THIS IS THE YEAR THAT WAS:B2B MARKETING 2013 CRUNCHED

All the facts, the stats, the quotes and more

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2013 was that year that… …B2B buyers gained the upper handonce and for all.

Image: © JD Hancock, Creative Commons

More than 2 out of 3 buyer journeys started with a Google search.

Jason BellAmazeImage: © Kris Krug, Creative Commons

1 in 5 B2B buyers reported using social channels during the buying process.

Buyersphere 2013Image: ©Thomas Lewthard , Creative Commons

60% of the sales cycle was over before a buyer talked to a sales person.

Kieran FlanaganHubspotImage: © Automatic hotlinks, Creative Commons

Businesses started to realise the value of joining the conversation – online…

Image: © Peasap , Creative Commons

Average number of social channels used:B2B businesses - 5VsB2C businesses - 4

Content Marketing InstituteImage: © Flickr, Creative Commons

72% of research participants said that they were more likely to buy from brands they follow or engage with on Twitter.

TwitterImage: © Alex Grave, Creative Commons

57% of B2B companies said they now generate sales via LinkedIn.

Spotlight communicationsImage: © Flickr, Creative Commons

41% of B2B marketers used Google+ to distribute content.

Content Marketing InstituteImage: © Flickr, Creative Commons

But some B2Bers struggled to keep up…

Image: ©Kevin Dooley , Creative Commons

For 61% of B2B marketers, social media accounted for less than 10% of their marketing activity.

46% of companies categorised their social media stance as “cautious, still considering”.

Social Media Examiner

Five of the best... Presentations of 2013

The art of compromise http://goo.gl/60aO32

Explaining digital to your colleagues http://goo.gl/rbJMqU

Content creation from history http://goo.gl/g7YGIw

B2B Summit crunched http://goo.gl/4ttkUZ

B2B Content Marketing 2014 http://goo.gl/uAT5iL

Image: © 96DPI, Creative Commons

2013 was that year

that… 

…content won B2B

marketing buzzword of

the year

Image: © Smkybear , Creative Commons

71% of B2B marketers used content marketing for lead generation.

Heidi CohenActionable Marketing GuideImage: © Tim Ellis, Creative Commons

99% of people are content consumers. Just 1% of us are content creators.But the big question remains ‘How can you turn 100% of people in your business into content creators?

Scot McKee, BirddogImage: © Flickr, Creative Commons

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We're in a content arms race. Soon there'll be a massive content standoff, then a treaty to ban production of new content.

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”@philhaslehurstImage: © RMH40, Creative Commons

Most important characteristics of valuable content:Breadth & depth of information (47%)Ease of access, understanding and readability (44%)Originality of thinking and ideas (39%)

B2B Content Marketing reportImage: © Wade M, Creative Commons

88% of B2B marketers cited case studies as the most effective content marketing tool. Fortunately, buyers agree.

Content Marketing InstituteImage: © Vasilennka, Creative Commons

Five of the best... Books of 2013Decoded: The Science Behind Why We Buy - Phil BardenFormer marketing chief at T-Mobile applies the latest thinking in behavioural psychology to the heady world of marketing.  Predatory Thinking: A Masterclass in Out-thinking the Competition - Dave TrottSeasoned ad man tells us how it is in his own inimitable style - articulate, witty and thought-provoking. To Save Everything, Click Here: Technology, Solutionism, and the Urge to Fix Problems that Don’t Exist - Evgeny MorozovThink the digital age is all that it’s cut out to be, think again. Changing the World is the Only Fit Work for a Grown Man – Steve HarrisonBiography of an oft overlooked ad genius, Howard Luck Gossage - and the inventor of social media (not strictly 2013, but still as relevant as ever). Deep Sea and Foreign Going: Inside Shipping, The Invisible Industry That Brings You 90% Of Everything - Rose GeorgeIf you want to know how the world really works, read this. International Shipping made interesting..

Image: © Flickr, Creative Commons

Want to know B2B buyers biggest frustration when it came to content?

Too much information, and information that is too vague sat at

the top of the list.

