Email is one of the top three lead-generation channels that firms are investing in this year. That’s because it also ranks as one of the most effective lead vehicles, judging by Building
relationships for Lead Conversion, a study by Ascend2.
Social media is first, with 58% citing it as an effective channel for building relationships for lead conversion. Email is second,
with 49%.
Next are websites/SEO (44%), content marketing or syndication (34%) and PPC/paid media (20%).
Budgets for the next year are mostly line with that:
- Social media — 54%
- Website/SEO — 51%
- Email/automation — 44%
- Content marketing — 40%
- Virtual events/webinars —
24%
- PPC/paid media — 17%
- Live chat/chatbots — 13%
Firms are inviting thee most resources in generating new leads (52%), nurturing existing
prospects (29%) and expanding existing accounts (19%).
As a marketing tactic, 42% say email/automation is effective, putting it behind social media (55%) and website SEO (43%).
Email beats content marketing (37%), virtual events/webinars (29%), PPC/paid media (17%) and live chatbots (13%).
Of the companies polled, 60% say their strategies for generating
leads that convert are somewhat successful. Another 33% are very successful, or best in class. And 9% are unsuccessful.
Their most serious challenges are:
- Generating
enough leads — 50%
- Lack of budget/resource — 42%
- Targeting of leads — 38%
- Lack of data on leads — 29%
- Messaging/creative —
29%
- Marketing and sales alignment — 28%
- Marketing attribution — 12%
Meanwhile, the most effective content formats are:
- Video —
41%
- Webinars — 36%
- Original research/data — 36%
- Blog posts — 34%
- Templates/tools — 22%
- Case studies/ebooks
— 20%
- Podcasts — 18%
Ascend2 surveyed marketing professionals and research subscribers, 38% in B2B, 41% in B2C and 21% in both equally.