Research · Inbound marketing techniques; whereas the latter stages of the product subsequent to...

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State of B2B Product Marketing 2014B2B Product Marketing Survey Report February 2014

State of Product Marketing 2014Product marketing in the traditional sense referred to the set of tactics used to market a product and usually ended almost as soon as the product was launched. But in the past few years, the drastic wave of transformation that marketing has undergone has rippled its way through Product marketing as well. Customers now don’t make purchase decisions the way they used to, and marketers can no longer adopt a one-size-fits-all approach in their communications to them. B2B customers have grown and Product marketing has evolved alongside into a complex subject which involves understanding the right mix of channels, messaging and more to appeal to the B2B buyer.

Regalix conducted a survey to analyze and bring to you the state of Product marketing as it stands today, with a set of actionable tips and recommendations essential to marketing your product or solution in today’s environment.

© Regalix Research State of B2B Product Marketing 2014 / 01

marketers believe that Product marketing to a B2B audience has changed drastically in the past few years

marketers report that their customers expect to see a product demo to take a purchase decision

marketers use Videos during the introduction stage of their product’s life-cycle

marketers allocate 25% to 50% of their total budget to outbound marketing

marketers carry out Lead scoring and Lead nurturing exercises

Key Takeaways:


87%

82%

75%

49%

77%

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Product Marketing: Same Old Concept, New Meaning87 percent marketers indicated that Product marketing to a B2B audience has changed drastically due to the advent of the digital age and penetration of new age media. The manner in which customers take purchasing decisions has altered significantly; with buyers conducting extensive research on their own prior to engaging with a brand and having made about 60% of the purchasing decision process before they even contacted a sales rep. This calls for a dire need for marketers to expose the brand using more and more channels to gain mind share during the early investigative stages of the buyer. Marketers must also react faster and more directly to attract potential customers. Digital media now allows for faster time-to-market for product launches, new compressed and shorter sales cycles utilizing web based marketing tools all together enabling better sales enablement. Another crucial change as reported by marketers is that the focus of Product marketing is no longer on just attracting the attention of the potential customer; it also involves a set of techniques to retain and hold their attention. This calls for Product marketing techniques which are out-of the box and very targeted to the specific audience.

Yes 87%

Maybe 9%

No 4%

Marketers Who Think Product Marketing has Drastically Changed Due to the Advent of the Digital Age

Source: Regalix Research, February 2014


Essential Product Marketing Tactics

95 percent of marketers reported gathering customer feedback on product performance as an essential Product marketing tactic, allowing marketers to persistently understand what is important to the customers and tailor their solutions accordingly. 92 percent of marketers also conduct a competitive analysis to understand where their product stands vis-à-vis the competition in order to market it appropriately. 66 percent of marketers create personas and create targeted communications for each one of them.

Conduct a competitive

analysisCreate personas and create targeted

communications for each one of them

Gather customer feedback

92%

8%

34%

6%

66%

94%

Yes No

Product Marketing Tactics Employed by Marketers



The average number of “touches” or interactions to convert a cold lead to warm customer is four to seven.

Outbound marketing (such as Trade shows, Events, Direct mail etc)

Inbound marketing (such as Websites, Blogs, Social Media marketing etc)

15%8%

49%

28%

13%

36%

49%

5%

<10% 10-25% 25- 50% Above 50%

Product Marketing Budget


Outbound Marketing is Crucial, say B2B Marketers

While a lot of marketers are quick to write off Outbound marketing as an outdated technique, the survey shows that it is far from it. Approximately half of the marketers surveyed still allocate around 25 to 50% of their marketing budget to Outbound marketing techniques such as Trade shows, Events, Direct mail etc. In fact when marketers were questioned as to whether they believe that Inbound marketing will overtake Outbound marketing in the next two to three years, around 65% said that it will not happen or that they’re unsure of such an event taking place.

While it is absolutely essential to invest in Inbound marketing techniques so as to build trust and credibility of the brand and to drive business inwards, one can’t expect it to do all the heavy lifting. At some point, the prospect will need a personal touch and that’s when Outbound marketing steps in.


