While nobody is certain, it is likely that as 2010 approaches, many B-to-B marketers will be in a recovery mode. Rather than looking for ways to cut spending, it will be time to make decisions about where to invest to move the company forward.

Management will be looking for solid answers to questions such as: Where should resources be allocated for maximum effectiveness? What actions should be taken to have the greatest impact on customers choosing our brand? What will be the impact of these actions on our competitors?

But the marketing landscape in 2010 will be different. Things have changed. So the answers to these questions won't be the same as they were before the downturn.

Among the significant changes just might be changes in your own company...or your markets or competitors. So late this year or early in 2010, it could be an ideal time to do a reassessment of your brand equity and that of your competitors. If you have disappeared from the marketing environment during 2009, has your brand equity suffered? Or did all of your competitors do the same? Who has been weakened during 2009...and who came through the recession stronger than before? What are your respective levels of awareness, familiarity, affinity, preference and purchasing? Do you know?

This would also be a perfect time to see how your customers' and prospects' priorities may have shifted. Will they evaluate suppliers and products the same way they did before? To cite an obvious example, your ability to prove how you contribute to sustainability or energy efficiency could be a much more important factor in buying decisions in 2010 than it was in 2008. Do you know?

Finally, coming out of a year when marketing investments were examined, questioned and cut to the bone, this will be a great time to rebuild internal credibility. What if you could show how investments in one direction or another would increase the strength and the use of your brand relative to your competitors? New tools allow you to simulate scenarios virtually, and get immediate, actionable knowledge. So you can recommend to management the best possible course of action, and back it up.

Another change: the old stand-by - using "free" publisher "awareness studies" or "branding studies" - may not be the best approach anymore. Not only because the insights are superficial (you get what you pay for), but some publishers don't exist or are backing away from offering services like these. Plus, audience habits have shifted online and elsewhere, so you won't necessarily get a good picture of your audience by using one magazine or publisher's circulation.

We recommend different solutions depending on the need, scope and investment level. A number of firms can provide good B-to-B research services. And, to provide all of the insights I've talked about here, we offer our own B-to-B Brand Equity Analyzer.

Over the coming months, we will look at how brand communications has changed, and what you need to consider as you prepare and plan for 2010. Please check back from time to time. Or subscribe to Godfrey RSS feeds. And let us know how you think about brand communications in today's world of social media, Twitter, mobile, the web, etc.