Research Report Jan 2016 STATE OF B2B MARKETING 2016 www.regalix.com
Introduction With the rise of digital, marketers today are battling with a dynamic medium in which they must constantly embrace newer practices each day even as they continue to master the old. Digital versus traditional marketing is no longer the debate; the way forward is to see both perfectly integrated into a unified whole. We spoke to senior B2B marketing professionals from companies across a range of product categories - we hope to understand how they were coping with the shifting marketing landscape; what challenges they were facing; and how they see the future unfolding. While some of the trends that we saw last year ( State of B2B Marketing 2015 ) continued to evolve this year, there were some newer insights that we gleaned from the study which may play out in the future. 01
STATE OF B2B MARKETING 2016 Sales related measures top list of priorities for marketers in 2016, while customer engagement measures continue to lag. Increase in revenue (69%) and increase in leads generated (68%) topped the list of marketing objectives accomplished in 2015, as chosen by marketers in our study. They Sales related measures top list of priorities The dominance of sales related measures in driving for marketers in 2016, while customer marketing programs is understandable. However, while engagement measures continue to lag. digital media offers numerous possibilities to support continue to be top priorities for them even in 2016. customer engagement and foster brand loyalty at levels that were never before(69%) possible, these appear to be far Increase in revenue and increase in leads generated (68%) topped the list of marketing objectives from fully realized. accomplished in 2015, as chosen by marketers in our study. They continue to be top priorities for them even in 2016. The dominance of sales related measures in driving marketing programs is understandable. However, while digital media offers numerous possibilities to support customer engagement and foster brand loyalty at levels that were never before possible, these appear to be far from fully realized. 02
Which of the following marketing objectives did you accomplish in 2015? Increase in revenue Increase in leads generated Increase in sales Increase in customers acquired Increase in brand awareness Improved engagement/customer relationship Thought leadership Better customer experience Increase in brand loyalty and advocacy Reduction in cost of operations 69% 68% 65% 62% 61% 46% 46% 35% 27% 12% Which of the following marketing objectives would be top priority for your brand in 2016? Increase in revenue Increase in sales Increase in leads generated Increase in customers acquired Improved engagement/customer relationship Increase in brand awareness Thought leadership Increase in brand loyalty and advocacy Better customer experience Reduction in cost of operations 67% 61% 61% 56% 54% 48% 48% 43% 41% 21% 03
STATE OF B2B MARKETING 2016 Please map how you will prioritize your efforts across the following programs in 2016 Digital is the new marketing. High Medium Low Digital/Online marketing 77% 20% 3% Offline marketing 23% 54% 23% Digital marketing is quickly gaining traction as the emerging face of mainstream marketing in the B2B space. Our study bears this out: Which of the following marketing programs proved to be effective in meeting your marketing goals in 2015? 77 percent of respondents identified digital marketing as high priority for them in 2016 as opposed to 23% who chose offline marketing. 37 percent of respondents picked digital marketing over offline marketing (11%) when asked which program proved to be more effective in meeting their marketing goals in 2015. 37% Digital/ Online marketing 11% Offline marketing 04 52% Both
Offline and Online Marketing are Merging. 82 percent of marketers said their digital and traditional marketing activities were either fully-integrated or partly-integrated and were in the process of being integrated further. 62 percent of respondents rated their organization s current digital capabilities in defining a digital strategy as average to above average; another 30% said they were in the process of building this capability. 05
STATE OF B2B MARKETING 2016 How well integrated are your digital and traditional marketing activities? Fully-integrated 17% Partly-integrated, but we hope to integrate further 65% Limited integration, and that s the best we can do 12% Not integrated at all 6% How would you rate your organization s current capability in defining a focused digital strategy? New to digital 4% In the process of developing our capabilities 30% Average 22% Above average 40% Best in category 06 4%
STATE OF B2B MARKETING 2016 Traditional channels continue to dominate the digital space; video advertising and mobile improve, paid advertising slips. 86 percent marketers pick website as their most effective online channel in 2015 07
Continuing the pattern we saw last year ( State of B2B Marketing 2015 ), website (86%) and email (72%) led the pack of online channels that marketers found effective in meeting their goals in 2015. They were followed by SEO (54%) and social (52%). In line with this finding, investments planned by marketers for 2016 followed a similar trend. 80 percent of marketers said they plan to increase spend on website; this was followed by email (61%), social (66%) and SEO (54%). 08
Which of the following digital/online distribution channels proved to be effective in meeting your marketing goals in 2015? Website Email SEO (organic search) Social (Facebook, LinkedIn etc.) Blogs Online events (workshops, seminars etc) Paid search Social communities Online display ads Mobile web Video advertising Mobile app Affiliate marketing Mobile messaging (text messaging) 86% 72% 54% 52% 39% 37% 30% 24% 21% 14% 14% 13% 10% 5% 09
STATE OF B2B MARKETING 2016 Which of the following digital/online distribution channels do you plan to increase/decrease spends in 2016? Increase Website Email SEO (organic search) Paid search Social (Facebook, LinkedIn etc.) Social communities Blogs Online display ads Affiliate marketing Mobile web Mobile app Video advertising Mobile messaging (text messaging) Online events (workshops, seminars etc) 10 80% 61% 54% 42% 66% 35% 55% 24% 18% 32% 28% 39% 9% 55% Decrease 4% 13% 9% 20% 6% 13% 6% 25% 24% 13% 16% 14% 30% 6%
