Bernhart Associates' Q4 Employment Survey Released: Hiring Indicators Hold Steady

Owatonna, MN, October 6, 2010 --- If you're a digital or direct marketer looking for employment don't expect much of a change during the rest of 2010, according to Bernhart Associates' latest Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report.

"The index we watch most closely , the one that measures new hiring plans, is crawling back up, so we are definitely moving in the right direction," said Jerry Bernhart, Principal of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC and one of the nation's leading direct marketing recruiters. "At the same time, though, many digital and direct marketers continue to face strong economic headwinds, and some are being forced to consider more layoffs and hiring freezes to get headcount to where it needs to be for 2011."

The following are key findings from Bernhart Associates' Quarter 4 (Q4) survey:

• Forty-one percent (41%) of companies responding to the survey said they plan to add to staff in Q4, up from 39% last quarter.

• Thirty-five percent (35%) of respondents currently have a hiring freeze, up from 23% in Q3.

• The percentage of companies planning layoffs in Q4 rose to 8%, compared with 6% last quarter.

• Most of the new hiring is coming from business-to-business (B-to-B) service providers, with nearly one-half of those respondents reporting plans to add to staff during Q4.

'This will be the third straight quarter in which planned B-to-B hiring has outpaced B-to-C", Bernhart said.

Bernhart also noted that since results are not seasonally adjusted, it's not unusual to see a spike in hiring freezes as the year draws to a close.
" A lot of companies have completed their hiring for 2010, and will re-assess their needs come the new year," said Bernhart.

Among those companies planning to add to staff, marketing-related
positions will be in greatest demand for the remainder of 2010, followed by I.T. "In fact, the marketing and technical job categories far outnumbered positions in analytics, account management and sales, which in recent years have consistently been at or near the top of this list", Bernhart pointed out.

Bernhart also noted that the importance of data reveals itself in the titles of two soon-to-be-filled positions, each of them called simply "Data Expert".

Bernhart Associates’ Q4 hiring survey was emailed to more than 10,000 senior executives, hiring managers, human resource officials, and other key participants in online and offline direct marketing. A total of 369 organizations responded to the widely followed employment-trends survey between September 23 and October 4, 2010.

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), in 2009, direct marketing advertising expenditures as a portion of total US advertising expenditures grew to 54.3%, and generated 8.3% of US gross domestic product. Also in 2009, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.9 million US jobs.

Results of past surveys can be found in the Direct Marketing Association’s annual Statistical Fact Book and on Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC’s website.

Companies interested in participating in the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report should send an email to survey@bernhart.com with “Opt-In” in the subject line, or they can sign up directly on the Bernhart Associates’ website.

Visit our website at www.bernhart.com

Bernhart Unemployment Survey Released: Direct Marketers Facing Longer Unemployment

Owatonna, MN, August 24, 2010---The job outlook for unemployed direct marketers has sharply deteriorated since last summer, according to a new study by Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, a leading digital and direct marketing executive search firm.

"In Summer 2009, we asked unemployed direct marketers how long they had been looking for a job," said Jerry Bernhart, principal of Bernhart Associates. "We decided to ask that same question one year later. Like last year we broke down the results by levels of compensation, and for the first time we've segmented results by age."

The survey focused on respondents who said they are currently unemployed and are actively searching for a full-time direct marketing position. The survey's results, therefore, exclude those who are looking only for part-time work, currently employed, or unemployed but only passively looking.

Here are the 2010 survey's key findings:

• Nearly one-third of respondents said they have been looking for a direct marketing-related position for more than 18 months.

• The median length of unemployment among direct marketers is 12.0 months, nearly twice the 6.5-month figure of one year ago.

• Older, higher-paid workers face much longer search times than their younger, lower-paid colleagues.

• The survey reveals that generally the best odds of finding a direct marketing job are either in the first three months, or between 7 and 9 months.

