B2B MARKETING TRENDS ROUNDUP



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February 2016 B2B MARKETING TRENDS ROUNDUP Leads are key to business-to-business (B2B) marketing, and B2B marketers are working to explore the most effective ways of using digital channels to get and nurture those leads. emarketer has curated this Roundup of articles, trends and insights to help you understand how business decision-makers are using digital channels and what marketing efforts reach them best. presented by

B2B MARKETING TRENDS ROUNDUP Overview For the typically longer, higher-touch sales process that characterizes the business-tobusiness (B2B) space, good leads are key. And B2B marketers are working to explore the most effective ways of using digital channels to get and nurture those leads. According to Q4 2015 polling from B2B lead generation and risk management firm DueDil, 89% of B2B marketing and sales professionals worldwide think generating quality leads is important or very important to marketing and sales success. That was ahead of any other response, including knowing key employees and decision-makers at target firms. Generating sufficient numbers of leads was also important to more than three in four respondents. The same survey found that referrals were the No. 1 channel for lead generation among respondents (63%), followed by search (53%) and trade shows (49%). When it was time to move from lead generation to lead nurture, email took the lead in a December survey from Ascend2. Nearly eight out of 10 B2B marketing professionals reported having the best luck with lead nurture via email. In terms of tactics, the Ascend2 research found creating relevant content was the best way to nurture leads, followed by personalizing campaigns. Email is one sweet spot for personalization, but mobile is another. According to June 2015 research by Forbes Insights and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), 53% of B2B executives could deliver personalized content via email, but 55% could do it via mobile apps. More than two in five could also send personalized mobile text messages. As business decision-makers continue to rely on mobile for their work, it s become even more important for marketers to reach them there. Importance of Select Factors to Marketing and Sales Success According to B2B Marketing/Sales Professionals Worldwide, Q4 2015 Generating quality leads 2% 1% 61% 28% 8% Knowing key employees and decision-makers 1% 1% 60% 28% 10% Identifying and qualifying prospects by need 3% 1% 51% 35% 10% Generating sufficient numbers of leads 2% 50% 28% 15% 5% Identifying and qualifying prospects by authority to purchase 2% 46% 34% 14% 4% Identifying and qualifying prospects by industry 3% 40% 31% 19% 7% Identifying and qualifying prospects by time (e.g., budget window/purchase cycle) 39% 34% 3% 18% 6% Identifying and qualifying prospects by budget 3% 35% 36% 21% 5% Knowing a prospect company's organizational structure 2% 35% 33% 24% 6% Very important Important Moderately important Of little importance Unimportant Source: DueDil, "State of Sales Report," Dec 8, 2015 201819 www.emarketer.com Most Effective Digital Channels Used for Lead Nurturing According to B2B* Marketing Professionals Worldwide, Dec 2015 Email 78% Website 48% Social media 39% Blog 30% Events 29% Search 24% Mobile 13% Note: n=220; *79 were from B2B companies Source: Ascend2, "Lead Nurturing Trends Survey Summary Report," Dec 10, 2015 201764 www.emarketer.com B2B Marketing Trends Roundup Copyright 2016 emarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 2

