How the Marketing Landscape has Changed for 2011

The marketing landscape is changing quite rapidly these days. If you’re still advertising the way you were in 2009, you’re missing some valuable opportunities today, and more importantly, you’ll miss significant opportunities as we move into 2011.

The trends of 2010 in blog-land this week are an essential marker for understanding how our marketing worlds have changed. What’s important, though, is what you DO with that information. One of the most compelling pieces I’ve seen this week comes from eMarketer.com, an excellent infographic on where business executives plan to increase marketing spending in 2011. Take just a moment and let it sink in. Unsurprisingly, the single most significant jumps are Email Marketing (65%) and Social Media (57%), followed by Search (41%) and Mobile (35%). The increased spending in these areas makes sense – these new advertising mediums are beginning to be necessary components for any business mega/worldwide or the butcher around the corner. These projections show a monumental shift in how businesses spent their advertising dollars in 2011. They also alluded that 50% of marketing executives plan to increase their marketing spending in 2011. So not only will businesses be spending their money differently, they’ll be spending more of it. That is indeed good news for small and large companies alike. This means that there will be more discretionary money available in 2011, but it also means that competing for the share of mind among consumers will be more difficult. Compounding that shifting landscape is that 50% of business executives have a strategy and are acquiring the tools necessary to implement those strategies. So, not only are your competitors getting ready to spend more money in places they haven’t spent it before, but they have also done their research. If you planned on marketing as usual in 2011, I’m afraid you’re way behind the eight-ball. Take some time to evaluate how your business can leverage email marketing better. If you aren’t collecting email addresses, START! If you aren’t doing a monthly newsletter, IT’s TIME. This is your moment if you don’t have a Facebook page, Twitter account, or Blog. And suppose you’re not integrating all of these things and wrapping your traditional advertising with search and mobile. In that case, you’re missing out on some invaluable layers that will help your business succeed in 2011. The marketing world has changed, and you owe it to your business to change.