Email marketing is the tactic most used by B2B brands, according to 2020 B2B Marketing Mix Report, a study by Sagefrog Marketing Group.
Of the firms surveyed, 84% employ email, a
figure consistent with that of 2018. Second on the list, cited by 73%, is social media and social media advertising. Third is blogging and content marketing (63%).
However, email ranks only
fourth among the top areas of marketing spend, specified by 27%.
Email falls behind digital marketing (56%), website development (52%), trade shows and events (36%) and is tied with content
(27%).
Meanwhile, 39% say email is a top source of leads, putting it in third place in this area. First is referrals (63%) and second is trade shows and events (36%).
That
is important because leads are the main marketing objectives for 2020. The list includes:
- Converting leads to customers
- Increasing sales leads
- Increasing brand
awareness
- Producing thought leadership
- Increasing website traffic
However, B2B marketing budgets will remain flat next year, with 56% holding steady and
41% planning an increase.
Among those surveyed, 15% allocate 20% of their total budgets to marketing, 10% spend 19% and 5% spend 25%.
The study also shows that personalization is first
among the new marketing and sales strategies for 2020:
- Personalization — 47%
- Account based marketing — 42%
- Video marketing — 41%
- Inbound
marketing — 39%
- AI and automation — 36%
- Conversational marketing (chat bots) — 33%
- Influencer marketing — 27%
- Podcast and
livestreaming — 22%
- Programmatic advertising — 19%
- Mobile-first strategy — 17%
- Other — 6%
The report displays some
consistency with the 2018 edition. It shows that 64% have a marketing plan, and 59% use a combination of outsourced help and in-house resources. Another 41% do everything in-house.
HubSpot ranks as the most popular automation platform, specified by 41%, according to this study. The others are Pardot by Salesforce (10%), Marketo (7%) and other (20%).
Sagefrog surveyed
B2B professionals in multiple industries.