Mobile s Workplace Role Continues to Grow Social and search platforms are also reaching mobile tipping points The first, most overarching trend for B2B mobile marketing in 2016 is that mobile s role in the workplace will continue to grow. Mobile is a key contributor to the ever-blurrier lines between work time and personal time, giving B2B marketers a growing number of reasons why they should be working harder to reach mobile audiences. This proliferation of mobile in the workplace is leading to greater demands from employers that their employees be always on, according to research from Gallup. In April 2014, 36% of employed adults said they frequently checked their work email outside of normal office hours. Perhaps a more disconcerting finding was that close to one-third of employed adults said their employer expected them to check email or otherwise stay in touch outside of normal working hours. In 2014, the average nonvoice time US adults spent on mobile devices surpassed that of desktops and laptops for the first time, and growth will continue for the next several years, emarketer estimates. By 2017, US adults will spend more than 1 hour per day using their mobile device than they will on their desktop or laptop, as explored in the new emarketer report Six B2B Mobile Marketing Trends for 2016: With a More Mobile Workplace, Budgets and Tactics Must Follow. Of course, it s likely that target audiences for certain B2B marketers spend a lot more time on a traditional PC than 2 hours per day. It s important to note that these are averages across the entire US population, not just those in the workplace who spend the majority of their day in front of a computer. But it s also likely true that even for people who use their PC frequently, time spent using smartphones and tablets continues to increase. Social and search platforms are also reaching mobile tipping points. LinkedIn reported in its Q3 2015 financial results that 55% of all its traffic came from mobile. In May 2015, Google reported that in at least 10 countries, including the US and Japan, more than half of searches on its platform were conducted via mobile devices. Mobile Marketing Tactics Used by B2B Marketers Worldwide, May 2015 Mobile site 65% Mobile app 65% Mobile email 45% Mobile advertising 40% Mobile landing page 40% Mobile search 40% In-app ads 30% QR codes 30% 25% Mobile display ad campaigns SMS campaigns 25% 20% Location-based mobile service Mcommerce 20% 15% MMS campaigns Source: Regalix, "State of B2B Mobile Marketing 2015," June 9, 2015 192113 www.emarketer.com In addition, emarketer estimates that by the end of next year, 55.8% of US mobile phone users, or 138.8 million people, will also be Facebook users. And in that same timeframe, nine in 10 US Twitter users, or 53.2 million people, will access Twitter via mobile devices. B2B Marketing Trends Roundup Copyright 2016 emarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 3

Content Marketing Valuable for B2B Marketers Who Document Strategy B2Bs split on effectiveness Content marketing has been playing a significant role for B2B marketers, but some still struggle to understand what makes an effective and successful program. An August 2015 Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and Marketing Profs survey, sponsored by Brightcove, found that 88% of B2B marketers use content marketing. The survey also found that while almost a third of B2B marketers said their use of content marketing is effective, 36% had opposing views. Forty-four percent of respondents remained neutral. The lack of effectiveness may be due to B2B marketers not documenting their content strategy. Almost half of respondents said they had a content marketing strategy, but it was not documented and 20% either had no documented strategy or were unsure. Nonetheless, 76% of B2B marketers said they expect to produce more content in 2016 compared to 2015, demonstrating that while clarity around content marketing may be lacking, marketers are still aware of its value and are continuing to leverage it. When it comes to marketing tactics, B2B organizations use a variety of different ones to drive desired results. Social media content, excluding blogs, is the most used tactic. Among the select social media sites and apps used to distribute content, 94% of B2B marketers said they used LinkedIn. The business-oriented social network service also ranked highest in terms of effectiveness. Facebook and Twitter rounded out the top three. At present, B2B marketers believe that content marketing is the most important technology, and will likely continue to be in the next 12 to 18 months. But, as the CMI and Marketing Profs survey pointed out, documenting a content marketing strategy will lead to a more effective one. B2B Marketers in North America Who Use Content Marketing, 2013-2015 2013 2014 2015 Yes No 93% 7% 86% 14% 88% 12% Source: Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and Marketing Profs, "B2B Content Marketing: 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends North America" sponsored by Brightcove, Sep 30, 2015 165392 www.emarketer.com Usage vs. Effectiveness* of Select Social Media Sites/Apps for Distributing Content According to B2B Marketers in North America, Aug 2015 Usage Effectiveness* LinkedIn 94% 66% Twitter 87% 55% Facebook 84% 30% YouTube 74% 51% Google+ 62% 13% SlideShare 37% 41% Instagram 29% 22% Pinterest 25% 20% Vimeo 21% - itunes 10% - Tumblr 9% - Vine 7% - Medium 6% - Periscope 6% - Snapchat 5% - Note: *responses of 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale where 5=very effective and 1=not at all effective Source: Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and Marketing Profs, "B2B Content Marketing: 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends North America" sponsored by Brightcove, Sep 30, 2015 197990 www.emarketer.com B2B Marketing Trends Roundup Copyright 2016 emarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 4

