Marketing budgets cut by 20 percent, SMBs turn to social media
Author: Jenna Weiner
October 10, 2009

With the recession causing small businesses to tighten their purse strings, many are choosing to cut back on marketing budgets, according to recent data from Forrester Research.

In an article in BusinessWeek, Forrester CEO George Colony explained what the latest Forrester research - which showed a 20 percent reduction in marketing budgets - means for small business owners.

Colony pointed out that spending on TV, print, radio, magazines, custom printing and other branding and advertising strategies has been reduced 60 percent, with social and digital media strategies seeing the most modest cuts.

Instead of bucking that trend, Colony advises small business owners to embrace the digital age. "Social marketing is here to stay. It's time for you to understand it," he wrote.

Colony also discussed the recent phenomenon of marketing departments being given more IT responsibility due to budget cuts, something he warns against.

"This is driving long-delayed collaboration between marketing and IT/BT - critical to your future brand building," he wrote. The two departments must work together on the company's website and digital marketing platforms to meet both the technology and consumer needs, he added.

Investing in the digital and interactive marketing trend may actually help small businesses better position themselves post-recession, as these strategies are typically less cost-intensive, Forrester principal analyst Shar VanBoskirk recently advised in the company's blog.