According to Bernhart Associates' 2010 survey, 21% of unemployed respondents said they have been actively looking for a full-time direct marketing job between 1 and 3 months. Twelve percent (12%) said their search has lasted from 4 to 6 months, 9% said they have been looking for between 7 and 9 months, and 10% percent said they have been on the job hunt 10-12 months. The remainder, 48%, has been looking for more than a year.

When the results were broken down by salary, Bernhart said the survey reveals that lower-paid direct marketing job seekers are experiencing only slightly more success finding jobs more quickly than those in the higher-salary brackets.

However, when broken down by age, Bernhart said the differences are more dramatic. "In the 30 to 39 age bracket, all respondents said they had been searching for a new job for less than one year," he said. "But those between 50 and 59, half have been looking for more than a year. And if you are older than 60, you can pretty much expect to be looking for at least 18 months."

Bernhart pointed out that survey results are consistent with the challenges facing the overall U.S. labor market. "In July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nationwide median length of unemployment was 22.2 weeks, or approximately 5 months. While that is significantly less than the median for direct marketers, many direct marketing-related job categories require more specialized knowledge, more training, and higher levels of educational attainment than other jobs that fall into the unskilled labor category."

A total of 448 individuals responded to the random survey, which was emailed the week of August 16 to more than 9,000 direct marketers across the country.

Rather than wait another year, Bernhart said he will repeat the Unemployment Search Survey in about six months in order to track changes.

Bernhart announced that his quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Hiring Survey for the fourth quarter will be emailed out in the end of September. The third quarter report showed declines in all key employment indicators, reversing an upward trend during the first half of 2010.

Employers who would like to participate in the next Employment Survey should send an email with the subject "Opt-In" to survey@bernhart.com, or they can sign up on the Bernhart Associates website.

Latest Bernhart Hiring Survey: Hiring Indicators Weaken for Digital and Direct Marketin in Third Quarter

Owatonna, MN, July 13, 2010 — Weakening economic signals are having their effect on the employment outlook for digital and direct marketers in the third quarter (Q3), according to the latest quarterly employment report by Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC.

"The numbers have turned slightly lower for Q3, which is no surprise given growing uncertainties about the economic recovery," said Jerry Bernhart, Principal of Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, a nationally leading recruiting firm, which has been conducting quarterly hiring surveys in digital and direct marketing since 2001.

Here are the key findings from the Q3 survey:

• 39% of survey respondents said they will add to staff during the third quarter of 2010, down 4 points from Q2.
• 23% of respondents currently have a hiring freeze, representing a slight increase from 20% last quarter.
• The percentage of companies planning layoffs in Q3 grew to 6%, compared with 3% during the spring quarter.

Bernhart said survey data reflect a mood of continued caution.

"One-half of all respondents said their hiring plans won't be changing this summer, and most of the hiring will be replacements rather than newly created positions," said Bernhart. "I've also noticed an uptick in calls to our office from individuals who have recently been laid off."

But for some digital and direct marketing categories at certain levels, Bernhart said opportunities are out there.

"There's a huge demand for skilled analysts, and we're also seeing a solid comeback in lower-level online marketing-related positions, including SEM and SEO managers, affiliate and relationship managers, and email marketing managers," said Bernhart. He added that media buyers also appeared high on the list of positions expected to be in short-term demand.

Bernhart said the data also point to an upswing in the business-to-business segment. "B-to-B is planning more hires, less layoffs, and has fewer hiring freezes than B-to-C. Those same indices for agencies, suppliers, and marketers all showed little variation."

Bernhart Associates’ third-quarter survey was emailed to more than 11,500 senior executives and hiring managers, human resource officials, and other key participants in online and offline direct marketing. A total of 419 organizations responded to the widely followed employment-trends survey between June 29 and July 12.

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), in 2009, direct marketing advertising expenditures as a portion of total US advertising expenditures grew to 54.3%, and generated 8.3% of US gross domestic product. Also in 2009, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.9 million US jobs.

