I may be biased, but here are some thoughts for each of your topics that you may find useful.

The Economy
While the economy was poor in general. Many companies used 2009 to really see that the web was the place where they could better “foresee results” in a more efficient and effective way v. other channels. In short, online marketing may haver represented a larger (maybe even growing in absolute terms) slice of a smaller marketing pie.

Conversion:
Attribution is a lot easier to accurately measure when you simply ask a credible statistically representative sample of your audience, all of the influencers, not just the “last click”.

Social Influence:
IMO, “hard metrics” like retweets per 100 clicks are way too simplistic and can be (and often are) gamed. It is not uncommon for companies to simply ask their employees to retweet for them to improve their influence score, which does little but allow initiatives to be justified.

Consider a more “holistic approach”. To me the most important area of focus is influencing people who are influencers. The first step is to profile your audience and see if they are willing to seek information and/or share information. If they are willing to do either, then a presence on social media makes sense, and the opportunity exists to influence them. $ well spent. However, perhaps your “Bolts-R-Us” site may not have many seekers or sharers… in which case, $ are not well spent. How? Just ask your visitors.

Voice of the Customer
Not to be confused with Voice of the Squeaky Wheel, which is what most surveys will output. A credible statistically representative sample with a methodology that works will yield actionable results. Surveys are just a tool to collect data. You will need to ask the right questions, use the right methodology, gain intelligence and take action.

Hope you find this value added.

I may be biased, but here are some thoughts for each of your topics that you may find useful.

The Economy
While the economy was poor in general. Many companies used 2009 to really see that the web was the place where they could better “foresee results” in a more efficient and effective way v. other channels. In short, online marketing may haver represented a larger (maybe even growing in absolute terms) slice of a smaller marketing pie.

Conversion:
Attribution is a lot easier to accurately measure when you simply ask a credible statistically representative sample of your audience, all of the influencers, not just the “last click”.

Social Influence:
IMO, “hard metrics” like retweets per 100 clicks are way too simplistic and can be (and often are) gamed. It is not uncommon for companies to simply ask their employees to retweet for them to improve their influence score, which does little but allow initiatives to be justified.

Consider a more “holistic approach”. To me the most important area of focus is influencing people who are influencers. The first step is to profile your audience and see if they are willing to seek information and/or share information. If they are willing to do either, then a presence on social media makes sense, and the opportunity exists to influence them. $ well spent. However, perhaps your “Bolts-R-Us” site may not have many seekers or sharers… in which case, $ are not well spent. How? Just ask your visitors.

Voice of the Customer
Not to be confused with Voice of the Squeaky Wheel, which is what most surveys will output. A credible statistically representative sample with a methodology that works will yield actionable results. Surveys are just a tool to collect data. You will need to ask the right questions, use the right methodology, gain intelligence and take action.

Hope you find this value added.