Wwwb2b2014 by The Marketing Society

The state of B2B digital marketing in 2014

DIGITAL CHALLENGES

TOO MUCH TO DIGEST? THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Marketers’ #1 priority

B2B HAPPY Are we happy at work?

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SM ER

10 4

4 EDITORIAL

6 OBJECTIVES

8 BUDGETS

10 CHANNELS

11 CHALLENGES

18 CONTRIBUTORS

20 BEING A MARKETER

22 TAKEAWAYS

The changing face of digital Francesca Brosan introduces this year’s research

Thought leadership is making a splash Find out how marketers’ priorities have evolved

Meet Stretch Marcom He’s a digital marketing whizz with a superflexi budget!

Social vs Mobile They’re both vying for your attention – is there a clear winner?

Digital challenges: there’s more to digest than ever A closer look at the key challenges in B2B digital marketing

“Evolve or get left behind” Four of B2B’s finest share their insights and tips

What makes us happy at work? Take the quiz to see how you compare

“Step back and assess the big picture” So you’ve read the report – now what? Actionable advice from Matthew Walko

EDITORIAL

The requirements of a viral world have resulted in changing demands on the marketing community ” overall the results show just how far the B2B digital world has shifted away from broadcast media (owned or paid for) and toward social engagement.

The changing face of digital. Are we on top of it? The What Works Where research programme now has a four-year perspective on how B2B marketers are approaching digital and addressing their key challenges.

Social media now comes out as the most powerfully effective channel across a wide range of objectives, from building thought leadership to deepening customer relationships. But this shift has exacted a price. The requirements of a viral world, where content is constantly needed in order to attract the attention and interest of customers on their self-propelled pre-purchase research journeys, have resulted in changing demands on the marketing community. In addition,

the simple measures of effectiveness that we have in our control no longer give us an adequate picture of what’s working. The research is further evidence of how far the communications world has changed as the shifts in consumer behaviour have morphed onto the B2B landscape. Our survey results, based on responses from 115 senior B2B marketers, demonstrate that they are harnessing the power of non-traditional channels to drive deep levels of connectivity with their customers and target markets. Deloitte, among others, believe that up to 80% of the buyer journey is complete before suppliers are even aware the buyer is in the market. While this shift has undoubtedly put control

Thanks and acknowledgements go to the following people. The team at Circle Research for their excellent work in developing and running the survey and for their intelligent analysis of the results. The team at The Marketing Society for their ongoing partnership and commitment to sharing knowledge in the B2B sector. Andrew Dalglish, Elodie Rigal, Simon Morris and Stephen Maher for their valuable contributions.

into the hands of the purchaser, B2B marketers are responding dynamically, sharing content across a long tail of digital channels to achieve a variety of objectives. But there’s more to do. Finally, as we will see in this report, there is huge enthusiasm and commitment to the sector, but a dramatic need for more digital talent at all levels to join the teams that are tackling the challenges they meet along that journey.

Francesca Brosan Chairman, Omobono What Works Where in B2B Digital Marketing is a report published annually by Omobono Limited.

Everyone at Omobono who took part in the WWW Creative Hackathon for their enthusiasm and creativity. And, last but not least, the editorial and design team at Omobono that produced this report. To find out more about What Works Where, including previous years’ research, please visit www.omobono.com/insights/ what-works-where And to join the conversation, tweet @omobono_digital. #wwwb2b

OBJECTIVES

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP IS MAKING A SPLASH!

What are your company’s top three B2B marketing priorities for the next year?

BOTTOM

What are your marketing priorities? Find out how 115 marketers responded – and the seven key takeaways from the data

TOP

OBJECTIVE

2014

2013

2012

2011

Strengthen thought leadership position

63%

50%

49%

Deepen customer relationships

61%

67%

77%

Raise brand awareness

50%

49%

56%

48%

Develop our brand position

44%

47%

44%

47%

Deepen understanding of target market

36%

28%

26%

30%

Launch a new product or service

21%

25%

24%

27%

Ensure organization is living the brand

14%

19%

16%

13%

FOUR

SIX

ONE Thought leadership is now the number one priority for B2B marketers for the first time since we started the survey in 2011.