B2Bs Need to Step Up Email Automation Three-quarters say fewer than half of email campaigns are triggered Business-to-business (B2B) marketers have email automation work to do, based on March 2015 research by Spear Marketing Group. US B2B marketing executives surveyed were most likely to report that fewer than 25% of their current email campaigns were triggered, limiting them from responding automatically to recipient actions, such as website visits or event registrations, in a timely and more relevant fashion. Meanwhile, just one-quarter said more than half of the email campaigns conducted in an average month were automated. Respondents also weren t reaching out frequently to prospects. About three in 10 said their existing prospects received email communications from them once a month or less. According to Spear, best practice dictates that a frequency of at least one email per month is the minimum required to maintain some level of brand awareness. B2Bs were also lagging when it came to responding to incoming leads; 40.5 didn t employ an auto-responder, which means prospects weren t getting the immediate attention many demand. January 2015 research by Regalix highlighted the effectiveness of email during early stages. According to B2B marketing execs worldwide, email was most effective during the awareness and consideration stages of the buying process, at 72% and 69. Once the purchase stage came about, the number dropped to 36%. B2Bs who get their email marketing in tip-top shape stand a good chance at seeing returns. November 2014 polling by Webmarketing123 found that email was the No. 1 channel for which US B2B marketers could prove clear return on investment, cited by 66, vs. 37% who called out second-place paid search. Percent of Their Current Email Campaigns that Are Triggered According to US B2B Marketing Executives, March 2015 75%+ 8.5% 50%-75% 17.1% 25%-50% 29.9% <25% 44.4% Note: vs. batch (e.g., one-off); in an average month; numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding Source: Spear Marketing Group, "The State of Marketing Automation Maturity," April 9, 2015 188323 www.emarketer.com B2B Lead Nurture Campaigns Improve Personalization, Targeting Lead nurture programs deliver stronger results than standard efforts For business-to-business (B2B) marketers, lead nurture campaigns deliver far better results than standard programs. In July 2015 polling by Demand Gen Report (DGR), over half of US B2B marketers said lead nurture campaigns performed between 10% and 20% (26%) or 20% and 30% (25%) better. And such leads outperformed their standard counterparts throughout the sales funnel, with 21% of respondents reporting a 10% increase in sales opportunities from nurtured leads and nearly one-quarter a 20% lift. The success of lead nurturing campaigns speaks to the effectiveness of targeting and personalization, which emerged as leading perks to such programs. Nearly six in B2B Marketing Trends Roundup Copyright 2016 emarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 5

10 B2B marketers said the ability to segment prospects based on interests and behaviors was a benefit of lead nurture programs, and similarly, about two-thirds said such efforts drove better responses to campaigns and offers due to targeting and relevancy. Email was the leading channel used for lead nurturing programs, cited by 94%. However, DGR noted that marketers had also incorporated other channels such as retargeting (43%) which allows for further segmentation and social media (38%). Other research points to social s effectiveness as a lead nurture channel. When March 2015 polling by KiteDesk asked B2B sales professionals in North America about the areas where social media worked well as a sales tool, three-quarters cited nurturing leads and opportunities. As lead nurture programs mature and data helps marketers get increasingly personal with each touchpoint, DGR found that B2Bs had expanded nurture campaigns depending on various prospect and buyer stages. While early-stage campaigns were still the most popular, nearly half of respondents also used warm-up programs, and more than four in 10 ran advanced-stage campaigns with enhanced segmentation. Marketing automation technology presents B2Bs with an opportunity to act on audience data and boost lead nurture efforts. In an April 2015 study by Regalix, which found that the leads process was driving marketing automation usage among B2Bs, lead nurturing ranked as the No. 1 marketing automation objective, cited by 82% of B2B marketing execs worldwide. Effectiveness of Lead Nurturing Programs for Select Business Areas/Objectives According to US* B2B Marketers, July 2015 Lower cost for qualified leads 6% 12% 34% 19% 16% 13% Higher acceptance of leads from sales 4% 12% 30% 29% 16% 9% Better response to campaigns/offers due to targeting/relevancy 6% 22% 37% 27% 5% 3% Generating more warm, sales-ready leads 5% 18% 35% 34% 6% 2% Ability to segment prospects based on interests/behaviors 10% 27% 18% 39% 5% 1% 1 2 3 4 5 N/A Note: on a scale of 1-5 where 5=most effective; *primarily US-based Source: Demand Gen Report (DGR), "2015 Lead Nurturing Benchmark Study: Aligning Nurture Programs To The Buyer's Journey" sponsored by Oracle Marketing Cloud, Aug 4, 2015 194517 www.emarketer.com Types of Lead Nurturing Campaigns Currently Used by US* B2B Marketers, July 2015 Early stage (new lead, completed form) Warm-up campaign 49% Advanced stage (role/title/industry/company) 42% Marketing qualified 32% New customer/onboarding 32% Current client (upsell/cross-sell) 29% Touch campaign (sales owner reached SQL) 22% Trial nurture (following free trial request) 21% Lost opportunity 19% Other 6% 81% Note: *primarily US-based Source: Demand Gen Report (DGR), "2015 Lead Nurturing Benchmark Study: Aligning Nurture Programs To The Buyer's Journey" sponsored by Oracle Marketing Cloud, Aug 4, 2015 194521 www.emarketer.com B2B Marketing Trends Roundup Copyright 2016 emarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 6