Some underlying trends in the effective performance of channels also emerged. Social improved upon its performance significantly from 2014 (41%) to 2015 (52%) Mobile continued to disappoint in terms of absolute numbers, although mobile web in 2015 (14%) scored better than it did the previous year (10%). Video advertising showed signs of resurgence, moving from a mere 5% (2014) to 14% (2015). Paid advertising seems to not have delivered. Paid search in 2015 (30%) fell short of what it was in 2014 (35%); while display ad was lower in 2015 (21%) than it was in 2014 (26%). Which of the following digital/ online distribution channels proved to be effective in meeting your marketing goals? 2014 2015 41% 5% 10% 10% 35% 26% 52% 14% 14% 13% 30% 21% Social (Facebook, LinkedIn etc.) Video advertising Mobile web Mobile app Paid search Online display ads 11
Except for events, offline channels fail to curry favor for further investment. 74 percent of respondents said they would increase spend on events in the coming year. Direct mail (32%) and print media (25%) were the distant second and third choices. 12
Which of the following offline distribution channels do you plan to increase spends in 2016? Events (exhibitions, conferences, trade shows, etc.) Direct mail Print media Telemarketing Television Radio Outdoor ads 74% 32% 25% 17% 9% 9% 6% 13
Understanding and managing the customer journey is vital for success, say marketers. Understanding the customer journey (78%) and mapping the right content asset to each stage of that journey (77%) were the outright winners in the list of capabilities that marketers felt were very important to the success of their initiatives over the next 3 years. Given the less-than-enthusiastic response that mobile has received from marketers in the B2B space, it comes as no surprise that understanding the mobile user s customer journey was ranked low in the listing. 14
According to you, how important will the following be for your digital marketing initiatives over the next 3 years? Understanding customer buying journey Educating and influencing purchase by mapping right content assets and distribution channels to key stages in the customer buying journey Understanding the mobile user s customer journey Very Important 78% 77% 37% Somewhat Important 15% 17% 31% Not Important 3% 2% 26% Customers dependency on connected devices for making purchase decisions 27% 37% 28% Integrating offline and online data points to provide consistent and enhanced customer experience 46% 39% 9% Attributing and measuring performance of multiple channels used by customers in their buying journey 53% 37% 3% Social media s contribution to the bottom line 41% 43% 11% Measuring effectiveness of digital vs offline marketing activities 51% 31% 11% 15
STATE OF B2B MARKETING 2016 Marketers expect content marketing and marketing automation to have the most impact on business in 2016, while also placing their bets on newer technologies. As in the previous year, content marketing (64%) and marketing automation (50%) were chosen by our respondents as the technologies that will have the most impact on business in 2016. Some interesting insights emerge. Marketers seemed to place their faith in the following technologies growing in importance in the coming year: Social media marketing, which moved from 30% (2015) to 45% (2016) in terms of perceived impact; video marketing, from 14% (2015) to 38% (2016); mobile marketing, from 8% (2015) to 25% (2016); big data, from 10% (2015) to 24% (2016). It remains to be seen how these various technologies actually play out to define the digital marketing landscape in the coming year. 16
Of the following, which marketing initiative would you say had, and which do you think will have, the most impact on your business in 2015 and 2016? 2015 2016 41% 55% 14% 10% 8% 30% 35% 27% 13% 10% 7% 50% 63% 38% 24% 25% 45% 42% 30% 19% 15% 8% Marketing automation Content marketing Video marketing Big data Mobile marketing Social media marketing SEO (organic search) Paid search Community forums Affiliate marketing Wearables 17
Final thoughts Trends that we saw in 2014 in the B2B marketing space continued to play out in 2015, and will probably do so in 2016 as well. Sales revenue remains top-of-mind for marketers, while customer engagement metrics lag. As a result, pre-sale activities dominate. Given the growing importance of digital in marketing, we hope to see more companies leverage the potential of the medium to promote loyalty and advocacy among their customers. Mobile needs more evangelists. Marketers felt mobile will have a greater impact on their business in 2016 than it did in 2015. This could well be the first signs of its emergence from the shadows of the Web, especially as the medium for fostering customer engagement. Newer channels, newer forms of digital assets and newer technologies will emerge as digital stakes a more prominent role in the marketing arena. However, for the moment, traditional strongholds like website, email and social will continue to play a significant part in the marketing plan. Whatever the changes we see, the basics will remain true. Understanding the customer journey, producing good quality content and engaging with the customer on a regular basis will still continue to hold the keys to the success for any marketing program. Marketers would do well to remember this. 18
What is the planned allocation of your marketing budget toward digital/online marketing initiatives in 2016? 51% and above 26-50% 10-25% 0% 29% 27% 42% 2% 19
About the Analysts Nimish Vohra SVP, Principal Analyst Arunh Krishnan Sr. Analyst Nimish, Senior Vice President, works with CMOs and senior marketing professionals. His research focuses on customer experience management, predictive analytics, mobile enablement and other emerging trends that help customers leverage technology as an enabler of marketing and business outcomes. Arunh started his career with consumer product marketing, moved to brand management, and been involved in new product launches. In his various roles, he has had deep involvement with consumer and product research. Arunh is currently involved in studying emerging trends and understanding consumer behavior in the digital space. 20
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