TWO

Time to get a waterproof tablet?

Deepening customer relationships continues to be a major priority. For larger companies (turnover >£250m) it appears in the number one slot.

Brand awareness has consistently been important for around half of B2B marketers. As might be expected, it’s more important to marketers in smaller companies (57%) than those in large companies (41%), who can be more confident in how well known they are.

FIVE

THREE Living the brand is still bottom of the priority list, but B2B marketers shouldn’t neglect it. Internal engagement is critical to success in B2B. Customers’ experience of the brand is largely delivered by their interactions and relationships with people in the company.

Deepening understanding of the target market has increased in importance this year. More and more B2B marketers realise that they need to understand their customers’ challenges and buying journeys in order to provide the right solutions, at the right times and in the right ways.

The biggest difference between small and large companies is the importance of customer relationships. 68% of marketers in large companies prioritise customer relationships, compared to only 55% in small companies. This perhaps reflects the fact that company growth is more likely to come from acquisition for smaller companies, while for larger, more established organisations the opportunity for growth resides in existing customer relationships.

SEVEN

SUMMARY These shifting objectives seem to confirm the overall change that we have seen in B2B marketing since 2011. Being seen as a thought leader is deemed critical to stand out to customers during their buying journeys.

Are B2B marketers measuring the wrong things? The number one ROI metric is still lead generation, but marketers are struggling to measure ‘softer’, less tangible metrics to evaluate their customer relationships, and they’re not tracking brand perceptions, which could help evaluate the success of thought leadership campaigns.

The same funnel exists for all, but results show that big companies prioritise customer relationships (as they already have a big customer base), and small companies focus on awareness. Thought leadership is a priority for all companies because it’s the crux of consideration for the company, whether they’re known or not known.

BUDGETS

MEET

STRETCH MARCOM IS ON THE VERGE OF DIGITAL STARDOM...

STRETCH MARCOM he’s a digital marketing whizz with a super-flexi budget! But he’s about to find out that even flexibility has its limits…

but can he

s - t -r - e - t - c - h

even further?

NO MATTER HOW HARD HE TRIES, HE CAN NEVER QUITE PLEASE HIS PEERS.

Things haven’t been going so well for Stretch Marcom recently. Digital budgets have barely changed over the last three years. In 2011, digital made up 37% of total spend and has crept up to just 39% in 2014. Despite this snail-like pace, marketers have been expected to juggle more and more digital channels with each coming year. These expectations have left marketing budgets well and truly stretched. We join Stretch Marcom on his quest to explore new, uncharted social channels. He’s spending more on social than he was three years ago, but it’s still just 15% of his digital budget. He belongs to the 38% of marketers who just wish they could spend more on social, if only their budget stretched that little bit further…

THUD

but stretch is in knots I’D LOVE TO, BUT...

HEY GUYS, WHAT’S THE LATEST? SO I’M HEARING THAT OVER HALF OF MARKETERS AREN’T SPENDING ANYTHING ON MOBILE!? SPLUTTER

STRETCH! IT LOOKS LIKE

WE’RE GOING TO NEED MOBILE TOO!

DIGITAL BUDGETS ARE BEING TRAGICALLY STRETCHED. HOW ARE YOU TREATING YOURS?

END

Stretch’s biggest challenge is finding a shirt that fits

CHANNELS

CHALLENGES

Social media is particularly effective for raising brand awareness (91% agree) and strengthening thought leadership (88% agree)

38%

of marketers would spend more on social media if they had extra budget

79%

of marketers say social media is effective in meeting their objectives – more than for any other digital channel

Marketers are spending more of their digital budgets on social media now (15%) than they did 3 years ago (10%). While more marketers in big companies* than in small companies* spend on mobile, a worrying 56% of marketers don’t spend anything at all.

