In the January edition of BtoB “Optimism, Accountability & Social Media” reign as the top  trends for 2010.  Some of the ideas outlined in the article weren’t suprising.  There were some gems, though, that connect the marketing dots with this economic downturn.  Here are a few that caught my attention:

Using Social Media to galvanize the company around the customer. First billed as a “marketing plaything’ Social Media is now the connective tissue to all of the departments that have a relationship with your customer.  e.g. Product development, sales, billing, customer service, etc.  How is your company integrating all of these functions using social media tools?

“More clients now demand the math behind the creativity.” True it is! Doing more with less is the business battlecry.  Mark Wilson, VP-corporate marketing at Sybase was quoted in the article as saying, :All cost models for marketing have changed in this recession, and I really think they won’t go back to where they were….as a result of a lot more focus on what things cost, as well as all of these new technologies around Web 2.0 and social media — they have all brought the cost models down in terms of how you go out and engage an audience….It will never go back in terms of how expensive it used to be.”

The emerging trend of Experiential Marketing.  Sales is still built on relationship and these are still best created in person.  One creative solution on the horizon is the idea of building a brand with prospects and customers through satellite presentation environments. One example is Motorola Inc. who created a high-tech visitor center.

Capturing clients in a cost-effective way is the core of business.  Sadly it took an economic downturn to get back to the marketing basics!  What have you done to be a marketing trend-setter?