How Far Along Is B2B Marketing Tech Adoption? B2B marketers acknowledge tech s potential, but room for advancement remains Marketing technology can help business-tobusiness (B2B) marketers with everything from content marketing to the leads process to getting the ever-desirable cross-channel customer view. However, recent research suggests that most B2Bs don t have all of the resources they need and even those who do struggle to make the most of them. In August 2015 research by Ascend2, less than one-third of B2B marketing professionals worldwide said marketing technology was significantly improving marketing performance. While still impressive, this emphasizes the huge room for growth among the 55% who said it was improving marginally and 13% who said it wasn t changing. Expanding technology access and usage will be key to improving results. More than two-thirds of respondents said they didn t have all the tools they needed. About half of that group was fully utilizing what they had, suggesting the talent was there, but the technology had yet to follow. While about one-third reported having all the tools they needed, few who did were actually utilizing them all. Even when companies buy in to technology, solid integration, strategy and processes are needed for optimal usage. Indeed, when asked about the leading obstacles to marketing technology success, respondents were most likely to cite the complexity of integrating technologies. It makes sense, then, that just one-quarter said their marketing technologies were extensively integrated, vs. 53% who said they were marginally integrated and 22% who said they weren t integrated at all. Lack of budget and resources, which can prevent adoption or limit usage once implemented, was a challenge for nearly four in 10, as were the lack of an effective strategy and inefficient processes and workflow likely at least partly to blame for low usage among those who had everything they needed. While B2Bs clearly understand the value of technology, it may be a few years before major strides are made. Fewer than one-fifth said their marketing tech budgets were increasing significantly, compared with 45% who said they were expanding marginally and 31% who said they weren t changing at all. Availability and Utilization of Marketing Technology at Their Company According to B2B* Marketing Professionals Worldwide, Aug 2015 Have all the tools we need and fully utilize what we have 9% Have all the tools we need but don't fully utilize what we have 25% Don't have all the tools we need but fully utilize what we have 33% Don't have all the tools we need and don't fully utilize what we have 34% Note: n=215; numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding; *76% of respondents were from B2B companies Source: Ascend2, "Marketing Technology Strategy Survey Summary Report," Aug 13, 2015 194890 www.emarketer.com Leading Obstacles to Marketing Technology Success According to B2B* Marketing Professionals Worldwide, Aug 2015 Complexity of integrating technologies Inadequate budget/resources Lack of an effective strategy Inefficient processes and workflow Inconsistent data across technologies 27% Limited organizational buy-in 22% Inadequate technical knowledge 19% Poor data quality/accuracy 17% 39% 39% 38% 50% Note: n=215; *76 were from B2B companies Source: Ascend2, "Marketing Technology Strategy Survey Summary Report," Aug 13, 2015 194893 www.emarketer.com B2B Marketing Trends Roundup Copyright 2016 emarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 7

