Regarding Media, B2B Marketers and Business Decision-Makers Don’t See I2I

The media that B2B marketers rely on to sell products and services aren’t necessarily those that business decision-makers use to help them do their jobs, according to (PPT slideshow) a Forrester Research study conducted for American Business Media, writes B-to-B Magazine (via MarketingCharts).

For example, asked to cite the digital media they most rely on at work, business decision-makers (BDMs) ranked industry-specific magazines first (70 percent), email or electronic newsletters (70 percent) and vendor websites (64 percent). See chart of digital B2B media that BDMs rely on most.

B2B marketers, however, don’t place as much importance on industry-specific websites: Asked which digital marketing tactics they had used in the previous 12 months, they ranked ads on industry-specific websites fifth (50 percent). See chart of digital marketing tactics used most by B2B marketers.

Among other digital media that marketers cited: corporate websites (87 percent), ads and listings on web portals (71 percent), email solicitations (66 percent), and web-based events (54 percent).

“B2B marketers are not taking advantage of the media that are most important to the people they’re trying to reach,” Gordon Hughes II, president-CEO of ABM, is quoted as saying.

Among other key findings of the study:

• Most (82 percent) of decision-makers say product messages in B2B media make them more receptive to salespeople.
• 69 percent of decision-makers say they see sales reps less than once a month
• 78 percent say the amount of time spent with sales reps has remained unchanged or decreased during the previous 12 months.
• Both buyers and sellers agree that integrated marketing increases sales:
  • 91 percent of decision-makers agreed that it is easier to recognize a brand, product or service after they see a message in multiple media.
  • 93 percent of marketers agree that integrating messages across various media is more effective at reaching buyers than using a single medium.

About the study: The online survey compiled responses from 878 business decision-makers and 816 B2B marketers from 21 industry categories. Among the decision-makers, 86 percent approve the budget for purchasing products/services and 87 percent purchase products/services.