B2B marketers are proving the digital age has arrived, with the majority of marketing channels being used falling into the digital realm. This is according to Software Advice’s 2012 B2B Demand Generation Benchmark Survey, which aggregated survey responses from 155 respondents across various industries.
The results show the most widely used channel for lead generation is in-house email marketing (98 percent), followed by search engine optimization (94 percent), social media without ad usage (88 percent), and trade shows and events (87 percent). These findings show the digital dominance among lead generation channels, as three of the top four channels most commonly used by B2B marketers have to do with digital marketing.
In terms of high quality lead generation from each of these channels, in-house email marketing (40 percent) and search engine optimization (36 percent) lead the way. Other channels that drive high quality leads include telemarketing and tradeshows/events (35 percent), third-party webinars (28 percent), third-party lead originators (27 percent), and social media (18 percent). This data indicates that while social media is widely used as a lead generation tactic among B2B marketers, it trails behind other tactics in generating high-quality leads.
Digital marketing lead generation will likely continue to grow among B2B marketers; the survey’s 2013 predictions show 62 percent of respondents plan to increase spending on overall demand generation. This increase in spending, coupled with digital’s stronghold among B2B lead generation tactics, will further digital’s role in B2B marketing in 2013.
source :
Komarketing Associates