What Works Where in B2B?

What works where in B2B?How marketers market and how buyers buy

Digital benchmarking research 2012 #wwwb2b

THE BUSINESS AGENCY

What works where in B2B 2012? How buyers buy

Visibility of what works in B2B is harder than in consumer marketing as so much activity is select in its targeting and often commercially confidential. In 2011 Omobono set out to share the best practice of B2B marketers so that they could learn from their peers. Partnering with The Marketing Society and ably supported by Circle Research, Omobono has researched what B2B marketers really do in digital and what they think works.

In 2012 we also looked through the other end of the telescope to see how buyers are consuming the information that marketers lay in their path, and what effect it has.

The results, gathered over 2 years, are based on the collective views of 170 senior marketers, spending in the region of £100m between them, and 224 buyers with buying power of over £150 million. With the survey being completed by senior decision makers at some of the world’s biggest companies, this is a definitive guide against which B2B marketers can benchmark their own activities.

Introduction

About OmobonoOmobono is an award-winning business agency specialising in digital engagement for large corporates and government.

Omobono works with some of the world’s largest companies to drive their relationships - with customers, employees and stakeholders. Which leads to increased sales, loyalty and share of voice.

Our combination of business expertise, creativity and technical delivery is unique.

We offer a full service, from strategy and communications planning to creative delivery and implementation of complex, dynamic websites, through to mobile and social media marketing.

To find out how Omobono can help you maximise the effectiveness of your digital activities: please call Fran Brosan on 01223 307000 or email [email protected]

www.marketing-society.org.uk

www.circle-research.com

www.omobono.com

© Omobono Ltd 2012

What works where in B2B 2012? How marketers market

How marketers market


Who did we survey?P

rofe

ssio

nal

an

d

sup

por

t se

rvic

es

Ban

kin

g an

d fi

nan

ce

Tec

hn

olog

y

Med

ia

Con

sum

er g

ood

s

Hea

lth

Tel

ecom

s

Ret

aili

ng

En

gin

eeri

ng

and

m

anu

fact

uri

ng

Lei

sure

Con

stru

ctio

n a

nd

p

rop

erty

Ind

ust

rial

s

Uti

liti

es

Tra

nsp

ort

Nat

ura

l re

sou

rces

Oth

er

45%

33%30%

26%21% 21%

19%17%

14% 14% 13% 13%12%

10% 10%6%


What marketers told us

• What their B2B marketing goals were.

• How they allocate their digital budgets.

• Which channels they think work best.

• The challenges they face.


What is your organisation’s highest B2B marketing priority over the next twelve months?

Deepen understanding

of target market

(9%)

Develop brand

positioning

(11%)

Launch anew product

or service

(9%)

Strengthen‘thought

leadership’position(15%)

Deepen customerrelationships

(33%)

3%

Raise brand awareness

(17%)

9%

8%

2%

Ensure organisation is living the

brand

(3%)

2%

Other (3%)

1% 1%

% increase against 2011 % decrease against 2011 Highest priority


Highest priority Second highest priority Third highest priority

What are your organisation’s top three B2B marketing priorities over the next twelve months?

Deepen customerrelationships

Raise brandawareness

Deepenunderstanding

of target market

Develop brandpositioning

Launch a newproduct or

service

Strengthen‘thought leadership’

position

34%24%20%

17%23%16%

9%7%

10%

11%14%20%

9%5%

10%

14%16%19%

Ensure organisation

is living the brand

3%9%4%

Other

3%2%1%

For large companies, strengthening their thought leadership position becomes the second highest priority.


Digital marketing is still seen as important in achieving these goals

Important

Lessimportant

Notrelevant

(2011: 51%)

51%

(2011: 3%)

(2011: 2%)

6%

0%

Critical!(2011: 44%)

43%


Almost two-fifths of B2B budgets are invested in digital

0% 100%

2012

2011

11%

10%

17%

11%

18%

22%

17%

15%

8%

8%

11%

19%

6%

5%

8%

4%

5%

3%

2%

2%

Under 20%2012 = 22% 2011 = 27%

2012 = 10% 2011 = 14%

2012 = 38% 2011 = 37%

2012 = 68% 2011 = 60%

Between 20–70% Over 70%

Mean

Q: Over the next 12 months, what percentage of your organisation’s overall B2B marketing spend - excluding staffing costs - is likely to be invested in digital marketing?