84% ONLY

35%

of marketers say that mobile is effective in meeting their objectives

Do you think marketers should prioritise social media, mobile, or both? Tweet us at @omobono_digital. #wwwb2b *Big companies = turnover >£250m *Small companies = turnover <£50m

DIGITAL CHALLENGES:

of marketers who spend on mobile say it’s crucial or important to their digital marketing strategy

39%

would spend more on mobile apps or optimization if they had extra budget

THERE’S MORE TO DIGEST THAN EVER The shifts in customer behaviour – towards a self-serve model in which 80% of the buying journey is complete before a provider knows they are in the market – has had a massive impact on B2B marketing.

CHALLENGES

SO WHAT’S THE IMPACT? things will never be the same again. Our research reveals some of the tectonic shifts that have taken place, dislodging both the perception and the reality of what B2B marketing is about in the process.

The result is that B2B marketers are finding it a more challenging, but ultimately more rewarding, environment. They already revel in the complexity of the B2B sector, and the ability to directly influence the commercial success of the business. But they are also motivated by change. Many of our survey respondents noted how big an impact digital was having on their roles, from the ability to reach out to customers to the increasing breadth

of techniques at their disposal. So, with social media now being viewed as the most effective channel, and an ever changing technological environment, B2B marketers are at the forefront of what is new in marketing. But it comes at a price. Two challenges in particular shine out strongly: the need for (and lack of) the right resources to produce sustainable, valuable content and the simple fact that our measurement techniques are not giving us the right insights.

oes your marketing team have D any gaps in the digital marketing skills they need?

Yes 70%

hat are the most important W skills that are lacking in your marketing team?

Analytics and reporting

48%

Strategy and planning

38%

Research and insight

No 17%

It’s a fast moving world that is now embracing digital to the fullest”

36%

Creativity and ideas

23%

Copywriting

23%

Technical expertise

22%

Design

20%

Unsure 13%

HOW DOES YOUR TEAM MEASURE UP? our research revealed that these problems are exacerbated further by a digital skills gap in B2B marketing. Bite me

70% of B2B marketers say their team has gaps in the digital skills they need and 43% say that this

lack of digital expertise is one of their biggest challenges. A look at which digital skills are missing in B2B shows how this impacts on the ability to produce valuable content which helps to achieve business objectives. It’s not because B2B marketers aren’t a creative lot, capable of having ideas and producing good-looking content.

Creative output is not lacking as much as other skills. The real problem seems to lie in the upfront thinking. There is simply not enough, or not the right resource to work out what needs to be done and how to connect it to prove effectiveness. This in turn has a negative knock-on effect, evidenced by the struggles to demonstrate ROI accurately.

CHALLENGES

SMARTER CONTENT STRATEGIES the first response is to ensure that the content being produced is structured to maximize the chances of success – in terms of both impact and ability to generate content successfully. Marketers are focusing on quality over quantity when it comes to content production; one survey respondent is “concentrating on high quality, relevant content that can be re-purposed for different digital channels”, while another is producing more short form content. There is a definite feeling that less is more, and that content should add value rather than adding to the noise.

The third approach to content seeks to prioritize what’s done in terms of both audiences and channels. Marketers are increasing their understanding of the buyer journey, from using personas to more accurately researching their markets to identify the most valuable customer segments (an increasing priority in terms of objectives, as we have seen). They are also focusing on the channels that deliver most powerfully. Once those channels are identified, B2B marketers are using SEM optimisation tools, seeding strategies and internal engagement to ‘fan the flames’, ensuring that the word is passed on to their network of relevant contacts.

SMARTER WORKING PRACTICES a lack of the right resources – skills, time and budget – is an ongoing problem in today’s digital marketing world. B2B marketers are reorganising processes, recruiting extra internal resource and combining it with external expertise in order to tackle the problem. It’s not always successful. In answer to the question ‘How are you tackling the lack of digital skills and expertise in-house?’ one respondent simply said: “We’re not!” Jam-packed with insight or full of holes?