Predictive Marketing Will Be Key Piece of Technology Stack Most aren t using it yet Digital marketing has long promised greater effectiveness and efficiency thanks to data, and a host of tools and techniques have been added to the marketing stack to that end. Predictive marketing a method of extracting information from customer datasets to detect a pattern and, ultimately, predict future outcomes and trends is quickly becoming important among business-tobusiness (B2B) marketers. US B2B Marketing Professionals Who Believe Predictive Marketing Will Be a Key Piece of the Marketing Stack, Sep 2015 No 32% Yes 68% According to a September 2015 EverString survey, more than two-thirds of US B2B marketing professionals at the director level or higher believe predictive marketing will be a key piece of the marketing stack. For most, though, it isn t key yet. Almost half (47%) of respondents said their company is aware of predictive marketing and currently investigating how to use it. Nearly a quarter more not only did not use predictive marketing, but also said the concept was new to them. Among those who are using it, most have not fully bought in. Of all respondents, 25% said they are currently using some predictive tools, and only 2% said their company is fully committed to predictive marketing. Predictive marketing is not the only thing respondents are adding to their marketing stack. Lead scoring is also important: 40% said they are using tools their marketing automation provides. Furthermore, 21% said they score their leads manually, while 7% said they use predictive lead scoring. Still, a third of respondent said they do not know what lead scoring is. Note: director-level or higher marketing/advertising professionals Source: EverString, "The 2015 State of Predictive Marketing Survey Report," Oct 13, 2015 198864 www.emarketer.com Usage and Awareness of Predictive Marketing at Their Company According to US B2B Marketing Professionals, Sep 2015 We are fully committed to predictive marketing 2% We are currently using some predictive tools 25% We are currently implementing predictive scoring 2% We are aware of predictive marketing and currently investigating how to use it We don't use the concept and it is new to us 24% 47% Note: director-level or higher marketing/advertising professionals Source: EverString, "The 2015 State of Predictive Marketing Survey Report," Oct 13, 2015 198863 www.emarketer.com Marketing technology is maturing, and with that, companies are gradually adopting it. Although only 10% of US B2B marketing professionals believe they are the NASA of marketing tech, more than a third feel they have a basic tech stack with CRM, marketing automation and a few tools. Only 2% don t know what marketing tech is. B2B Marketing Trends Roundup Copyright 2016 emarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 8

B2B Content Marketing Is a Highly Iterative Process Josh Golden Vice President, Global Digital Marketing and Communications Xerox Content marketing requires a great deal of experimentation and flexibility. Companies have to be willing to test and reformat content until it resonates with the right audience. Josh Golden, vice president of global digital marketing and communications at business services and technology firm Xerox, spoke with emarketer s Maria Minsker about why companies should not be afraid to fail when it comes to content marketing. emarketer: How do you implement and execute Xerox s content marketing strategy? Josh Golden: We recognized that content marketing is a user-centric tactic that starts with search. We know that people are more likely to come to Xerox.com through a search engine than by going to the website directly. If the right piece of content is available on the site, people can find it through search. Once they reach the site, we offer pieces that range from top-of-the-funnel content to bottom-of-the-funnel, sales-level content. emarketer: How has content marketing evolved over the last several years? Golden: Business-to-business [B2B] companies are typically 50% to 90% done with their decision-making process when they call a salesperson. Millennials are becoming decision-makers, and they use digital as their right hand. They use search, and that s changing what companies can communicate to a potential B2B decision-maker. The key benefit of content is it allows brands to tell the story about what they sell and how they re differentiated. Millennials are becoming decision-makers, and they use digital as their right hand. They use search, and that s changing what companies can communicate to a potential B2B decision-maker. emarketer: Have you experimented with any emerging content formats? Golden: We ve found SlideShare to be an unsung hero. The key decision-makers in our businesses have a real comfort with PowerPoint it s something they know how to dissect and look at. When we develop SlideShares, they consume them readily. Long-form ad scrollers can also be extraordinarily successful because of the length of engagement. People tend to stay engaged 400% to 500% longer, which is tremendous for us. emarketer: How do you look at different audience groups and build personas? Golden: We have approximately 20 different lines of business that we serve. We listen to what our audience is interested in and adjust the content to ensure that it s relevant and appropriate for them. We are developing precise persona modeling solutions that will allow us to change the site s infrastructure based on what we believe a given persona is going to find interesting. [Good marketers] have to be willing to fail. And when something does work, they have to atomize that content and get multiple pieces out of it. emarketer: What dissemination techniques do you rely on? Golden: We still use a paid, owned and earned philosophy, meaning we take advantage of every possible avenue that might be appropriate. For example, one successful piece of content, 50 Posters that Rocked the World, got the most kick out of earned media because it had the benefit of being a B2B2C [B2B-to-consumer] piece. While 50 Posters that Rocked the World was highly relevant for us because B2B Marketing Trends Roundup Copyright 2016 emarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 9