Five channels share almost three-quarters of digital budgetC

orp

orat

e w

ebsi

te

dev

elop

men

t 22

%

Mob

ile

op

tim

isat

ion

3%

Mob

ile

app

s 3%

Affi

liat

e

mar

keti

ng

2%

Extranets 1%

SMS/MMS 1%

Other 1%

Em

ail

mar

keti

ng

18%

Social media 13%

Video/podcasts /webinars 9%

Display advertising 7%

SEO 6%

PPC 6%

Microsites 10%

Q: Over the next 12 months, approximately what proportion of your organisation’s B2B digital marketing spend do you expect to be allocated to each of these areas?

Increased by >2.5% from 2011

Increased by <2.5% from 2011

Decreased by >2.5% from 2011

Decreased by <2.5% from 2011

Unchanged from 2011


Effectiveness of digital channels in achieving goals

Website development

(75%)

Social media(74%)

Online video(66%)

Email marketing

(64%)

Microsites(51%)

PPC(29%)

2%

SEO(42%)

1% 1% 9%

4%

5% 10%3%

1% 1% 7%SMS/MMS(13%)

Extranets(20%)

Affiliate(20%)

Mobile optimisation

(24%)

Mobile apps(25%)

Display advertising

(29%)

% increase against 2011

% decrease against 2011

Q: How effective are the following digital marketing activities in achieving your goals?


…but it’s not as easy as it sounds

Q: What would you say are the most significant challenges you face in relation to digital marketing in a B2B context?

*Other challenges B2B marketers face: Keeping content relevant, understanding what works where, finding the right agency, making content visible, acquisition, consistent approach, adapting to tablets, data quality, increasing reach of activity, global scale, optimising for emerging markets, connectivity, quality standards (e.g. data privacy), press fragmentation, tracking sales, longer buying cycle, Mac vs. PC, changing marketplace and channel co-ordination.

14%

Measuring ROI

12%

Managing resources

12%

Cut-through

11%

Internal buy-in

10%

Targeting right

audience

10%

Staying innovative

9%

Quality content

9%

Internal expertise

9%

Finding right approach

Other*

4%


Social media and email also use plenty of internal resources

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

Mos

tly

in-h

ouse

Mos

tly

ou

tsou

rced

Q: To what extent, if at all, do you outsource activity in each of the following channels to external agencies as opposed to doing it in-house?

55%

Soci

al

med

ia

Em

ail

mar

ketin

g

45%

Affi

liate

m

arke

ting

6%E

xtra

nets

3%

Web

site

de

velo

pmen

t

2%

SMS/

MM

S

1%

PPC

3%

Dig

ital

adve

rtis

ing

6%

Onl

ine

vide

o/w

ebin

ars/

podc

asts

7%

SEO

9%

Mic

rosi

tes

13%

Mob

ile

optim

isat

ion

17%

Mob

ile

apps

17%


Budget allocation doesn’t match perceived effectiveness

Bu

dget

PerceivedE

ffectiveness

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

10%

20%

30%

Mobileoptimisation/

apps

Affiliate

Microsites

Websitedevelopment

Displayadvertising

Extranets

Email marketing

Socialmedia

SEO

Online video/

podcasts

SMS/MMS


Q: What proportion of your organisation’s B2B digital marketing spend do you expect to be allocated to each area?

PPC


What works where?

Deepen customer relationships

Raise brand awareness

Strengthen thought leadership

Develop brand positioning

OVERALL

Website development 69% 80% 79% 85% 75%

Email marketing 60% 63% 65% 68% 64%

Social media 54% 88% 91% 75% 74%

Microsites 51% 37% 63% 58% 52%

Online video 69% 61% 70% 68% 66%

Display advertising 7% 61% 19% 33% 28%

SEO 25% 61% 40% 55% 42%

PPC 16% 45% 23% 30% 29%

Mobile optimisation 24% 22% 23% 28% 24%

Mobile apps 24% 18% 26% 25% 25%

Affiliate marketing 16% 31% 16% 25% 20%

Extranets 24% 18% 18% 18% 20%

SMS/MMS 15% 10% 7% 15% 13%



Buyer reactions to marketers’ approaches

Q: How do you react to attempts to engage with you through these methods of communication?

Key:

Significant points of difference

% positive reactions to contact by prospective suppliers

% positive reactions to to contact by existing suppliers

Personal visits 79% 79%

Trade events 70% 68%

Bespoke events 69% 76%

Email sharing contents 63% 65%

LinkedIn 56% 53%

Webinars 53% 55%

Personalised emails 52% 65%

Industry sponsorship 51% 55%

Twitter 47% 56%

Mobile messaging 43% 37%

Direct mail 36% 42%

Facebook 35% 40%

Generic email 16% 21%

Telemarketing 13% 16%


Measuring ROI

Q: Does your organisation currently measure return on digital investment?

