A poll of mid-sized businesses found that one in four plan to raise their marketing budget in an effort to increase turnover and clientele.

40% of the 500 or so businesses that were questioned said that they would be increasing their marketing and advertising budgets over the next year in attempt to bring in new customers.

The majority of these were from the hotel, catering and leisure industry, giving the impression that this sector is particularly keen to raise its profile to survive the economic downturn.

Managing director of Lloyds TSB, John Maltby said: ‘British businesses are going through an extremely tough trading period and many have already made some difficult decisions to help mitigate the impact of the recession.’

‘But as the economy continues to falter it is critical that businesses get the support they need.’

Marketing is currently so important to businesses because of the importance of standing out in the crowd.