So what are the tactics people are bringing to bear? reorganising for success

We are reducing the volume of digital content and concentrating on high quality, relevant content”

One approach marketers are taking is to reorganise or integrate their digital marketing teams, “so that digital and offline activities are planned together”. And when marketers are stuck on the starting block due to a lack of budget, they are strengthening the business case for more investment by keeping a close log of tasks against resource. So marketers are managing their budgets carefully as well as arguing for more.

blending expertise Many clients see the solution as a combination of internal and external expertise; “partnering with experts”, as one respondent said. Recruiting a digital agency might seem an easy solution, but success lies in how they complement the in-house team.

of respondents whose teams lack digital skills say they need more budget for recruitment

Several respondents highlighted the importance of using agencies more thoughtfully, to supplement their team’s core capability with specialist knowledge. However, outsourcing still needs financial resource, which is not always readily available: “We are negotiating budgets to outsource some of the expertise that we need.”

developing digital talent Again the solution is a blend. Hiring the right talent from outside is the obvious choice, but barely any organisations have bottomless recruitment budgets, nor is the digital talent necessarily available when and where you want it, let alone for the available budget. B2B marketers are therefore developing their existing teams through internal and external training.

One respondent is sharing skills internally by “implementing in-house social networks for collaboration across departments and locations”. A solution that was not mentioned (perhaps surprisingly, as it is common practice in larger companies) is setting up knowledge platforms to share learning across teams and geographies. They are valuable tools at the disposal of digital marketers, allowing staff to learn about the company’s approach, tap into existing content plans or test and learn techniques. With this in mind, perhaps more companies should consider online portals as a solution for internal knowledge-sharing.

CHALLENGES

THE ROI CHALLENGE the second major challenge that B2B marketers face is how best to measure return on investment. There is nothing new in this. Since we started the survey in 2011 we have consistently seen that half of marketers measure ROI but are unconvinced of its accuracy.

49%

No, but plan to do so

Yes, but not with accuracy we’d like

27%

Whilst this year there has been a slight rise in the numbers of respondents who are confident in the accuracy of their measurements, they are still in the minority. All but one (out of 115 respondents) have challenges in measuring ROI and a third of marketers still aren’t measuring ROI at all. It’s also interesting to note that bigger digital spenders feel more confident in the accuracy of their measurements than those with smaller spends.

TOP 3 ROI CHALLENGES 49% 43% 38%

Measuring less tangible results

2014

Yes, and confident in accuracy

No, and no plans to do so

49%

2013 13%

28%

10% 39%

2012 18% 49%

2011

34%

One of the issues is that marketers can only measure some of the digital journey, but they struggle to link those discrete metrics to the softer issues. Critically, it’s the softer issues they most need to measure. As thought leadership and customer relationships top the objectives priority list for all B2B marketers, with brand awareness not far behind, it’s interesting to note that the top metric for demonstrating ROI is still felt to be lead generation.

The simple fact is: we may be measuring the wrong things.

16%

Linking results to specific activities Gathering reliable data

connectedness is lacking

Does your company measure return on its digital marketing investment?

15%

28%

This is borne out by the fact that of all the issues with measuring ROI, the ability to connect what you can measure with what you actually need to know is far and away the biggest problem. While it’s important to have the right time and resources for measurement and analysis, the main problem is measuring less tangible results, such as deeper customer relationships. This was cited by almost half of respondents (49%). A strong second (with 43% mentioning it as an issue) is the difficulty in linking results to specific marketing activities. Finally, with 38% people agreeing, the ability to gather reliable data on what works remains a challenge, closely followed by difficulty in tracking activities due to multiple touch points at 36%. It would seem that although we can measure some things, we can’t necessarily measure the right

things. For marketers in larger companies, identifying the right metrics seems easier, but measuring the ‘softer’ issues is more difficult. Added to this, bigger companies’ complex organisational structures have an impact. Liaising with other departments, such as sales, to accurately track across the buying cycle is therefore the second biggest ROI challenge in larger companies.

what are the solutions? The solutions are unfortunately neither easy nor uniform. Some B2B marketers are looking into the available software and analytic tools for solutions. Others are going back to basics, scrapping digital marketing activities as they currently stand and going back to a ‘measurement of success first’ strategy. A third, more radical solution is reconstructing the customer journey to bring out the different levels of ROI to be expected at each stage. For many marketers, the search continues for a connection between the immediate impact of marketing activities and their longer term, knock-on effect.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS although thought leadership is marketers’ key objective, they are struggling with the resource requirements to create content to drive it. The combination of in-house skills and agency talent is key to overcoming two of the three top challenges. Getting the right digital agency fills the gaps in skills and resource. But if agencies are used as an ongoing source for content, this requires a close partnership between businesses and agencies. Whether marketing is in-house or outsourced, however, marketers are trying to find better tools and methods to track the metrics that matter.