Results of past surveys can be found in the Direct Marketing Association’s annual Statistical Fact Book and on Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC’s website.

Companies interested in participating in the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report should send an email to survey@bernhart.com with “Opt-In” in the subject line, or they can sign up directly on the Bernhart Associates’ website.

About Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC

Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC is owned by Jerry Bernhart, a leading and nationally recognized digital and direct marketing recruiter, writer, and speaker focusing on senior-level Multichannel Direct Marketing, E-Marketing/E-Commerce, CRM, Database Marketing, Business Development and Quantitative Analysis positions. Jerry has been among the nation’s leading digital and direct marketing recruiters since 1991.

Viewed as a leading authority on issues related to digital and direct marketing recruiting and talent management, Jerry is a frequent speaker at national digital and direct marketing conferences and is often quoted in the marketing industry news media. Jerry has written dozens of articles for all leading online and offline direct marketing publications, and conducts a widely followed employment survey for EM+C covering internet marketing and e-commerce.

The Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report, now in its tenth year, is unparalleled in size and scope and has become the most widely followed employment report in online and offline marketing.

Bernard (Bernie) Silverman and Affiliates of Naperville, IL, contributes research and analysis for the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report. Bernie can be reached at bernie@bsilverman.com

Douglas Berger Communications, New York City, provides communications services for the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report. Doug is the former Director of Executive and Member Communications for the Direct Marketing Association. He can be contacted at douglasbergernyc@gmail.com.

Communications Contact:
Doug Berger
Douglas Berger Communications
212-262-1168
douglasbergernyc@gmail.com

Visit our website at www.bernhart.com

So, What is Strategy Anyway?

From the blog of Bill Tyson, formerly Executive Vice President of Ampac Insurance Marketing, who presents this excellent examination of the meaning of strategic planning.

Given the relevance and timeliness of Michael Porter’s advice on strategy during tumultuous times, I began my first blog post “Strategy in Action” (See April 2010) with that material because it really hit home for those of us working day-to-day in one of the most distressed industries – insurance.

At this juncture, I think it is important to take a brief “step back” and lay a bit of a foundation before delving further into a down-in-the-trenches, best practices approach to strategy and execution.

During most, if not all of my 25 years as a practitioner of the art and science of strategic planning, there has been confusion about what strategy is and how it differs from other elements of a strategic plan such as: objectives, goals and tactics. So, before moving forward into the realm of strategy development (which I will surely do in this blog), it is important to understand a few definitions.

So, what exactly is Strategy?

As a student (and now a reporter on the subject) I can tell you that there are many different perspectives on the subject of strategy. Some of my favorites are presented here – from the broadest to the simplest definitions:

Merriam-Webster begins with a classic definition of strategy from a military perspective and then gets a little closer (but not by much) to a definition that can be applied to corporate or business strategy:

1. a. the science and art of employing the political, economic, psychological, and military forces of a nation or group of nations to afford the support to adopted policiesor war. b. the science and art of military command exercised to meet the enemy in combat under advantageous conditions.

2. a careful plan or method; a clever strategem; the art of devising or employing plans or strategems towards a goal.

According to this Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition – strategy requires the following ingredients: science and art, careful planning, support, cleverness, advantageous conditions and employing plans toward a goal.

In terms of corporate and business strategy, there are a quite a few definitions that I have come across:

In Blue Ocean Strategy, the authors challenge companies to strategize to “break out of the red ocean of bloody competition by identifying and developing uncontested market space that makes competition irrelevant”.[2] A little dramatic but their point is well made and I recommend their book as it has plenty of good case studies.

Michael Porter, in his classic 1996 Harvard Business Review article called “What is Strategy?” defined strategy in terms of positioning which can be summarized by 3 key principles:

1. Creation of a unique and valuable position, involving a different set of activities than your rivals.
2. Making tradeoffs in competing – choosing (and defining) what you will not do.
3. Creating a “fit” between company activities so to develop synergies (as a result, the whole being greater than the sum of the parts) between interlocking parts of the company. (Porter, 1996)[3]

If you are involved in strategic planning in anyway, this article is a “must read”.

