New research shows B2B services marketing budget priorities

ITMSA's recent research reviewed B2B Marketing investment priorities from larger companies including Microsoft, SalesForce and BT. The report shares findings on budget allocations, detailed allocation of marketing spend, staffing, priorities and challenges for this year. It highlights shifts in focus - ' according to the research, in the past the focus was on 'reputation', today it's 'Revenue' and the future is 'relationships'. The companies surveyed are focusing on revenue generation (ROI), Thought Leadership, Brand Differentiation and Reputations, as they continue to plan for online spend.

Where are marketing spending plans for this year?

The biggest spend is forecasted to be on marketing programs, campaigns and content development. Content Development accounts for 15% of spend. The report shows some flexibility in budget investment with 8 in 10 of the companies able to…

Which channels affect purchase decisions for B2B buyers?

BuyerSphere is an excellent report for B2B marketers from Base One that is now in its 5th Edition and has just been released. If you don't know it, it reviews many aspects of B2B Digital Marketing with the focus on the decision-making process for B2B products and services by reviewing the behaviour and attitudes of over 200 B2B buyers for purchases over £20,000. Refreshingly the report focuses on 'what buyers do' and 'not what marketers think' with some enlightening findings. This article shares the findings on how the buyers find information to support their decision-making process and how influential the source is in terms of realising that sale.

Where do businesses find their information on their supplier?

Those holding the purse strings or 'influencers' in the buying decision, use at least 2 different information sources when selecting their supplier. With the main sources being gathered from…

Where to focus to get ahead and stay ahead of the competition

It isn’t always about embracing the newest, shiniest techniques. Instead, the fundamentals of consistency, reliability and credibility are often more important to make an impact with customers. Customers may often cite innovation as one of the must haves, but it’s rarely at the top of the list. In B2B, they want continuity and risk mitigation. That's why web searches, supplier websites, and email remain the primary information sources for the modern business buyer. These are the tools that allow customers to seek out products and services, to learn about the companies that provide them and to ensure they are regularly updated on them. In our recent "Six ways to turbocharge your B2B marketing" webinar - now available on demand - we discussed six ways to ensure you are at the forefront of your B2B customer's mind. For those of you too busy…

31 Predictions on the Future of B2B Marketing

Each year, through the year, I’m reviewing the latest trends and predictions for digital marketing to update Smart Insights members and to include in new editions of my books I’m working on. Looking to the year ahead, I have just updated my ideas on trends in marketing for 2015 with a focus on the latest software tools to help digital marketers - please take a look and vote on the most important trend for your business! My reviews tend to span across all of digital marketing, so I was interested to see this compilation of predictions compiled by Lee Odden of TopRank Online Marketing focusing on the future of B2B Digital Marketing. It’s curated by Top Rank Digital in association with Marketing Profs for their upcoming B2B Forum, so I was interested to take a…

The 3 digital techniques B2B marketers must excel in

Whether it’s on desktops, laptops, phablets or tablets, there is one truth when it comes to marketing your business online. If you can’t be found, don’t have a clear and compelling offer and don’t make “transaction” easy for customers, you’re doomed to failure. Web searches, supplier websites, and in most countries email remain the primary information sources for the modern business buyer. These are the tools that allow customers to seek out products and services, to learn about the companies that provide them and to ensure they are regularly updated on them.

Brand storytelling for B2B lead generation

The underlying premise of effective B2B (digital) marketing though, lies in engaging customers and prospects and providing them with useful, relevant content that improves their own business’ revenue and performance and positions yours as an expert to rely upon. So before we get distracted by no less important traffic generation,…

Defining ROI and the digital skills gap are major challenges

An online survey of 100 marketing leaders, the B2B Leaders report in association with Circle Research, involved Marketing Directors, Heads of Marketing and Marketing with an average 15 years experience, reporting into board or leadership teams and controlling a total of £188m. The survey delved into brand management, demonstrating ROI, managing a team effectively and personal reputation. For more specific detail on Content Marketing, see our separate post on B2B Content Marketing trends for 2014. The findings have been summarised in this infographic, we have shared for our readers working in B2B marketing to provide context if you are looking to understand typical B2B priorities for the next 12 months and how to develop marketers skills and training accordingly. …

The essential ingredients of a B2B Digital Strategy

Professional service marketing has rarely ever been about creating immediate business transactions. It's always been a long-term effort of building reputation, demonstrating capabilities and showcasing credibility through opinion and thought leadership.

Whilst content marketing and promotion through social media remains a core activity of professional services digital marketing, most marketers experience a rapidly expanding gap between the demand for material and their ability to consistently execute on that demand internally. The sources of thought leadership content are usually the practising professionals, who are often too busy and aligned with managing ongoing client caseloads and maintaining existing client bases.

Given the economic pressure on firms to maintain – and improve – profitability, as with most initiatives, developing a digital strategy tends to be viewed as less important than shorter-term business development methods. But whilst most professional service…

6 illnesses B2B (and other marketers) may suffer from

No I don't mean "sick" in a "down-with-the-kids" way, just "ill". I like useful infographics, that's our bag, but really like this one since it's useful and funny - well to me anyway. These look like common ailments across sectors...

Kudos to g2m Solutions - I like the way they integrate it with a B2B Healthcheck CTA on their site, although not on the infographic. If you're looking for treatment, Rene Power also has his infographic showing 7 Steps to a Brilliant B2B Marketing Plan.

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Applying the Ebocube B2B Digital Marketing model for international market development

Emerging markets are countries experiencing relatively recent industrial, political and technological change resulting in rapid economic growth. Emerging markets cover more than the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), however; these countries are amongst the buoyant emerging giants. Large populations generally characterise these markets, as is obvious with China and India. They tend to be dominated by young populations and rising middle classes. As business revenues plateau in saturated, developed markets, expansion into emerging markets is a popular means for reaching new growth targets. Although these countries are affected by the global recession, many remain in robust growth positions.  The endeavour of international business involves uncertainty and risk, however; this can be mitigated by the internet .

Bringing the Next Billion People Online

Developed countries have long defined the Internet, however, at least 500 million new users of the Internet are expected to come from emerging markets from…