we are involved in large-format printing, consumers were interested in seeing the 50 posters. It was a tremendous opportunity for us. emarketer: How should marketers handle content that doesn t perform the way they expect? Golden: Good marketers have to be prepared. They have to be willing to try something that may not work, even if the data suggests that it will. They have to be willing to fail. And when something does work, they have to atomize that content and get multiple pieces out of it. The 50 Posters piece is a great example. We promoted it 15 different ways on social media, and every time we caught a new audience. Verizon Enterprise Solutions Fosters Dialogue with B2B Customers Through Content Series Steve Chadwick Director, Marketing Communications Verizon Enterprise Solutions Verizon Enterprise Solutions has been using content marketing for over a decade. With the goal of driving sales and creating a two-way dialogue with potential customers, the B2B company produces its regular content series, the Data Breach Investigations Report, each year. Steve Chadwick, director of marketing communications, spoke with emarketer s Jillian Ryan about its content strategy and results. emarketer: What is the core principle of your content marketing strategy? Steve Chadwick: We aim to have a meaningful, relevant dialogue and conversation with customers by delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time along the buyer journey. So the conversation I want to have with a potential customer who isn t that aware of Verizon Enterprise Solutions is a lot different from the conversation Iwant to have with a target who we ve been able to engage with. We get the most impact from it [Data Breach Investigations Report] when we deconstruct it into many individual conversations that we then disseminate across the web, across social and other external communication channels. We try to understand our prospective customers pain points and challenges and then create content relating those concerns rather than producing a lot of content around our own technologies. As we start to engage with a customer, the content has to quickly engage them. We do that by writing about the things that keep our customers up at night. emarketer: Can you give an example? Chadwick: For more than 10 years, we have produced the Data Breach Investigations Report [DBIR] and we find it extremely effective in engaging the marketer in a conversation about the business problems they are facing. The DBIR, at over 80 pages, is a very rich document from a content perspective. We get the most impact from it when we deconstruct it into many individual conversations that we then disseminate across the web, across social and other communication channels. The goal is to make the smaller content pieces from the DBIR into digestible content that serves all readers across our entire thought leadership portfolio. B2B Marketing Trends Roundup Copyright 2016 emarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 10

emarketer: How has your strategy changed since Verizon Enterprise Solutions first started producing the DBIR? What have you learned? Chadwick: Five or six years ago, the DBIR was the only piece of good thought leadership that we published. Over the last few years, we have put the [editorial and production] resources in place for more of this content. Once you ve established the mechanism to get that thought leadership out to the market, adding another thought leadership report is fairly easy. But it s not just about churning out more reports it s about really defining what is meaningful and relevant. What unique point of view can we bring to the market? What proprietary data can we add to the conversation? It s not just about churning out more reports it s about really defining what is meaningful and relevant. What unique point of view can we bring to the market? What proprietary data can we add to the conversation? emarketer: How do you define the success of your content marketing strategy? Chadwick: We see that our sales organization is using the content to have a dialogue with their customer. We can see that the visitors to our website are downloading it, they re engaging in it. And then in the long term, we re starting to do more measurements against bookings and revenue. We re getting more sophisticated in our ability to really identify whether or not it s driving bookings and revenue. So we are starting to see more and more attribution of the sales pipeline to the content marketing programs. B2B Marketing Trends Roundup Copyright 2016 emarketer, Inc. All rights reserved. 11

IBM Marketing Cloud 10 Key Marketing Trends for 2016 Today s buyers want the right content at the right time, but only 21 percent say the marketing messages they receive are usually relevant. Check out these 10 key digital marketing trends for 2016 and learn how you can deliver the experiences your contacts want. Download today at: www.silverpop.com/2016trends/

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