Transformations  in
Business & Economics

The Influence of the Global Economic Crisis on the Strategic Marketing Instruments Used by Companies on the Romanian B2B Market
Daniel Şerbănică, Mihaela Constantinescu, Ştefan Claudiu Căescu

ABSTRACT. The effects of the economic crisis force the companies on the business-to-business (B2B) market in Romania to re-think their marketing strategies in order to cope with the major changes in the business environment. Thus, this paper presents the results of a qualitative research among managers of such companies, in order to highlight how the crisis has affected their business marketing. The main objectives of the research focus on the most important strategic marketing tools (corporate mission, objectives, positioning, marketing mix, etc) and on the changes undergone by them. The results of the research show that most companies have reduced their marketing budget, have established corporate objectives to maintain the acquired position on the market, and within the marketing mix they have rigorously selected the instruments and kept only those that meet two conditions – they operate within the revised marketing budget and bring in the highest value of sales.

KEYWORDS: economic crisis, business-to-business market, strategic marketing, Romania.

JEL classification: M31, P2.