B2B and B2C marketers tend to have different marketing objectives for their businesses; not surprisingly, they also have different views on which marketing tactics are the most effective, according to a survey from Ascend2.
Among B2B marketers surveyed, increasing the quality (49%) and quantity (49%) of sales leads are top objectives, followed by boosting lead conversion rates (41%).
By contrast, B2C marketers are primarily focused on increasing lead conversion rates (54%) and driving website traffic (43%):
Below, additional findings from Ascend2's Marketing Strategy Outlook Survey, based on a poll of 456 marketing executives worldwide.
Most Effective Tactics
Though email is still the most effective marketing tactic for both B2Bs (58%) and B2Cs (63%), that’s where most of the similarities end.
B2Bs rank content creation (42%) and lead management (35%) as their second- and third-most effective tactics, respectively, whereas B2Cs rank organic search (SEO) (39%) and paid search (35%) near the top.
B2Cs are more confident than B2Bs in social media (28% vs. 23%), whereas tactics such as blogging and marketing analytics appear to be equally effective for B2Bs and B2Cs.
Challenges
The most effective marketing tactics appear to be the most difficult to execute.
Among B2Bs, content creation—ranked as the second most effective tactic—ranks as one of the most difficult tactics to execute (39%). Conversion rate optimization and social media also rank high in difficulty (39% and 34%, respectively.)
Meanwhile, B2Cs rank social media (46%) as the tactic most difficult to execute. Conversion rate optimization is ranked second (41%), followed by content creation (35%).
Key Metrics
Measuring website traffic still matters most to marketers.
Asked which performance metrics they track, 79% of B2Bs and 78% of B2Cs 78% cite website traffic. Lead conversion rates are also a key metric for B2Bs and B2Cs (62% and 61%, respectively) as are the quantity of sales leads (62% and 54%, respectively).
Fewer B2Bs and B2Cs track quality of sales leads (34% and 46%, respectively) and awareness or reputation metrics (26% and 41%, respectively).
About the data: Findings are based on a survey of 456 marketing professionals worldwide, conducted in January 2013 by Ascend2.