Meanwhile, the Balanced Scored Card folks (Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton) define strategy as: “how an organization intends to create sustained value for its shareholders, leveraging intangible assets for sustainable value creation.” (Norton, 2004)[4]

And, in his seminal direct marketing handbook Ed Nash defines strategy as it relates to direct marketing in this way as simply: “Harnessing combined resources to achieve a selected goal”[5]

No matter what definition applies to your organization, in any business there are two levels of strategy:

1) the corporate or enterprise-wide strategy and

2) the business level strategy (that covers a division, SBU or functional area).

So, how does a Strategy differ from Objectives, Goals or Tactics?

Objectives:

“a. something toward which effort is directed; an aim, goal, or end of action.

b. a strategic position to be attained or a purpose to be achieved by a military operation[6].”

and in my view, they are simply goals set to develop and improve the growth and profitability of your business.

Goals: same as an objective or can serve as a subset of an objective. Merriam-Webster defines it as: “The end toward which effort is directed”[7]. So a goal can be thought of as a destination or a finishing line of sorts.

Tactics: the art or skill of employing available means to accomplish an end; a device for completing a task relating to a strategy. [8]

In my next posts, I will cover the best practices of the strategy development and the very important execution process from which successful businesses are built.

Essentially, there are four pre-requisites to successful strategy development and execution:

1) The need for sound planning and clear, focused strategies at both the corporate and business levels.

2) The vital importance of integrating corporate and business strategies and conducting strategic reviews.

3) The need to define and communicate clearly the key operational components of the strategy and the measurement of execution results.

4) The importance of understanding the demands of strategy, their effects on the development of organizational resources and capabilities, and the impact of the resources and capabilities on execution. [9]

The 4th prerequisite is what Michael Porter called “Trade offs” that must be made with any strategy since good strategies necessarily consume limited resources.

If you are interested in the topic and are a practioner of strategy development you can access a whole series of .pdf formatted and downloadable strategy articles at Harvard Business Review at:

http://hbr.org/product/hbr-s-must-reads-on-strategy/an/12601-PDF-ENG?referral=00304

I sincerely hope that you can apply some of this information in your planning efforts. Comments, suggestions and additional perspectives on Strategy and Execution are welcome!
[1] Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. See http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strategy

[2] (Kim, 2005), Blue Ocean Strategy, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 2005.

[3] What is Strategy?, Michael Porter, Harvard Business Review, 1996.

[4]Strategy Maps, Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 2004.

[5] Direct Marketing: Strategy, Planning and Execution, Ed Nash, 4th Edition published by McGraw Hill

[6] Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

[7] Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

[8] Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

[9] Hrebiniak, Lawrence G. Making Strategy Work: Leading Effective Execution and Change, Wharton School Publishing, Upper Saddle River, NJ. July 2005.


Visit our website at www.bernhart.com

Latest Bernhart Hiring Survey: Confidence Returning to Job Market for Digital and Direct Marketers

Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC Press Release, April 7, 2010

Digital and direct marketing job seekers can expect a Spring thaw in layoffs and hiring
freezes,according to the latest quarterly employment report by Bernhart Associates
Executive Search, LLC.

“Employers are still being cautious when it comes to making hiring decisions, with half
expecting no change in hiring plans for the coming quarter. However, we’re seeing more job
stability, and employers continue to lift their hiring freezes,” said Jerry Bernhart, Principal of
Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, a nationally leading digital and direct marketing
recruiter who has been conducting quarterly hiring surveys in digital and direct
marketing since 2001.

A total of 454 organizations responded to the employment-trends survey between
March 23 and April 7.