Business2Community.com

Image: © Pixel Addict, Creative Commons

Only 9% of B2B buyers considered vendor content as trustworthy.

And just 4.8% of B2B buyers were willing to provide detailed info in return for white papers. Yikes.

The CMO councilBrightinbound.com

Image: © Andy Woo, Creative Commons

Five of the best… Campaign videos in 2013

Click baby click: Adobe http://goo.gl/IZlQhD

The epic split: Volvo http://goo.gl/2WrpvW

If: Misys http://goo.gl/00qafD

Box: Box and Dolly http://goo.gl/BsLkaq

Inbound Style: Hubspot http://goo.gl/hqsry5

Image: © Dav.es, Creative Commons

2013 was that year that… …inbound strategies finally started to take shape

Image: © Flickr, Creative Commons

Remember marketing is not outbound only, it’s inbound as well.

Jonanthan BecharCMO, SAPImage: © Evo Photo, Creative Commons

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Inbound marketing on average delivered 54% more leads than traditional outbound marketing.

Companies that excelled at lead nurturing:• Generated 50% more sales

ready leads• At 33% lower cost • With nurtured leads making

47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads.

HubspotImage: © Andy Woo, Creative Commons

Inbound cost 61% less than outbound activity.

$135/lead for outbound vs. $346/lead for inbound

HubspotImage: © Leshaine123, Creative Commons

Five of the best… Campaign inspiration for discerning marketers

Interactive rolling stones video http://goo.gl/e0je3m

A Christmas surprise at the airport http://goo.gl/2Kqum4

Troy public library http://goo.gl/2ft7lT

The adaptive store front http://goo.gl/ezxf6T

IBM smarter citieshttp://goo.gl/xgEiZr

Reports of the death of outbound were greatly exaggerated

Image: © Giles Clarke, Creative Commons

In 2013 companies spent up to 20% of marketing budgets on email. In 2014 this is expected to grow to up to 30%. CMO Council

Image: © Brun Gin, Creative Commons

Three quarters of B2B Marketers said telemarketing delivers higher quality leads than email.

Marketingcharts.com Image: © Flickr, Creative Commons

40% of B2B marketers rated the leads generated by email marketing as high quality.

HubspotImage: © Beverley Goodwin, Creative Commons

Don’t completely turn off one tap, as you won’t be able to turn the other on fast enough.

Steve Kemish,CyanceImage: © Flickr, Creative Commons

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74% of marketers said that personalisation increased customer engagement. Curiously, the same study highlighted that only 19% of marketers are actually using personalisation.

E-consultancyImage: © Frank Hebbert, Creative Commons

Top 5 challenges for B2B marketing campaign managers in 2013

Challenge #1:Knowing who you’re talking toChallenge #2:Reaching them at their convenienceChallenge #3:Finding their voice, not your voiceChallenge #4:Creating a consistent message and experienceChallenge #5: Continually making it better

Image: © Briyyz, Creative Commons

2013 was that year that… …marketing automation became much more than idle machinery

Image: © Crystal, Creative Commons

37% of B2B marketers used marketing automation for lead generation.

36% of B2B marketers used marketing automation for lead nurturing.B2B Content Marketing ReportSpiceworksImage: © Flickr, Creative Commons

Companies that excelled at lead nurturing generated 50% more sales ready leads at 33% lower cost.

MarketoImage: © Flickr, Creative Commons

Pick of the best… TED talks for marketing practitioners

Shared experience of absurdity - Charlie Todd http://goo.gl/8QfKj7

Connected, but alone - Sherry Turklehttp://goo.gl/0K7LvO

Why work doesn’t happen at work - Jason Fried http://goo.gl/68JSV0

Sweat the small stuff - Rory Sutherlandhttp://goo.gl/iZkswO

TED.comImage: © CP Grey, Creative Commons

Data still remained an issue – big or small

Image: © JD Hancock, Creative Commons

B2B marketers are still struggling with basic marketing data, let alone even contemplating the minefield of challenges and obstacles inherent in big data.