Mapping Stages of the Product Life- Cycle with Product Marketing Channels and Techniques

The survey shows that an increasing number of marketers now believe in capturing the attention of their prospects in the early stages of the product life cycle by using Inbound marketing techniques; whereas the latter stages of the product subsequent to its becoming mature, marketers use Outbound marketing to appeal to their customers.

Social Media (77%), Organic Search (74%) and Email (72%) are the most widely used channels during the introductory phase of a product.

Website (82%), Email (81%) and Social Media (80%) are most widely utilized during the growth of the product.

After the product becomes mature, marketers resort to Websites (75%), Email Marketing (60%), and Organic Search (55%) to hold the interest of their audience.

When the product is in a state of decline, marketers use Radio, Television and Outdoor Advertisements to uphold the interest of their audience.


Different content assets are used to engage prospects/buyers during different stages of the product life cycle. But some such as Videos are a popular content asset used by marketers during the introduction phase right up to the growth of the product.

The most widely used content assets during the introduction phase of a product are Videos (75%), Social posting (73%), and Emails (72.5%). This changes only slightly during the growth phase with Email (85%) being the most popular asset to reach out to prospects, followed by Websites (84%) and Videos (78%).

When a product enters the maturity phase, marketers mostly use Websites (72%), Newsletters (67%) and Blogs (64%) to engage their audience. When the product interest and adoption is in a state of decline, marketers use Direct mail catalogs (62%), Podcasts (26%), and Websites (23%) to rekindle the audience’s interest.

13%40%

37%47%

44%30%30%

26%

33%74%

81%70%

36%39%

49%39%

10%29%

58%65%

52%

41%41%

19%

11%44%

56%70%

17%33%

42%50%

57%33%

24%14%

35%48%

57%51%

13%41%

80%77%

9%29%

56%65%

16%55%

61%74%

19%60%

81%71%

13%35%

56%63%

15%29%

59%62%

24%24%

19%

67%

Marketing Channels Used During Different Stages of the Product Life-Cycle



Trade Shows

PromotionalEvents

Print Media

Outdoor Advertisements

Website

Email

Direct mail

Organic Search

Social Media

Online DisplayAds

Paid Search

AffiliateMarketing

Mobile web & apps

Mobile Campaigns

Television

Radio

Telemarketing

DeclineMaturityGrowthIntroduction

Content Assets Used During Different Stages of the Product Life-Cycle



75%

72%

78%38%

10%

23%

10%

15%

18%

15%

18%

10%

14%

11%

9%

15%

26%

8%

84%

73%

70%

54%

69%67%

85%

77%

72%64%

70%

61%

75%

44%

36%

17%

56%

33%24%

70%

54%

61%

55%

25%

53%

32%

54%

63%

72%

62%

54%

67%

57%

33%

73%

61%

50%

68%

52%

64%

62%

29%

Videos

Websites

Case studies

Whitepaper

eBooks

Newsletter

Email

Articles

Blogs

Social posting

Infographics

Webinars /Webcasts

Podcasts

Mobile content

Direct mail Catalogs

DeclineMaturityGrowthIntroduction

78%

49% 46%

70%

22% 24%

5%

New customers

acquired

Subscrider g

rowth

Visitor growth

Rate of in

crease i

n

revenu

e Reduction in

costs

Social M

edia virality

41%

23%

32% 35%30%

60%

8%

Lack of budget

Finding

the rig

ht

product marke

t fit

Setting the

right p

rice

Techno

logical ch

anges

Product

lifecycle

Difficulty

in measure

ment

of ROI

Others

Others

Key Product Marketing Challenges Faced by Marketers

Key Metrics Tracked by Marketers to Measure Impact of Product Marketing Programs


Measurement of ROI Continues to be a Challenge

Marketers use a foray of web tools and invest considerable amount in the form of resources, time and money. There is an increasing pressure on the marketing department to justify it, hence ensuring that every activity is measurable and quantifiable. Although 67% marketers report an integration of online and offline product launch techniques, a holistic measurement of ROI across these mediums still continues to pose a challenge to the B2B marketer.

