Inbound Marketing. Research Summary Report. Reaching the Next Level of Marketing Performance

Transcription

1 Reaching the Next Level of Marketing Performance Inbound Marketing Research Summary Report Ascend2 Research Conducted in Partnership with Leading Marketing Solution Providers

2 Inbound Marketing Research Summary Report Ascend2 Research Conducted in Partnership with Leading Marketing Solution Providers. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. You may adapt, copy, distribute and transmit this work. However, you must attribute the work as produced by Ascend2 and its Research Partners but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work. 2

3 Table of Contents Reaching the next level of Inbound Marketing performance 4 Most important objectives in the year ahead 5 Rating the success of Inbound Marketing 6 Most challenging obstacles to success 7 Resources used to perform Inbound marketing 8 Most effective tactics used 9 Most difficult tactics to execute 10 Integrating Inbound Marketing tactics 11 Marketing automation usage 12 Research methodology and survey demographics 14 About Ascend2 16 3

4 Reaching the next level of Inbound Marketing performance 90% of companies are now integrating social media, search engine optimization, content and other tactics for Inbound Marketing purposes, and most are doing it successfully. But how will marketers reach the next level of inbound marketing performance in the year ahead? To find out, Ascend2 and our Research Partners fielded the Inbound Marketing Survey and completed interviews with 270 marketing, sales and business professionals from around the world. We thank them for sharing their valuable insights with you. The charts in this edition of our study, titled Inbound Marketing Research Summary Report represent the average of all market segments responding to the survey. Specific market segments are reported on exclusively by our Research Partners. This research has been produced for your use. Put it to work in your own marketing strategy planning and presentation materials. Clip the charts and write about them in your blog or post them on social media. Please share this research credited as published. Sergio Balegno, Chief Strategy Officer 4

5 Improving the quality of leads trumps the importance of increasing the quantity of leads as top objectives. Most important is increasing the rate at which leads convert. 5

6 Nearly a quarter (23%) of all companies rate Inbound Marketing very successful, compared to only 8% that are not successful achieving important objectives. 6

7 The lack of an effective strategy and the creation of content are the most challenging obstacles to reaching the next level of Inbound Marketing performance. 7

8 A majority (58%) of companies outsource all or part of their Inbound Marketing campaigns to supplement internal capabilities and improve campaign performance. 8

9 Original content created to generate inbound traffic is most effective when combined with search engine optimization, the second most effective tactic. 9

10 Content creation is not only the most effective tactic for Inbound Marketing purposes, it is also the most difficult tactic to execute. 10

11 Inbound Marketing integration is a good example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Which is why 90% of companies integrate tactics to some extent. 11

12 Used by 69% of companies to manage inbound programs, marketing automation saves time and resources, and creates a highly personalized experience for customers. 12

13 Notes 13

14 Research methodology Ascend2 Research Surveys are conducted online from a panel of more than 50,000 US and international marketing and sales decision-makers and practitioners representing a range of contact roles, company types, sizes and geographic regions. The questionnaire used is standardized to incorporate these methodologies across all studies while maintaining our proven 3-Minute Survey format. Survey findings are examined in a quantitative context by experienced analysts and reported objectively. 14

15 Survey demographics 15

16 About Ascend2 Research-Based Demand Generation for Marketing Solution Providers Marketing agencies, marketing software and data companies partner with Ascend2 to reliably generate demand and supplement marketing content. Our Research Partner Programs are transparent spotlighting your brand and the interests of your market. Learn more at 16

17 Marketing agencies, software and data companies partner with Ascend2 to generate demand and supplement content. Research Partner Programs provide white label reports and a guaranteed number of leads in two simple steps: 1. Choose the topics of interest to your target market Content Marketing Marketing Video Marketing Organic Search (SEO) Mobile Marketing Brand Marketing Website Optimization Inbound Marketing Paid Search (PPC) Lead Generation Social Media Marketing Database 2. Choose an exclusive research segment for each marketing topic Benchmarks for Success [A comparison of Very Successful and Not Successful segments] Benchmarks by Channel [A comparison by or targeting of B2B and/or B2C segments] Benchmarks by Company Size [A comparison by or targeting of SMB and/or Large Enterprises] Agency Benchmarks [The Agency perspective based on a wide-range of client experience] Benchmarks by Resources [A comparison of Outsourced and In-house campaign segments] Benchmarks for Europe [The European perspective on marketing practices and performance] Benchmarks by Revenue Attainment [A comparison of performance by Revenue Targets Attained] Benchmarks for other research segments may be available and specific to individual Topics Learn more about Ascend2 Research Partner Programs and Pricing. 17