There has been a shift towards more targeted marketing techniques as companies seek to boost their lead generation and sales, it has been suggested.

More firms have been investing in targeted marketing practices - which can be outsourced to a specialist firm if a business wishes - according to Ray Jones, a spokesperson for the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

He was commenting after a report from Billets found that TV advertising prices have fallen, while growth is being seen in the online search category.

"We are seeing a shift to other areas … marketers, through technology and careful database management, do know who their audience are," Mr Jones remarked.

And he noted that implementing customer relationship management (CRM) systems can be beneficial for businesses looking to improve lead generation.

"CRM, a good database and a good relationship management system will bring you much more return on investment than advertising," he stated.

Meanwhile, a report from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising has discovered that the decline in marketing spend among companies improved during the first quarter of the year.

Business confidence also increased, with a nine per cent rise being seen among the amount of firms that believe their prospects have improved.

Written by Julian Poulter and Copyright "Selling People 2009"