Direct Marketing Employment News

I always look forward to seeing results of the quarterly direct marketing employment surveys run by Bernhart and Associates. This quarter (Q1 2008), the news isn't so great. Here's part of their press-release.

Job Market Tightens for Direct Marketers

Direct marketers can expect more hiring freezes and increased layoffs this quarter, according to the latest employment survey by Bernhart Associates.

"All of our hiring indicators are turning more negative," said Jerry Bernhart, President of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC. "This weakness comes as no surprise given the recent news of layoffs and the current overall economic climate."

According to the survey, 58% of the companies responding said they plan to add to staff during the first quarter of 2008, down 2% from the previous survey in October. Direct marketers are also planning more layoffs with 12% indicating they plan to reduce payroll, up from 9% last quarter.

Bernhart said the biggest increase came in the percentage of companies that have imposed a hiring freeze for the first quarter, which jumped from 9% to 13%. When asked when they plan to lift their hiring freezes, Bernhart said most said they were unsure if they would be lifted by Spring.

When asked about the degree of difficulty they are having attracting qualified talent, 19% of the companies responding said they were having a "very difficult" time. The remainder indicated it was only somewhat difficult or not difficult at all. Bernhart said those numbers represent a change from recent quarters when employers indicated they were having a more difficult time finding qualified candidates. "The pendulum is beginning to shift from a candidate-driven job market to more of an employer-driven market", said Bernhart. "That's good news for employers who are hiring, but it could mean more competition for job seekers."

Sounds like it's time to tighten those belts and make best use of every minute of the day. It also might be a good time to make sure that your accomplishments and successes are well-publicized within your organization.

I still contend that the beauty of direct marketing is that our efforts generate measurable results (new sales, leads, etc.). If I were a CMO cutting marketing budgets, I'd definitely start with those efforts where results cannot be quantified and proven.

Direct marketing programs (if successful) would be the last to go. Of course, I'm biased :)

Direct Marketers' Resume: The Master of Many Domains

Recently, we've seen a trend occurring within our client companies. It seems that Direct Marketing staffs are very lean and mean -- and that the few are taking on the jobs of many. Sound familiar?

Well, in a recent study by Bernhart Associates, the reason for this becomes a bit clearer. Since the beginning of 2006, Jerry Bernhart, President of Berhhart Associates Executive Search firm, reports that there has definitely been a slowing trend in jobs for Direct Marketers. Bernhart states, “The numbers are showing little change compared with summer. At the same time, the new hire percentage continues to show a slow and steady decline, which began about a year and a half ago.”

Here are some more stats from the survey, which was recently taken (sent out the week of October 1st), in which 116 companies responded:

60 percent of companies responding said they plan to add to staff by the end of the year, down slightly from 61 percent during the summer quarter:

• In April 2006, when the new hire percentage reached its recent peak, the new hire percentage stood at 72 percent.
• The record high for the index occurred in the fall of 2005, when it reached 80 percent.

9 percent plan to reduce staff in the coming three months, up from 7 percent during the summer.

29 percent expect no change in hiring plans during the coming three months.

85 percent of those surveyed said they are having either a “very difficult” time or a “somewhat difficult” time finding qualified applicants for open positions.

Only 15 percent said they are having little or no difficulty.

Bernhart goes on to state that, "While hiring is not at the heated pace it was a couple of years ago, the supply of qualified applicants remains tight.”

For those of us in the consulting business, this situation presents both challenges and opportunities. On the one hand, our clients are totally overwhelmed with the amount of work that they are now responsible for, so it's tougher to get on their already-overbooked schedules. They simply don't have the bandwidth to sit down for a meeting. As a result, things like campaign analysis and reporting are not getting the focus they need and deserve (Hel-loooo -- we need to measure how effective our data is performing, people!). This is really unfortunate because this is the time of year where more focus tends to be spent on analyzing marketing budgets and staffs. So, for us -- while we struggle to steal the time for this, we are adamant about it! (Call us pests . . . we don't care).

At the opportunities-end, we are certainly needed more. As the staff-size decreases and our clients are balancing multiple roles, they need someone to come in who can be flexible, open-minded, and supportive with marketing planning and strategy. The other need is to simply off-load certain responsibilities -- or at least help them manage to their new responsibilities. Of course, we do all of this happily!

From our perspective, this is both the good news and the bad news of these types of economic times. The best news is that top-performing direct marketing professionals are very sought after in this slowing economy. This is good for all of us!

Therefore, this is an excellent time to sit down and focus on measuring and reporting out on your effectiveness. The reason is two-fold: 1) Your Leadership Team is consistently aware of your performance and how you are responsible for increasing corporate profitability, and (2) As planning for the new year is well under way, as a result of your success you may have the opportunity to win a bigger marketing budget and, hopefully, more money in your paycheck!

TGIF!! And we hope to see lots of our Blog-Reading Friends at DMA in Chicago. If you're going to be there, please let us know so that we can meet you there in person!