BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - February 26, 2008) - Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (
NYSE:
HHS),
announced today upcoming findings from "The 2008 Aberdeen Report: State of
the Market." Survey responses from 4,645 business professionals shed light
on how U.S. companies are taking a more defensive position in the market
with fears of a looming recession. Beyond the need to execute a strategy
and properly staff their businesses, executives identified a possible
recession as their chief challenge to their organization in 2008,
surpassing the issues of rising costs (materials, energy, salaries &
healthcare), supply chain and sourcing risks, market volatility, and
geopolitical uncertainty and instability. With anticipation of a possible
recession, companies overwhelmingly identified price compression as the
number one threat for 2008. In response to the threat, 40% of companies
cited profitability (31%) or cost reduction (9%) as the top goal of their
organization in 2008. Revenue growth continues to be the number one driver
of organizations with 36% responding; however, this response rate is down
20% from 2007. While a U.S. recession remains only a possibility at this
point, executives are quick to point out the need for them to think beyond
the boarders of the United States. Sixty-one (61%) percent of those
surveyed identified globalization as a top goal in their strategic plan for
2008. Fifty-five (55%) percent believe that the emphasis on going global
will reduce costs: 21% identified labor cost savings, 18% identified
material cost savings, and 23% identified manufacturing cost savings. These
various cost savings represented three of the top four responses for going
offshore.
The data points referenced herein are part of the 2008 Aberdeen Report, due
out this quarter. The 2008 Aberdeen Report spans six years of data
collection, 2.5 million business interviews, data from 1.2 million
organizations, and over 4,645 snap-shot survey respondents to help
understand the state of the market, including business practices, process
methodology, technology application, and general strategies. The second in
a series of annual reports by the Aberdeen Group, the research looks at
industry, geography, organizational size, and role across various business
drivers and outcomes. Individuals can pre-register for a copy of this 120+
page report on the Aberdeen web site at
www.aberdeen.com.
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market
intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more
than 35,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely
positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating
demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment
analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets,
corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in
context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's
analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of
Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement -
Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role
Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit
Aberdeen
http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more
about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to
http://www.harte-hanks.com.
© 2008 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
260 Franklin Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110-3112
Telephone: (617) 723-7890
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com
Contact Information: Media Contact:
Stephen Gold
Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
(925) 264.1840
Stephen.gold@aberdeen.com