Software Advice IndustryView: B2B Demand GenerationTrends and best practices from the industry

We surveyed 200 business-to-business (B2B) marketing professionals in order to understand which channels, content types and technologies they use to fuel their demand generation (or "demand gen") programs—and which they found most effective.

Abstract

• Trade shows, referral marketing and in-house email marketing were the channels most commonly cited as generating a high volume of quality leads.

• 92 percent use videos, which were also the content type most often cited as producing a very high quantity of leads.

• 79 percent of B2B marketers use at least 11 different marketing software applications to execute demand gen programs.

Demand Generation Channels Used

Percent of sample

The vast majority of marketers reported that they used all 15 of the demand gen channels we listed, with each being used by at least 85 percent of respondents.

In-house email marketingOrganic search

Social media (non-ads)Trade shows & events

Search engine advertisingReferral/advocate marketingThird-party email marketing

Display advertisingDirect mail

Other

70% 75% 80% 85% 90% 95% 100%

Quantity of Leads, by Channel

77 percent said trade shows generate a “somewhat” or “very high” quantity of leads, with 63 percent saying the same about in-house email marketing.

Percent of sample

Trade shows & events

Search engine advertising

In-house email marketing

Print, radio & TV advertising

Referral/advocate marketing

Third-party webinars

Organic search

Social media advertising

Third-party lead originators

Social media (non-ads)

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Very high Somewhat high Somewhat low Very low

Quality of Leads, by Channel

82 percent of marketers singled out trade shows as generating leads of “good” or “excellent” quality, with 78 percent saying the same about referral marketing.

Trade shows & events

Referral/advocate marketing

In-house email marketing

Retargeting advertising

Telemarketing/cold-calling

Search engine advertising

Organic search

Third-party webinars

Social media advertising

Third-party email marketing

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Excellent Good Fair Poor

Percent of sample

Cost-per-Lead, by Channel

34 percent and 30 percent, respectively, described social media marketing (outside of ads) and in-house email marketing as having a “very low” cost-per-lead.

Social media (non-ads)

In-house email marketing

Organic search

Referral/advocate marketing

Social media advertising

Telemarketing/cold-calling

Third-party webinars

Third-party email marketing

Third-party lead originators

Direct mail

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Very low Somewhat low Somewhat high Very high

Percent of sample

Types of Content Used for Demand Generation

Percent of sample

Video was the content type most commonly leveraged for demand generation programs—used by 92 percent of B2B marketers.

Videos

Surveys

White papers

Case studies

Video demos

Product comparisons

Toolkits

E-books

70% 75% 80% 85% 90% 95%

Quantity of Leads, by Content Type

When asked to evaluate content types, marketers most commonly cited B2B videos and surveys as generating a “very high” quantity of leads (23 percent).

Percent of sample

Videos

Surveys

Product comparisons

Toolkits

Video demos

White papers

E-books

Case studies

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Very high Somewhat high Somewhat low Very low

Quality of Leads, by Content Type

Toolkits, surveys and videos were the types of content most commonly described as generating leads of excellent quality.

Percent of sample

Toolkits

Surveys

Videos

Case studies

Video demos

Product comparisons

E-books

White papers

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Excellent quality Good quality Fair quality Poor quality

Offers and CTAs Used for Demand Generation

Percent of sample

Nearly all B2B marketers use calls-to-action such as “contact us” buttons (96 percent) and price-quote buttons (89.5 percent).

"Contact us" buttons

Price-quote buttons

Live demos with reps

Video demos

Webinars

Free trials

70% 75% 80% 85% 90% 95% 100%

Quantity of Leads, by Offer/CTA Type

Twenty-seven percent and 22 percent, respectively, described live demos with sales reps and free product trials as producing a “very high” quantity of leads.

Percent of sample

Live demos with reps

Free trials

Webinars

Price-quote buttons

"Contact us" buttons

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Very high Somewhat high Somewhat low Very low

Quality of Leads, by Offer/CTA Type

In addition to generating the highest number of leads, live demos with sales reps were also the offer or CTA most cited as generating "excellent" leads (45 percent).

Percent of sample

Live demos with reps

Price-quote buttons

Free trials

"Contact us" buttons

Webinars

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Excellent quality Good quality Fair quality Poor quality

Software Solutions Used

Nearly all (97 percent) used email marketing software, with 96.5 percent using customer relationship management and 96 percent using marketing automation.

Email marketingCRM

Marketing automationWeb analytics

Business intelligenceSocial media monitoring

Social media managementContent marketing

Search engine optimizationReferral marketing

PPC

70% 75% 80% 85% 90% 95% 100%

Percent of sample

Number of Software Solutions Used per Company

Altogether, most marketers (79 percent) used all 11 of the software solutions we listed.

*Denotes an option offered in the survey, but not selected by any respondents

79%

4%4%

3%3%

2%3% 012*345*67891011

Value of Software Solutions to Demand Gen Success

Most (72 percent) described all 11 of the listed marketing software applications as at least “moderately important” to the success of demand generation programs.

Percent of sample

CRMBusiness intelligence

Web analyticsEmail marketing

PPCMarketing automation

Social media monitoringSearch engine optimizationSocial media management

Referral marketingContent marketing

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Extremely important Very important Moderately importantMinimally important Not at all important

Performance vs. Expectations, by Number of Solutions Used

Marketers using all 11 technology solutions were more likely to say their demand gen programs performed “far” or “slightly above” expectations (37 percent).

All 11

Fewer than 11

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Far above Slightly above In line withSlightly below Far below Not sure

Percent of sample

Demand Gen Performance vs. Expectations, by Business Size

Small businesses were most likely to say their efforts performed below expectations (44 percent), compared to 28 percent of larger companies.

Small

Midsize

Large

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Far above Slightly above In line withSlightly below Far below Not sure

Percent of sample

Plans for 2015 Demand Generation Spending

Forty-one percent of marketers said they would increase their spend, 43 percent said they’d spend the same and 17 percent said they would decrease spend.

4%13%

43%

36%

5%

Much moreSomewhat moreSame amountSomewhat lessMuch less

Plans for 2015 Demand Generation Spending, by Channel

Search engine advertising was the most common area for increased spending, with 42 percent planning to spend at least “somewhat more.”

Percent of sample

Search engine advertising

Social media (non-ads)

Trade shows & events

Telemarketing/cold-calling

Social media advertising

Retargeting advertising

Print, radio & TV advertising

Third-party email marketing

Referral marketing

Direct mail

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Much more Somewhat more Same Somewhat less Much less

Demographics: Respondents by Job Title

Most of the marketers in our sample held senior positions, with 63 percent having a director-level title or above.

8%

12%

12%

16% 23%

29% ManagerC-level executiveDirectorSenior vice presidentVice presidentCoordinator/specialist

Demographics: Business Size by Number of Employees

Many respondents (40 percent) represented big businesses with 1,000 employees or more, with 13 percent representing businesses with over 10,000 employees.

13%

12%

15%

10%22%

29% 1-99100-499500-9991,000-4,9995,000-9,999More than 10,000

Demographics: Business Size by Annual Marketing Budget

Forty-one percent had a budget of under $1 million, and 40 percent had a budget of $1-50 million, leaving 19 percent with a budget over $50 million.

6%8%

5%

4%

11%

7%6% 12%

12%

12%

17%Less than $250,000$250,000-$500,000$500,000-$1 million$1 million-$2.5 million$2.5 million-$5 million$5 million-$10 million$10 million-$30 million$30 million-$50 million$50 million-$100 millionMore than $100 millionNot sure

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