Here are the key findings from the second-quarter (Q2) survey:

• 43% of survey respondents said they will add to staff during the second quarter of 2010,
down three points from 46% in Q1.
• 20% of respondents currently have a hiring freeze. This represents a dramatic decline from
45% just six months ago.
• The percentage of companies planning layoffs in Q2 fell to 3%, the lowest level in three
years.
• When asked if they plan to consider using online social networks for hiring, 41% of Q2
respondents said they plan to employ them in “moderate amounts” during 2010. Only 14%
said they won’t be using social media at all for hiring purposes.

“Just a year ago, I was seeing reports indicating that hardly any companies were thinking
about using social media in their recruiting,” said Bernhart. “Our second-quarter survey results
showthat interest in these online networks among digital and direct marketers has grown
quickly andconsiderably, especially among agencies.”

Bernhart said that job growth in the overall digital and direct marketing industry is keeping
pacewith progress in overall U.S. employment. However, he pointed out that marketers are
laggingbehind their agency and supplier counterparts in terms of job growth. “Agencies have
all buteliminated their hiring freezes, and only one agency responding to our most recent
survey said they’re expecting layoffs during the next three months,” Bernhart said. “Hiring on
the services side also remains strong with just about half of respondents telling us they
plan to hire during the current quarter. By comparison, 38% of marketers said they intend
to add to staff.”

Meanwhile, the business-to-consumer (B-to-C) segment continues its upswing with hiring
indexes showing more positive trends compared with their business-to-business (B-to-B)
counterparts. According to the survey, Bernhart said sales positions would be in the greatest
demand during the second quarter. “This comes as no surprise to me given the strong demand
I’ve been seeing for sales reps on the recruiting side of the business,” he said. “We’ve been
getting steady calls for sales-position searches since the beginning of the year.”

Bernhart added that analytics remained high on the employment list, along with online and
multichannel marketing positions.

Bernhart also said that demand for executive search services has been steadily growing since
the beginning of the year. “Inquiries are coming in on a fairly regular basis. A year ago,
it was little more than a trickle.”

Bernhart Associates’ second-quarter survey was emailed to more than 9,700 senior executives
and hiring managers, human resource officials, and other key participants in online and offline
direct marketing.

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), in 2009, direct marketing advertising
expenditures as a portion of total US advertising expenditures grew to 54.3%, and generated
8.3% of US gross domestic product. Also in 2009, there were 1.4 million direct marketing
employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs,
accounting for a total of 9.9 million US jobs.

Results of past surveys can be found in the Direct Marketing Association’s annual Statistical
Fact Book and on the Bernhart Associates website.

Companies interested in participating in the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct
Marketing Employment Report should send an email to survey@bernhart.com with “Opt-In”
in the subject line, or they can sign up directly on the Bernhart Associates’ website.

About Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC

Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC is owned by Jerry Bernhart, a leading and
nationally recognized digital and direct marketing recruiter, writer, and speaker focusing on
Multichannel Direct Marketing, E-Marketing/E-Commerce, CRM, Database Marketing,
Business Development and Quantitative Analysis positions. Jerry has been among the
nation’s leading digital and direct marketing recruiters since 1991. Viewed as a leading
authority on issues related to digital and direct marketing recruiting and talent management,
Jerry is a frequent speaker at national digital and direct marketing conferences and is often
quoted in the marketing industry news media. Jerry has written dozens of articles for
all leading online and offline direct marketing publications, and conducts a widely followed
employment survey for EM+C covering internet marketing and e-commerce.
The Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report, now in
its tenth year, is unparalleled in size and scope and has become the most widely followed
employment report in online and offline marketing.

Bernard (Bernie) Silverman and Affiliates of Naperville, IL, contributes research and
analysis for the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment
Report. Bernie can be reached at bernie@bsilverman.com

Douglas Berger Communications, New York City, provides communications services for the
Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report. Doug is the
former Director of Executive and Member Communications for the Direct Marketing
Association. He can be contacted at douglasbergernyc@gmail.com.

Please direct executive search inquires to jerry@bernhart.com or call 507-451-4270.

Visit our website at www.bernhart.com