B2B marketers struggle with common challenges. At the forefront are lead generation, lead nurturing, and building a brand that distinguishes the organization from the competition. A growing list of tactics and technological opportunities further complicates the process.
Research, guides, and marketing surveys help guide B2B marketers down the right path. Sometimes they provide new opportunities and directions. Other times they reinforce the existing direction of marketing tactics and strategy. Here are ten B2B marketing related research reports and guidelines we recommend for review and a brief explanation on why they are important
Research, guides, and marketing surveys help guide B2B marketers down the right path. Sometimes they provide new opportunities and directions. Other times they reinforce the existing direction of marketing tactics and strategy. Here are ten B2B marketing related research reports and guidelines we recommend for review and a brief explanation on why they are important
Optify’s annual B2B
Marketing Benchmark Report details the performance of the primary sources
of traffic to B2B websites,
extracted by analyzing over 62 million visits, 215 million page views and
350,000 leads from more than 600 small and medium-sized B2B websites.
Key takeaways for B2B marketers include expectations for
seasonal traffic trends, traffic source percentages, and quality metrics
associated with various B2B marketing strategies. The
report also does a “deep dive” into organic search, paid search, and social
media metrics.
Marketing Profs 2013
B2B Content Marketing Report
The 2013 B2B Content Marketing report, created by Marketing
Profs and the Institute takes an in-depth look at budgets, benchmarks, and
trends to watch for with B2B content
marketing. The report provides insights into where B2B content marketers are focusing their efforts and the key
challenges and opportunities associated with roles and budgets.
For B2B software
marketing professionals, the Content Marketing Institute just released a
new study on content marketing, tailored to specifically to that vertical. We
plan on having some analysis on this report in the coming weeks.
B2B Research Defining the Modern Marketer
B2B Research, in coordination with Eloqua, surveyed hundreds
of online
marketing professionals to uncover the core competencies of Modern
Marketers. The results of this survey provide insight into how the marketing
community views their role and how it needs to evolve in the future.
Per blog post highlighting the report, the information
“underscores research from a comprehensive survey created in conjunction with B2B Magazine, and explores the skills
and technologies marketers need to improve ROI (of their marketing efforts).”
IDG B2B Lead
Generation Report
Marketing professionals are under immense pressure to
deliver results and justify significant program and headcount investments. The B2B Technology Marketing Community on
LinkedIn conducted the 2013 lead generation survey to better understand how B2B marketers are adjusting to new
challenges, and to identify new trends and best practices.
Social Media Use in
the Industrial Sector
Global Spec recently conducted its third annual Social Media
Usage Survey of engineering, technical, manufacturing, and industrial
professionals. Although the survey shows that use of social media for
work-related purposes among this audience is focused on a few select platforms,
adoption is steadily increasing.
This report continues to look at how these specific B2B
sectors are leveraging social media for research, marketing, and business
decision making in the buying process.
Google Search Quality
Guidelines
Google relies on raters, working in countries and languages
around the world, to help measure the quality of search results, ranking, and
search experience. While Google indicates that search quality rating guidelines
are in constant flux, this outline provides insight into how Google thinks
about relevance and quality of search results. It’s an essential read for
marketers that place an emphasis on their traffic from Google
Mobile: What
Consumers Really Need and Want
While a consumer oriented survey, the data provides
important usability points for B2B marketers that are investing in developing a
mobile strategy to reach the B2B buyer.
For B2B marketers looking for more depth specific to broader
mobile trends, Forrester offers a premium report, “2013 Mobile Trends for
Marketers” in addition to a blog post highlighting key findings.
The Definitive Guide
to Marketing Automation
Marketo’s guide provides background and overview on
marketing automation technology, how it differs from other applications such as
CRM and email
marketing, and how B2B marketers
can build a business case and convince internal stakeholders on the investment.
Constellation Research offers a premium report, “Scaling Up
with Marketing Automation Software” as well. A free 15 page excerpt can also be
obtained through form submission.
Marketing Sherpa’s
2012 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report
The only premium report specifically recommended in this
list, Marketing Sherpa’s annual report analyzes the strategies and tactics of
top performing B2B organizations,
providing survey data on successes, challenges, and tactics designed to
increase the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
Aberdeen Group: Lead
Scoring Prioritization
Aberdeen’s guide to lead scoring is a few years old but
still relevant and frequently referenced. Per Executive Summary, “The report
identifies best practices in lead scoring and prioritization by analyzing the
processes, capabilities, and performance of top performing organizations.”
In coordination with Eloqua’s Grand Guide to Lead Scoring,
these resources are must have lead scoring references for B2B marketers.
We hope the information found in these reports proves
valuable in supporting B2B marketing initiatives. If we missed a
critical report or guide, please let us know via comments below.
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