10% 7%

CONTRIBUTORS

“EVOLVE OR GET LEFT BEHIND” how can marketers navigate and conquer the changing digital landscape? We asked four leading B2B marketers for their insights and tips on the key trends and challenges in digital marketing. Here’s what they told us...

SM AD it’s important that businesses have the right skills to gain insight from the growing digital world. The marketing role is changing and we’re seeing an increasing demand for data science and business intelligence roles in marketing. This is where training from within is a good option, using your employees’ existing marketing nous and then adding analytical skills to fill the gap.

in the age of digital we’re awash with data. We can monitor who’s viewing our digital property, how they got there, what they’re interested in, their past interactions… the list is long. These metrics provide valuable insights into the digital encounter, but they’re only part of the picture. The encounter is simply a snapshot in time. And because digital metrics are observational in nature, they can’t measure what can’t be observed.

Often technology vendors will have knowledge, training courses and manuals that are either freely available or come as part of the service and support packages. Companies must make sure that employees take advantage of these opportunities.

That’s where ‘traditional’ primary research like surveys and focus groups come in. Research lets us create a fuller picture and, perhaps more importantly, understand how to re-draw it in our favour. That’s because research can reveal what’s going on inside the target market’s mind and behaviours that occur outside of the digital realm.

It’s the companies who can’t evolve fast enough that will get left behind in the long term.

So put digital metrics together with primary research and we have a balanced, holistic perspective.

Simon Morris Director, Adobe Systems Europe

Andrew Dalglish Director, Circle Research we’re living the digital revolution; a tremendous amount of information is now available to both marketers and customers.

the rise of social media will continue to be meteoric and it will become an increasingly powerful tool for B2B (and B2C) marketers across all sectors. Why? Social is a broadcast and a narrowcast medium rolled into one, and businesses can be as personal and direct with customers as they want to be, so the effectiveness of social can be measured both qualitatively and quantitatively. Through social we can listen, develop valuable insight on customers, and be listened to. It’s a proven channel for customer service as well as communications. And it keeps morphing into new exciting channels and formats and apps. All this in real time. What’s more, if used wisely and with professional support, social can be the most cost-effective medium around. Every B2B business knows that some of the best leads and referrals are word of mouth. That’s social media – word of mouth at scale.

This represents a fantastic opportunity for marketers to understand their audiences’ behaviours, and to demonstrate how they add value to the sales process. Marketers should focus on defining clear measurement objectives from the outset of a project, and on designing ROI programmes that provide a holistic view of what success might look like and how it can be achieved. This means building strong ties with other departments such as sales, clients reporting, PR, digital teams… but also making clear choices on which KPIs are relevant. And to measure less tangible results, try using internal and external feedback to understand the impact of a campaign on people’s emotions.

What are you doing to tackle your digital challenges? Join the conversation on Twitter with @omobono_digital. #wwwb2b

Elodie Rigal Senior Financial B2B Marketer

Stephen Maher CEO, MBA & Chairman, The Marketing Society

BEING A MARKETER

Q The barista was better at drawing portraits than remembering names

A B

A manager making a mistake or poor decision that impacts you

And it looks like B2B marketers are a pretty happy bunch! Whether it’s space to innovate, making a tangible difference, or just the variety of work, most B2B marketers we asked are happy at work. What does it take to get you going? Does B2B marketing make you happy?

If pride in your company and its values is important to your happiness at work, you have this in common with 50% of B2B marketers.

Not feeling proud of what the company does

You’re not alone in enjoying opportunities to be creative at work – 46% of marketers agree with you.

No opportunities to be creative or innovative

Quiz

we all know that happiness at work is important, but what is it that makes us happy in our jobs? We asked B2B marketers how they feel...