Currently the most popular metric for measuring the impact of product marketing programs is the number of new customers acquired, as indicated by 79% of survey respondents. This is followed by rate of increase in revenue as the second most widely used metric to measure product marketing performance, say 70% of marketers surveyed.


Notable Trends in B2B BuyingHere are some of the most noteworthy trends as per the data from the survey:

Purchase decisions have now “digitized”, with more and more customers relying on digital assets and channels to take purchase decisions. 82 percent marketers report that customers almost always now expect to see the product in action usually in the form of a demo before considering or buying it.

With marketers giving out generous amount of information about products and services using social media and other digital channels, potential buyers are also conducting a competitive analysis of vendors and offerings so as to make an informed purchase decision, as reported by 76% of marketers surveyed.

Another notable trend is the increase in the amount of research conducted by customers before they purchase a product or solution, as reported by 65% of marketers surveyed.


RecommendationsIntegrate Inbound and Outbound marketing: It is crucial for marketers to plan their Outbound marketing in such a way as to complement their Inbound marketing. Do not use Outbound marketing techniques to push your leads to the sales department; instead use it to bridge the gap between Inbound marketing and the sales team by interacting with the leads in order to qualify them further. Remember it takes an average of 4 to 7 interactions to convert a prospect into a customer.

Use Lead Scoring and Lead Nurturing programs: As seen from the survey, most marketers use a Lead Scoring system and consider it crucial to determine their future interactions with the lead and convert them into customers. It is estimated that that approximately 50% of your leads fall into the ‘interested but not ready yet’ bucket (Gleanster Research). In order to push them from this stage towards ultimately becoming satisfied returning buyers, it is important to keep them under the marketing department’s careful care and nurture them.

Use Videos for ALL the Product life-cycle stages: The survey has demonstrated an increased usage of Videos to appeal to audiences in almost all the stages of a Product life-cycle, and an amplified demand for demos by customers which is something B2B marketers must cater to in order to appeal to the digital customer.

Map your Product marketing technique to the state of the product: Use Inbound marketing techniques for the early stages of the product, and use the Outbound techniques when the product is in the latter stages of its life-cycle.

About the Analysts


Aditi NarayananResearch Associate

Manan BhatiaSr. Business Manager

Manan is a marketeer with hands-on experience managing traditional, online and mobile programs. At Regalix, he works with Product Marketing teams of our Hi-Tech customers, helping them create innovative product marketing solutions, successful product launches, sustained marketing impact through the different stages of product lifecycle. He specialises in customer acquisition and ROI focussed solutions.

Aditi’s research is focused on B2B content creation and distributionpractices that enable product marketing professionals deliver targetedsales enablement material. Her research combines creative withscientific measurement that creates real digital marketing leverage.

About Regalix ResearchHeadquartered in Silicon Valley, we help the CMO organization leverage emerging digital practices for creating marketing leverage as they bring new products and innovation to market. Regalix Research helps marketers through research-based insights, consulting and peer-to-peer programs that guide marketing strategy development and execution. Our focus is helping Technology companies leverage innovation and best practices to create real dif-ferentiation. Our analysts are practitioners with a successful track record of delivering real marketing results for both leading Fortune 500 companies as well as venture backed firms.

Regalix is an award-winning Global Innovation company that leverages technology and marketing to help companies grow. We create successful ventures with our clients through co-innovation and idea-driven frameworks that inspire companies to think different. We bring ideas to life by envisioning new companies, developing brands, engineering prod-ucts, and designing technology platforms. Founded in 1998, Regalix is based in Palo Alto. Our Silicon Valley setting has enabled us to stay ahead of emerging trends in digital tech-nology and marketing.

For over a decade, we have provided complete marketing services – Social, Mobile, Con-tent, Multi-channel Campaigns, Technology Development, and Analytics – to companies such as CA Technologies, Citi, Apple, eBay, Cisco, VMWare, NetApp, Cypress, LSI, Key-note, and MetricStream

For more informationTo find out how Regalix Research can help you,

please contact our office, or visit us at

www.regalix.com

Regalix Research1121 San Antonio Road, Suite # B200 Palo

Alto, CA 9 4303 Phone: 650 - 331 - 1167

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