Economic barometer 2009: Direct marketing continues to grow

Despite the economic crisis, providers of direct marketing services are confident about the future. Although the latest economic barometer is more subdued than the survey at the beginning of 2008, it clearly shows that the direct marketing sector has been able to further expand its position.
Members of the direct marketing associations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were surveyed online in January and February of this year on current sales and industry trends, the personnel situation and perceptions of political and consumer attitudes towards direct mail.

Slight sales growth in 2008
Almost half of Swiss companies saw their turnover increase in the past year, just under a third saw their turnover remain constant and only a good fifth saw it fall.

In Germany, direct marketing professionals want to keep on fighting (Sms-news.de).

Nine out of ten members of the Swiss Direct Marketing Association (SDV) who were able to increase their turnover in the past year attribute this to the shift in their clients' budgets in favor of direct marketing. Other reasons cited by those surveyed include the acquisition of new customers (82%), the success of their acquisition efforts (59%), the general increase in direct marketing clients (41%) and the increase in sales per customer (41%).
For those companies that recorded a decline in turnover last year, this was due to the significant reduction in budgets from individual customers, but also to the loss of orders (61% each) and the increase in competition within the industry (25%). The direct marketing activities of financial service providers in particular have declined.

2009 - cautious optimism
Three quarters of all Swiss companies expect at least satisfactory development in 2009. Only around a quarter of those surveyed are of the opinion that their company will develop less satisfactorily at present.
Swiss dialog marketing providers expect the employment situation to remain stable. In Switzerland, one third of the companies surveyed were able to increase the number of employees in 2008. For the current year, 27% also expect an increase, with only 18% expecting a reduction.

Internet remains the driving force
The industry expects to develop further in the coming years, particularly thanks to the increase in orders in the direct marketing channel "online/Internet" (77%), "e-mail and mobile marketing" (61%). Unlike in Germany and Austria, the importance of addressed advertising mailings (53%) and telephone marketing (27%) is estimated to be higher in Switzerland.

Politicians and end consumers remain skeptical
Half of the companies continue to rate the perception of direct marketing by politicians as rather poor, a third even as very poor. Around half of Swiss companies are of the opinion that consumer attitudes towards the direct marketing industry have not changed significantly.