Compared with 2011, twice as many respondents said they don’t measure ROI and have no plans to start.

10%Yes, and

confident in its accuracy

18%Yes, and

confident in its accuracy

49%Yes, but not

with the accuracy we’d like

39%Yes, but not

with the accuracy we’d like

34%No, but plan

to start

28%No, but plan

to start

7%No, and no

plans to start

15%No, and no

plans to start


ROI metrics measuredW

eb a

nal

ytic

s/tr

affi

c

Lea

d g

ener

atio

n

Con

vers

ion

rat

es

Bra

nd

aw

aren

ess

Spen

d p

er c

amp

aign

Cos

t p

er e

nq

uir

y

Sale

s p

ipel

ine

Clo

sed

sal

es

Pro

fita

bil

ity

95%87% 85%

79%

56%63%

44%50% 51%

44%34%

40%

51%

38% 37%31% 29%

19%

Q: What metrics do you use to measure return on digital investment? 2011 2012


How buyers buy


Who did we survey?

Number of employees

18%

9%

45%

11%

17%

50–249

250–4995000

+

500–

999

1000–4999

Job role

42%22

%

2%3%

14%

17%

ITpr

ocur

ement

HR

Finance

managem

entSenior

Operations

Purc

hasin

g/

Sector

26%

25

%

23%26%

Busin

ess/

Engineering/

professional

serv

ices

manufacturing

servicestelec

oms

Financial

Tech

nology/


What buyers told us

• Where they go online to keep up to date with their industry or sector.

• What channels they turn to when they look for a supplier.

• What influences their final choice of supplier.


What are they actually buying?IT

sof

twar

e

IT h

ard

war

e

Tec

hn

ical

con

sult

ing

serv

ices

Tel

ecom

mu

nic

atio

ns

equ

ipm

ent

Tel

ecom

mu

nic

atio

ns

serv

ices

Man

agem

ent

con

sult

ing

serv

ices

Rec

ruit

men

t, t

rain

ing,

de

velo

pmen

t

Offi

ce s

up

pli

es

Tra

nsp

orta

tion

an

d v

ehic

les

Uti

liti

es a

nd

en

ergy

Bu

ild

ing

and

m

ain

ten

ance

Pla

nt

and

eq

uip

men

t

Ban

kin

g an

d

insu

ran

ce s

ervi

ces

Raw

mat

eria

ls

Leg

al s

ervi

ces

Mar

keti

ng

serv

ices

Stoc

k

Acc

oun

tan

cy s

ervi

ces

Pro

per

ty o

r la

nd

Oth

er

59%

53%

41%38% 37%

33%32%

25%21%

18% 17% 17%16% 15%

14% 13%11% 11%

9%

1%

On average, respondents were responsible for purchasing 4.8 goods and services.


B2B buyers interact with marketers in two “states of mind”

Passive ActiveKeeping informed about developments in profession/industry Contacted by existing suppliers Contacted by prospective suppliers

Defining specific needs Identifying potential suppliers Evaluating potential suppliers

Buyer seeks out marketer

Marketer seeks out buyer


Buyers use a mix of online and offline channels to stay informed

Online Offline

Supplier websites

93% 90% 87% 84% 84% 83% 83% 82% 80% 79%

Email newsletters

Trade events

Online business

press

Seminars

White papers/ similar content

Online trade press

Print business

press

Print mainstream

press

Online mainstream

press

79% 78%

58% 52% 48% 36% 35%Online trade communities

Print trade press Trade

blogs

YouTube, online video

PodcastsFacebook

Twitter

72%

LinkedIn

77%

Advertising campaigns

70%

Webinars

Q: Which of the above channels do you use in order to keep yourself informed on developments in your profession or industry?

Social for business?65% of B2B buyers use LinkedIn regularly for business. 29% of B2B buyers don’t use any social networks regularly for business.


How frequently do you use each channel to keep yourself informed?

