THE marketing budget might look like a prime candidate for cuts in a recession but connecting effectively with your customers is even more crucial in a downturn, said a panel of experts on Friday.

Their view was clear: market research that throws more light on the various segments of the economy - from youngsters to seniors - can make a huge difference to a firm's prospects in a period when people are watching every dollar.

'It starts with really understanding the customer,' said Mr Till Vestring, managing partner of Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm. 'Good companies...they don't cut their marketing research budget.'

Mr Vestring told a forum organised by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and advertising firm Ogilvy & Mather that such firms spend time, money and energy 'to really understand customer behaviour'.

SingTel chief executive Allen Lew echoed the sentiment: 'What's really interesting for us in Singtel is, recession or no recession, the budget that we never cut is market research.'

Mr Lew pointed out that its research into the youth and senior customer sectors had been effective.

'When you look at your marketing effectiveness in terms of reaching out to the youth, we are discovering that targeting...(them) by using the mobile phone, the Internet, networking sites are much more effective than some of the traditional ways you think of reaching out to them,' he said.

'(The recession) in a way has sharpened our focus. We have been looking at the future and looking at how we're going to brand and position ourselves,' said Mr Leslie Fong, senior executive vice president of SPH's marketing division.

Mr Stephen Mangham, group chairman of Ogilvy & Mather in Singapore, told The Straits Times: 'In this post-digital recession, there's a lot more information available now about how your customers behave, what they do and therefore what they want.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.