Email is the most-used marketing tactic by B2B brands and is a top source of leads, according to The 2021 B2b Marketing Mix Report, a study by Sagefrog Marketing Group.
Yet email is far down the list in terms of spend, even as overall spending is rising, especially in the digital area.
Marketing makes up 5% of the total company budget for 5% of B2B marketers. And it comprises more than 15% for 13% of firms.
Another 13% say marketing is 15% of their total budget, and 21% put the total at 10%. Another 13% list it as 1% of budget, and 10% put it at less than 1%.
Here are the tactics they use:
Email marketing — 84%
Social Media and Social Media Advertising — 75%
Blogging And Content Marketing — 69%
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — 60%
Trade shows & Events — 54%
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) — 46%
Public Relations — 44%
Seminars & Webinars — 43%
Video Marketing — 38%
Print Advertisements — 27%
Telemarketing — 13%
But priorities are different when it comes to increasing the spend. Spending is going up in these areas:
Judging by this, most firms have their email systems in place and do not have to spend more on them.
And that’s just as well, because email is a top source of leads:
The report also lists marketing automation platforms by popularity. MediaPost does not endorse this ranking.
Social media use is growing, with 62% saying they have see ROI from paid social. However, 33% are not using that channel, and 5% have tried it but haven’t generated ROI.
The most used social media channels are:
In another finding, 76% of B2B professionals have a marketing plan. In addition, 38% rely on in-house resources for their marketing, while 56% use a combination of in-house and outsourced resources.
The top B2B objectives for 2021 are:
- Increasing sales leads
- Converting leads to customers
- Increasing brand awareness
- Producing thought leaders
For this 14th annual study, Sagefrog surveyed B2B professionals across several industries. Of those polled, 21% were at the C level.