Every day

2–3 times a week

Once a week

Once a fortnight

Once a month

Less frequently

Not at all

Pri

mar

y m

eth

od

Email newsletters 13% 21% 25% 12% 9% 10% 10%

Online mainstream press 15% 18% 18% 8% 8% 12% 21%

Supplier websites 6% 21% 21% 13% 22% 10% 7%

Print mainstream press 11% 17% 17% 11% 13% 11% 20%

Online business press 9% 18% 18% 13% 13% 13% 16%

Seco

nda

ry m

etho

d LinkedIn 8% 15% 18% 10% 11% 10% 28%

Online trade press 5% 14% 19% 14% 13% 18% 17%

Print trade press 3% 8% 24% 13% 17% 13% 22%

Print business press 5% 12% 15% 17% 17% 16% 18%

Online trade communities 3% 8% 16% 10% 13% 21% 29%

Oth

er m

eth

od

White papers 3% 8% 15% 13% 21% 23% 17%

Advertising campaigns 2% 8% 12% 15% 13% 27% 23%

Trade blogs 1% 8% 12% 10% 10% 17% 42%

Facebook 4% 4% 7% 6% 5% 10% 64%

Twitter 6% 5% 4% 5% 4% 11% 65%

Webinars 3% 4% 7% 9% 18% 29% 30%

YouTube, online video 1% 6% 6% 9% 8% 22% 48%

Podcasts 1% 4% 5% 6% 12% 20% 52%

Trade events 1% 2% 6% 6% 19% 53% 13%

Seminars 1% 3% 5% 6% 24% 45% 16%


OfflineOnline

Useful content comes from multiple information sources

Trade blogs

57%

Podcasts

55%

Twitter

54%Facebook

43%

YouTube

39%

Seminars

76%

Trade events

73%

Webinars

72%

White papers

79%

Online trade press

77%

Print business press

77%

Print trade press

76%

Online communities

61%

LinkedIn

59%

Ad. campaigns

55%

Supplier websites

82%

Email newsletters

78%

Online business press

71%

Online mainstream

press

69%

Print mainstream

press

65%

% finding a channel very or quite useful


Email is the most effective digital channel to get buyers to actPe

rson

al v

isit

s

Pers

onal

ised

em

ail

Tra

de

even

ts

Bes

pok

e ev

ents

Em

ail

shar

ing

con

ten

t

Dir

ect

mai

l

Lin

ked

In

Ind

ust

ry s

pon

sors

hip

Web

inar

s

Gen

eric

em

ail

Tel

emar

keti

ng

Tw

itte

r

Face

boo

k

SMS/

MM

S

No-

one

mad

e a

com

pel

lin

g ca

se

No

nee

d f

or a

ny

good

s/se

rvic

es

45%

28%25%

20%16% 16%

13%11%

10%8%

5%4% 4%

2%

11%8%

Don’t provoke particularly negative reactions but don’t lead buyers to act either.

Q: Which of the following means of engaging with you, if any, have actually resulted in you purchasing goods or services from suppliers?

Online Offline None


% reacting very or quite positively to contact

% of buyers contacted by suppliers through this channel

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Personalvisits

Bespokeevent

Tradeevent

Personalisedemail

Email sharingcontent Industry

sponsorship

Webinars ExtranetsLinkedIn Twitter

Facebook Mobilemessaging

Directmail

Telemarketing

Genericmarketing

email

Twitter and extranets are good ways to deepen existing customer relationships


Q: How frequently do you use each of the following in order to keep yourself informed on developments in your profession or industry?

Q: And how frequently do you visit these websites using a mobile device as opposed to on a laptop or PC?

Half of the B2B buyers on Twitter use their mobile; but few use it in first place.

Most B2B buyers use supplier website to keep informed; few use their mobiles to do so.

Lowest frequency of most popular B2B site visits using mobiles

% who use a mobile to visit site all or most of the time

% of visitors who go to site at least 2–3 times a week

% of B2B buyers visiting site

Twitter

50%46%35%

Facebook

38%33%36%

YouTube, online video

27%22%52%

LinkedIn

23%37%78%

Online trade community

18%25%79%

Trade blog

17%22%58%

Online trade press

14%30%83%

Online mainstream

press

13%50%79%

Online business

press

13%38%84%

Supplier websites

12%33%93%


Approach taken Channel used

Understand my needs and tailor

your offer22%

Build a relationship with

me; be personable, open, honest

12%

At some point, contact me

face to face

15%Personalise

your approach; nothing generic

10%

Be clear, concise in your communication

8%

Suppliers must concentrate on the ‘how’ more than the ‘what’ when contacting buyers cold

Q: What is generally best practice for potential suppliers hoping to make their communications stand out and persuade you to purchase goods or services from them?


Search marketing and websites key for ‘active’ state of mind

0%

% using as a primary source of information

Q: To what extent would you use the following sources of information to define your specific needs for a purchase?

Q: To what extent would you use the following sources of information to identify potential suppliers?

Q: To what extent do you use the following sources of information to evaluate suppliers?

