(DRIVE) Driving Revenue in a Volatile Economy

www.act-on.com | @ActOnSoftware

Atri Chatterjee

Driving Revenue In A Volatile Economy (DRIVE)


Agenda

• About this study

• Key Findings

• Recommendations


WHAT• Study of small and mid-sized businesses

conducted by Forrester for Act-On• Survey completed in August and September 2012

WHO• 208 companies in North America• B-to-B and B-to-B-to-C

WHY• Understand the effects of the economic slowdown

on SMB marketing• Understand how SMBs are marketing and

compare them to larger companies• Determine any differences between Top

Performers & the rest

50 to 249 employees

48%

250 to 499 em-ployees

16%

500 to 999 employees

14%

1,000 to 2,499

employ-ees22%

Executive 1% Head of

arketing17%

Senior manager in Marketing

37%

Manager of Marketing

45%

Basics of the Study


Industries & Performers

Above Plan, 56%

Below or at Plan,

44%

Performance to Plan

Business Services

30%

Other30%

Computers, aerospace,

automotive, etc.Transportation, banking, insurance,

etc.

Consulting, accounting, construction,

professional services, etc.

• Participation from various types of industries from manufacturing to service

• Respondents across all major verticals

• Respondents reported how they performed against revenue plans over the last 12 months

• Very Bottom Performers = 20%• Very Top Performers = 35%

Manufacturing40%


Agenda


• Key findings

• Recommendations


The Tough Economy Has Impacted All SMBs, but Some Have Done Better

Everyone has been impacted• Establishment deaths > births by 37%• 70% of respondents have cancelled or delayed any business

expansion• 71% of respondents have either reduced or kept marketing

expenses stagnant since the recession began

Top Performers have been opportunistic while Bottom Performers have struggled

Category Top Performers Bottom PerformersCut expenses during recession 33% 56%Increased investment (mktg) 27% 15%Invested over 5% of revenue in mktg 40% 25%

1


SMBs are Spread Thin and More Focused on Traditional versus Digital Marketing

SMBs are spread too thin• Over 50% are using 13 or more marketing techniques (traditional and

digital)

SMBs still gravitate to traditional techniques• Top 5 tactics are traditional and hard to scale (Ex: networking,

tradeshows, in-person events, print ads)

SMBs lag behind enterprises in use of digital marketing• SMB use of webinars is 53%; in enterprises it is 93%• SMB use of marketing automation is 19%; in enterprises it is 45%

SMBs don’t understand social marketing• Although 69% are marketing on social networks, more than 1 in 3 do

not know how to measure if it is working

2


Top Performers are Using Better Techniques and Technologies

Top Performers have made technology a key piece of their marketing and sales strategy

Strategic use of technology Top Performers Bottom PerformersCRM 61% 46%Marketing automation 28% 5%

Top Performers are using sophisticated techniques to measure and improve results

Technique Top Performers Bottom PerformersMeasuring lead quality & sales acceptance 32% 17%Optimally nurturing leads (1-3 months) 56% 32%

Over 71% of marketing automation users are Top Performers

3


Agenda


• Key Findings

• Recommendations


7 Habits of Top Performers

1. Emphasize online versus offline strategies• Top Performers see online marketing as a game changer• Almost 3 out of 4 marketing automation users are Top Performers

2. Focus on new business leads and customer lifetime value over reducing costs• Top Performers are spending more

to get new customers while Bottom Performers are trying to eke out more from existing customers and their budgets

3. Use digital to its fullest• Go multi-channel• Combine email, webinars, content and social



4. Use advanced techniques like lead nurturing• More than 50% of Top Performers

nurture leads for between 1 and 3 months

5. Measure the things that count• Top Performers analyze everything

while 44% of Bottom Performers are not measuring anything!

6. Increase collaboration between sales and marketing• Plan objectives together and measure

results together



7. Maintain marketing budgets even during a tough economy• Almost 2 out of 3 Top Performers maintained

or increased marketing budgets during the great recession

“Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.”

–Warren Buffet


For More Information….

For more information on the Forrester Study and the eBook on 7 Marketing Habits of Highly Effective SMBs,

go to:

www.act-on.com/DRIVE

(DRIVE) Driving Revenue in a Volatile Economy

Documents

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