Internet Advertising Bureau www.iabuk.net
  1. Internet Marketing
  2. Research and Case Studies
  3. News and Comment
  4. Events
  5. Mobile
  6. Traning and Careers
  7. Members Community
  8. Creative Showcase
  9. Join Us
  10. About and Contact
Bookmark and Share IAB News RSS FeedNews RSS Feed
  1. IAB UK Home
  2. /
  3. Internet marketing news
  4. /
  5. B2B sector brand-building
  1. News and comment
    1. Press releases
    2. Archived newsletters
    3. Newsletter sign up
    4. IAB Twitter guidelines
*

Ozometer by Play

The campaign was created to celebrate Foster's famous ‘No Worries’ attitude. In creating the campaign, Play searched for some of Britain’s most, and least, ‘No worries’ people, celebrities and places. More on Play's award winning campaign.

B2B sector misses brand-building opportunity


 
NEWS Calendar
 
Past & Present News
2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. DEc
 
Related Articles
 
Other articles by...Other articles about...
IAB research finds over 50% of B2B marketers using digital for lead generation, management and development.

Wednesday, 9 September 2009

Research from the Internet Advertising Bureau – the trade association for digital marketing – has found that B2B marketers are yet to see the brand-building potential of online, with only 7% of respondents using the medium with this objective. The survey of nearly 140 UK B2B marketing professionals found that online is still being used predominantly to drive sales, with 51% of the sample focusing their digital efforts on lead generation, management and development.

Encouraging 29% of those surveyed currently spend between 10 and 20% of their marketing spend on digital techniques, with 39% of all respondents planning to increase their budgets over the next year. Furthermore, 55% of B2B marketers had not altered their investment in digital, despite the downturn.

Email the most popular discipline

The survey, conducted in partnership with B2B Marketing, found that email is the most popular tool amongst B2B organisations, with 18% of respondents stating that they use this form of digital marketing the most. This was followed by search engine optimisation (SEO), with 14% of those surveyed investing most heavily in this area, display advertising (13%) and PPC (10%). Currently only 3% of B2B marketers were using mobile as their most significant form of digital communications.

Email was also cited as the most effective form of digital marketing, with 45% of respondents believing it was most suitable at achieving their marketing objectives. In second place was SEO (15%), followed by PPC and display, which were neck and neck on 8%.

Social media on the agenda

Whilst some respondents stated they had used social media tactics such as blogging, podcasting and their own online community, it’s clearly on the agenda in B2B marketing. Some 60% of respondents stated that they are either currently using, or are looking to incorporate social media into their digital marketing strategies.

The future of B2B marketing

When looking to the future of their marketing plans and use of the medium, over a third (34%) agreed that marketing is progressively migrating to digital techniques and 23% believed that ‘email and search marketing have replaced print ads and DM as critical B2B channels’. However, almost a quarter of respondents (24%) believed that there are not currently enough good case studies to show effective use of online and 14% of B2B marketers said that a lack of understanding was the biggest obstacle for further investment.

Sorcha Proctor, senior insights manager for the IAB said: “Despite tough trading conditions, B2B marketers are continuing to invest in online, but it’s clear that the medium is showing most appeal as a sales driver. Over the next 12 months we’d urge B2B organisations to look to social media and display advertising to further build their brands in competitive markets, and fully establish their online presence outside of their corporate website.”

James Farmer, publishing director of B2B Marketing and chair of the IAB’s B2B Council said: “Digital marketing is a key and unavoidable part of the B2B marketer's arsenal. Though, however proficient they are at some aspects of digital, there is still a great deal of learning with regards to brand building online. Maybe it is an education gap, or maybe there is just no appetite for it at this time, while lead generation and sales are the key component for success in this economic climate.”

Click here to access the full results.

Follow the IAB on Twitter
©2005 - 2010 Internet Advertising Bureau , 14 Macklin Street, London, WC2B 5NF. T: 020 7886 8282
Site designed byRed Snapper
  1. Jargon Buster
  2. RSS Feeds
  3. Site map
  4. Privacy