Joel HarrisonB2B Marketing MagazineImage: © Helico, Creative Commons

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CMO perspectives:The % of marketing budget devoted to big data will increase from 6 to 10% over the next 3 years.But is that enough?

Forbes.comImage: © Jessica Rabbit, Creative Commons

Up to 30% of your database decays on an annual basis. Even on LinkedIn, up to 10% of profiles are inaccurate or out of date.

B2B Marketing MagazineImage: © Steve Wilde, Creative Commons

One company saw a 20% uplift in leads without increasing the marketing budget but by leveraging behavioural and transactional data.

HBR.orgImage: © Amira_A, Creative Commons

2013 was that year that……getting the basics right still mattered, a lot

Image: © Flickr, Creative Commons

As marketers we have this interesting challenge in that we’re getting more and more data. But we’ve got to balance insight and analytics with creative… a great idea is what is going to get you results.

Jonathan BewsharCMO, SalesforceImage: © Micky, Creative Commons

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It is still all about pushing the creative boundaries.

By embracing creative ideas and letting them shine, your brand has the potential to cut-through and connect with your market as your competitors take a more conservative route to market.

8 ways to kill a creative ideaTruly deeply/Madly

Image: © Flickr, Creative Commons

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And building stronger relationships between clients, agencies and vendors…Only 17% of clients work with a single agency, and almost half like to retain a roster of active agency relationships – 43 per cent work with three or more agencies.

B2bmarketing.netImage: © JD Hancock, Creative Commons

One happy B2B family

Business Marketing Collective - launched in Dec 2014A new association open to all client-side marketers, agencies and suppliers in the B2B marketing industry.businessmarketingcollective.com

Image: © Nick Harris 1, Creative Commons

All briefs should be both inspirational and directional. Inspire and direct.Inspiration is far more about the ambition of the task than it is about flowery language.

Adliterate.com Image: © Geezer Weezer, Creative Commons

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Measuring and keeping track of activity is more important than ever…

Two-thirds of all top marketers reported feeling pressure from their CEO or Board to prove the value of marketing Forbes.com

Image: © 2891, Creative Commons

36% of top marketers reported being able to prove the value of marketing quantitatively in the short-run. And only 31% in the long run despite 83% of them using analytical tools to optimise engagement

UberflipImage: © Flickr, Creative Commons

Some quick Earnest top tips on measurement1. Don’t stop questioning - interrogate those figures, turn the stats upside down!

2. Look at the conditions outside the stats, that might be influencing them. Always think about the context!

3. Don’t rely too heavily on the stats you do have. Consider the stats you don’t have, and what isn’t being said. It might be time for you to convert to the big data school of thought…

So what for the year ahead?

Image: © Bruce Berrian, Creative Commons

The year that B2B marketers start innovating?

Image: © Kevin Dooles, Creative Commons

In 2013 only 11% of marketing departments had budget set aside for innovation. More worryingly only 9% have an on-going budget dedicated to experimentation and development.

Forrester ResearchImage: © Psiaki Creative Commons

The big things to keep an eye out for in 2014

• Responsive design – moves beyond a nice to have• Parallax scrolling – makes online experiences all

the more engaging• Gamification – starts to get taken seriously in

B2B• Wearable Tech – moves from prototype to reality• Twitter Ads – make right person, right time

targeting even easier for businesses• 3D printing – brings a new level of

personalisation and impact to traditional direct mail

Image: © Ben Cummin, Creative Commons

Will this be the year that marketing departments take some risks, and push the boundaries?

Image: © Cindy, Creative Commons

Just do some stuff. Take the first steps. The worst that can happen is you will feel a bit stupid. The best? You begin to revolutionise your marketing.

Paul HigginsTalk Talk Business

Image: ©Flickr, Creative Commons

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One thing is for sure, B2B marketing is changing.

In 2014, you have a choice:

Do the same old, same old – or embrace the new, try something different and really prove your value.

We say rocking the boat wins every time.

This was the year that was in 2013 crunched by:

www.earnest-agency.com

earnest-agency.com @earnestagency

A big thank you to all our sources

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