The B2B Barometer explores the budgets, priorities and behaviours of client-side marketers collectively controlling budgets in excess of £29.1 million and B2B agencies with annual revenues of £575 million.
Findings from 128 interviews with B2B marketing professionals conducted in April 2012 include:
- Trade shows are the largest client-side marketers’ budgets in the next 12 months with 15% share.
- Five channels – trade shows, direct mail, email, website development and print – will take 56% of overall client-side marketers’ budgets with digital channels expected to take 31% of budgets and 22% for face-to-face.
- Client-side marketers’ primary marketing goals for the next 12-months are almost exclusively about generating demand
- Lead generation and lead nurturing are the most important marketing priorities when using content marketing for generating demand.
- 86% of B2B client-side marketers use content in at least some of their marketing activity.
- White papers and case studies are the most frequently used content types.
- Video is seen as one of the most effective content types.
- Client-side marketers distribute their content withe events, website and email marketing.
- Supporting brand positioning and boosting SEO are among the goals that B2B marketers hope to achieve.
- 80% of B2B industry respondents interviewed expressed their confidence in their organisation’s outlook for the next 12 months with 63% of agencies reported more enquiries in the past six months.
Source: The B2B Barometer® and Circle Research