Business to Business Key Findings: March 2013
Changes and Challenges Shape Today’s B2B Marketers
Marketing has experienced massive change in the past decade, driven largely by new technology mostly nonexistent just five years ago. And while much of this new technology offers a host of opportunities for marketers, it also brings just as many challenges. So, what does it take to be an effective marketer in this new environment where data analysis is king and programs are driven by digital channels? BtoB and marketing automation company, Eloqua, Inc., polled nearly 600 marketers in January, and found most (65%) believe they fall short of having the attributes of “the ideal marketer” today, but are “strongly” or “fully” committed to improving (68%), and believe they are getting better at their jobs, despite limited budgets and staff. About 60% said the ability to track marketing ROI with technology is their biggest challenge. Using social media effectively was cited by 58%, while the shift in the power from the brand to the customer was listed by 42%. Mobile marketing was selected by 33%, media fragmentation by 30% and improvements in data cleansing by 19%. Identifying key drivers pressuring today’s marketers, those polled cited the need to achieve fast and relevant touch points in the market (60%), coping with reduced staffs (55%), challenges of measuring ROI (48%), increasing difficulties in conveying timely offers and messages (35%), and a general decline in the awareness of brands (12%). One high-level marketing director quoted in the study said, today’s successful marketer must take on a quasi-sales function and understand his or her job is about relationship-building. Another respondent said being strategic and tech savvy are also very important. (b2bonline.com)
Bullets
- 80 percent of the 120 human resources executives polled said their companies currently offer some form of telecommuting option to employees with 97 percent of them saying there are no plans to eliminate that benefit. (challengergray.com)
- More than eight in 10 online Americans (85%) viewed online videos in 2012. (comScore; 312-777-8801)
- Owners of iPhones, iPads and iPod touch devices send more than two billion iMessages daily. (Apple; 408-996-1010)
- More than nine in 10 liquor brands have Twitter accounts. (L2 Think Tank; 805-441-3233)
- 44% of small to mid-sized business decision-makers use social media; 86% of those SMB decision-makers use Facebook, 41% use LinkedIn and 33% use Twitter. (straightnorth.com)
- While 85% of consumers are searching for local businesses online 63% of small businesses don’t have a website and 25% of small businesses don’t show up in the search results. (localsplash.com)