being recognised, only 7% of respondents measure the strength of these!

The report highlights a number of other challenges our industry faces, some of them perennial and others emerging. Its disappointing to see a lack of control of customer data and the resultant unsophisticated targeting. As a marketing communications practitioner, Im relieved to see that the creation of relevant messaging is still such an important issue. The importance of insight driven creativity is an enduring driver for success within marketing and its the companies that can truly master this fundamental and basic skill of effective communication who will continue to see success as our market develops further.