• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, December 5, 2023

Email maintains its position as a top lead generator, and will be an important part of marketing budgets in 2024, judging by the 2024 b2b Marketing Mix report, a study by Sagefrog. 

As a lead source, email is second only to in-person trade shows & events.

In 2023, 32% of B2B marketers in the study said they see email marketing as a top lead generator — a 10% improvement over 2022, but 3% lower than the tally in 2021. 

Tied with email this year is directories & sponsorships up from 14% in 2022. (There was no listing in 2021). 

In contrast, in-person trade shows & events are rated highly by 33%, versus 27% last year and 29% in 2021.  

Meanwhile, organic search, SEM, and paid social, “previously the mainstay for generating qualified leads, took a back seat,” the study says. 

Due to “increased competition in these digital spaces, there has been a decline in the effectiveness of these strategies, and marketers are responding accordingly,” it continues. 

Email will also command a substantial share of B2B marketing spend in 2024. The main budgeting items are:

• In-Person Trade Shows & Events — 25%
• Direct Marketing— 23% 
• Content Marketing — 23% 
• Directories & Sponsorships — 23% 
• Print Advertisements — 22% 
• Public Relations — 21%
• Paid Social Media — 21%
• Email Marketing — 20% 
• Branding — 20% 
• Marketing Technology — 17% 
• Search Engine Marketing — 17% 
• Search Engine Optimization — 13% 
• Virtual Events & Webinars — 15% 
• AI Chatbots — 12%
• Video Marketing — 9%
• Market Research — 9%
• Website Development — 8% 

In general, 48% of the respondents plan to increase their marketing budgets in 2024, while 27% foresee a decrease and 25% expect to stay the same, reflecting a more conservative approach. 

On another front, B2B marketers are now employing AI for these tasks: 

• Coding — 31% 
• Chatbots — 31%
• Design — 31%
• Presentations — 30% 
• Content — 30%
• Productivity — 29%
• Website Development — 26%
• Automation — 23%
• Video creation — 18% 
• Not applicable — 2%

Sagefrog surveyed 2,400 B2B marketing professionals in several industries, including healthcare, industrial, and business services.