by Lillian Kate Marmaduke

Results from a recent business survey related to the marketing plans of smaller technology companies are now available ” with some findings coming as quite a surprise!

The Technology Sales and Marketing Survey for 2009 has discovered that small, owner-managed technology companies in England and Wales are not doing all they can to help reverse their fortunes in this challenging economic climate.

Companies from across the technology sector were asked 5 questions designed to profile the impact of the recession on their businesses and how they will be marketing themselves in the year ahead, the results showed that all respondents expected a downturn in revenues and that 98% were seeking new customers ” with the majority of those stating that they expected up to 25% of sales to come from this source.

It appears to be the web service providers who are suffering the most in these harsh times as these are the ones who have cut the most staff and have cut most money from their marketing plans. This demonstrates short sightedness on their part as it has been shown from the last time the country was in recession that the companies that keep up effective marketing campaigns will be at the top of the pile when the economy stabilises itself.

It was also fairly concerning to learn that these small businesses were far too reliant on the personal approach, quoting referrals as their most frequent method of attracting new business ” and shying away from web and electronic forms of marketing.

Ironic though it is, it looks like it is these technology companies that arent making full use of the Internet, despite the fact that it is almost a simple fix and emarketing systems can be implemented almost immediately. Personal contacts should of course not be abandoned but companies cannot afford to shut out other options of marketing, particularly in these hard times.

The main standout finding from this survey was that a lot of companies that provide services on the web are making considerable cuts to their marketing spend. Findings from the last recession will tell you that it will be the companies that keep up their marketing strategies who will come out on top at the end of it all.

About the Author:
The conductor of this survey was the UKs leading technology sales and marketing coach, Terry Forsey. Terry Forsey can really help your business get through these difficult times using his ample years of experience and what he has learnt from previous recessions.

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