You’d probably agree with the 56% of marketers who say that feeling valued and listened to makes them happy at work.

Colleagues that don’t acknowledge or value your contribution

Don’t worry, B2B happy!

60% of B2B marketers agree with you – they say that good leadership and management is a crucial factor in their happiness at work.

What’s the one thing that would bother you most at work?

What makes you happy at work?

It’s Monday morning and your alarm goes off. Do you: C A Hit snooze. B Leap out

of bed, excited to start the working week

mini Take this e how quiz to se are you comp to other marketers

Start your morning rituals and look forward to work

Catch 10 more minutes. Work can wait

I my job

You’re even happier than most marketers – sounds like you really love your job! You’re an inspiration to us all! Is there anything that can dampen your mood at work?

You’d probably fit in with most B2B marketers, who are happy with their job. On average they rated their happiness at work at 7.5/10.

It sounds like you could be more excited about your job (or maybe you’re just not a morning person?!). What would make you happier at work?

D Put off getting up for as long as possible, dreading the week ahead

h dear. Unlike most O marketers, you don’t seem to love your job. What needs to change for you to be happier at work?

TAKEAWAYS

“

STEP BACK AND ASSESS

THE BIG PICTURE”

As this study has highlighted, you’ve likely stretched your marketing activity in all sorts of new areas. But when was the last time you took a step back to see the big picture and assess what’s working, what’s worth improving, and what’s been a waste of time? Free yourself for an afternoon and have a coldblooded review.

There are many ways to split your budget, but doing a little bit of everything is unlikely to provide any value to your customers – or get you noticed. Define your must-have evergreen activities that will pay dividends for the long run, then identify what big plays you will make and support them with multi-pronged campaigns to make a proper splash.

ROI measurement may be difficult to pin down, but don’t throw the metrics baby out with the bathwater. Historical measurement of digital activity can identify benchmarks, which can be used as a ‘was-it-any-good’ gauge. Iteratively improve activity by learning from what’s overshot the benchmark, and nudge up effectiveness over time.

Despite digital channels being tipped as highly effective, digital budgets haven’t budged in the last four years. When will you make the hard decision to say no to something in order to prioritise doing something else to its fullest potential? You could start with one of the priorities revealed in this study, such as strengthening your thought leadership position through social media.

So you’ve read the report – now what? Matthew Walko, Head of Strategy at Omobono, shares his advice for turning the insights into action.

Matthew’s Top Tips on

What Works Where

Marketing teams are struggling with a lack of skills, time and resource. This means the client/agency relationship needs to be tighter than ever. But are our working processes still fit for purpose in this agile and iterative world? Even for kicks, brainstorm with your agency what a more optimised approach could look like.

The lack of resources for producing digital content was tipped as this year’s top challenge. Rather than thinking about content on an asset-byasset basis, consider the economies of scale in deploying multi-disciplinary teams to develop a swathe of content in a short, hackathon-style production process.

When push comes to shove, mobile investment still appears to be a ‘nice to have’ rather than a ‘need to have’. With many sites receiving 30–40% traffic via mobile, how much more evidence is required before action is taken to serve mobile customers and prospects? Treat mobile as a given, not a luxury.

The biggest skills gaps that have surfaced in this year’s study are a lack of expertise in research, strategy and analytics. If you’re not already working with an agency that can help you in these areas, consider one that could. We’ve got a team of digital, content and UX strategists here who would love to get cracking. Just drop me a line at matthew@omobono.com.

info@omobono.com @omobono_digital T: 01223 307000 F: 01223 365167 St Giles Hall, Pound Hill Cambridge CB3 0AE, UK www.omobono.com

Omobono is the digital agency for business brands.

Omobono Ltd in partnership with

Our clients are major national and international enterprises. We help them manage their digital presence both internally and externally â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with customers, employees and stakeholders. For further research data or to discuss how Omobono can help you maximize the effectiveness of your digital activities, please contact Francesca Brosan on 01223 307000 or email fran@omobono.com. What Works Where in B2B Digital Marketing by Omobono Ltd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.