Survey Shows Local Tech Firms Project Positive 2003 Sales Growth

The future looks bright for local technology firms, according to a survey conducted by GREENCREST.

GREENCREST surveyed executives from 54 technology and service firms at the Columbus Technology Council/Columbus Venture Network Golf Outing on June 12. More than 70 percent of those surveyed expect sales to increase in 2003, while about 22 percent expect sales to remain at 2002 levels. Less than 6 percent expect sales to drop this year, while less than 2 percent were unsure of sales expectations.

Despite the rosy sales forecasts, executives were not completely convinced that their companies’ marketing programs were working. Nearly 54 percent reported feeling only “somewhat” satisfied with current marketing programs, while 9 percent were “not” satisfied. About 37 percent reported feeling “very” satisfied with their companies’ marketing programs, while about 2 percent did not answer.

Nearly half (48 percent) of these companies handle all marketing in-house. About 11 percent use an outside marketing firm, and 39 percent augment in-house efforts by using outside marketing experts for some work. Two percent were unsure of how marketing efforts were allocated.