Ask

a c

olle

ague

Rep

orts

/buy

er g

uide

s

Con

sult

proc

urem

ent

17%

9%

15%

10%

Evaluating potential suppliers

12%

Ask

pro

fess

iona

l adv

isor

Con

tact

sup

plie

r di

rect

ly40%

Sect

or r

epor

ts/b

uyer

gui

des

24%

17%

13%15%

Defining specific need

Con

tact

sup

plie

r

dire

ctly

Sear

ch e

ngin

e

Ask

pro

fess

iona

l adv

isor

Ask

a c

olle

ague

6%

Identifying potential suppliers

23%

15%12%

9% 8%

Ask

a p

eer,

sect

or r

epor

ts/b

uyer

gui

des

Ask

a c

olle

ague

Con

sult

proc

urem

ent

Ask

pro

fess

iona

l adv

isor

Con

tact

sup

plie

r di

rect

ly

Sear

ch e

ngin

e

6%


Best 5 channels for prospective suppliers to contact B2B


% who had actually purchased something as a result of contact through this channel

Q: Which of the following means of engaging with you, if any, have actually resulted in you purchasing goods or services from these suppliers?

* indicates base size less than 30

Financial services Engineering/manufacturing Business/professional services Technology/telecoms

1 Personal visits (83%) Personal visits (87%) Bespoke event (75%) Bespoke event (78%*)

2 Trade events (73%*) Trade events (69%*) Personal visits (74%) Personal visits (69%)

3 LinkedIn (71%) Industry sponsors (65%*) Trade events (69%*) Trade events (69%*)

4 Email sharing content (67%) Bespoke events (62%*) Email sharing content (66%) Email sharing content (64%)

5 Webinars (67%) Personalised email (56%) Personalised email (60%) Twitter (54%*)

Financial services Engineering/manufacturing Business/professional services Technology/telecoms

1 Personal visits (36%) Personal visits (58%) Personal visits (53%) Personal visits (33%)

2 Personalised email (20%) Personalised email (27%) Trade events (45%) Personalised email (31%)

3 LinkedIn (19%) Trade events (25%) Personalised email (33%) Bespoke events (24%)

4 Bespoke events (17%) Direct mail (22%) Bespoke events (29%) Email sharing content (20%)

5 Trade events (17%) Bespoke events (10%) Industry sponsors (24%) LinkedIn (16%)

The middle ground

What works where in B2B 2012? The middle ground - how buyers buy

Personal visits

Bespoke event

Trade event

Telemarketing

Email sharing content

Mobile messaging

Webinars LinkedIn

Generic marketing email

(79%)

(69%) (70%)

(13%)

(63%)

(43%)

(53%) (56%)

Twitter(47%)

Direct mail(36%)

Facebook(35%)

Personalised email(52%)

Industry sponsorship

(51%)

(16%)

Summary – a best practice approach is possible through digital channels


Q: How do you react to attempts to contact you through these methods of communication?

Bespoke and trade eventsIndustry focused events still have a role to play. Use digital channels before, during and post event to maximise the value of investment and build thought leadership.

Search and extranetsBoth are areas which help buyers, but are in danger of underinvestment from marketers.

Web Buyers rely heavily on information on suppliers’ websites. Underinvest in them at your peril.

Twitter Buyers are more likely to engage with existing suppliers on Twitter; but more likely to be contacted by potential suppliers.

What works where in B2B 2012? The middle ground - how marketers market

Summary – a best practice approach is possible through digital channels

% of buyers contacted by

suppliers through this channel

Q: How frequently are you contacted through the following communications channels by prospective suppliers attempting to engage with you?

Best digital performanceEmails sharing content deliver the best digital performance; don’t forget to personalise content to the buyer’s requirements.

Personal Visits Direct relationships still matter; buyers are more likely to buy from face-to-face contact.

LinkedIn The most popular B2B social network – 65% of buyers use it regularly for business.

Mobile and social An imbalance still exists between what marketers do and how buyers behave; but as mobile devices proliferate and digital natives enter business, we believe both channels will be normalised.

Personalised email(94%)

Personal visits(90%)

Direct mail

(90%)

Trade event(88%)

Email sharing content(86%)

Generic marketing email(88%)

Webinars(70%)

Bespoke event(88%)

Telemarketing(75%)

Industry sponsorship

(71%)

LinkedIn(69%)

Facebook(29%)

Twitter(30%)

Mobile messaging

(49%)

To find out more about how Omobono can help youmaximise the effectiveness of your digital activities: please call Fran Brosan on 01223 307000 or email [email protected]

www.omobono.com

Documents

What Works Where in B2B?