B2B marketers waste 19% of their budgets!
I've just read an old article published by contently.com which claims that B2B marketers waste approximately 19% of their budgets, or in real terms, $1billion for the annual spend of $5.2 billion! That's massive money so I thought I'd share the article and highlight the takeaways so you can see if there's anything you're doing which isn't proving efficient.
Don't neglect the middle funnel:
According to the article, one of the top four reasons that a buyer will engage with a vendor is because they provide valuable education and consultation. Nurturing the audience in the mud-funnel with newsletters, e-books and facts and stats on the industry are all crucial actions that lead to sales but are often overlooked.
Segment your audience:
Often, B2B marketing is relevant for one department only (such as IT or finance) but directed towards many departments. It is in some of these instances that lists need to be broken down further so you're only addressing the department it applies to. Interesting stuff...
Trust is crucial:
Above all else, consumers are looking for a company they can put their faith in. By offering an over-priced product and not focusing on your message of reliability, you are losing some of your followers right there. Focus more on personal relationships rather than the technical details (where appropriate of course!) and your results will start to improve.
This article is really interesting for anyone in the marketing world and it goes into way more detail than I have here so I'd recommend giving it a read. They offer some great strategic advice on how to reduce the disconnect between spend and outcome.
https://contently.com/strategist/201...te-19-budgets/
Would love to know your thoughts, do you have such a disconnect? Do you have any other suggestions to add to the list? Does this 19% exist in your company too, or has this been blown out of proportion?
Don't neglect the middle funnel:
According to the article, one of the top four reasons that a buyer will engage with a vendor is because they provide valuable education and consultation. Nurturing the audience in the mud-funnel with newsletters, e-books and facts and stats on the industry are all crucial actions that lead to sales but are often overlooked.
Segment your audience:
Often, B2B marketing is relevant for one department only (such as IT or finance) but directed towards many departments. It is in some of these instances that lists need to be broken down further so you're only addressing the department it applies to. Interesting stuff...
Trust is crucial:
Above all else, consumers are looking for a company they can put their faith in. By offering an over-priced product and not focusing on your message of reliability, you are losing some of your followers right there. Focus more on personal relationships rather than the technical details (where appropriate of course!) and your results will start to improve.
This article is really interesting for anyone in the marketing world and it goes into way more detail than I have here so I'd recommend giving it a read. They offer some great strategic advice on how to reduce the disconnect between spend and outcome.
https://contently.com/strategist/201...te-19-budgets/
Would love to know your thoughts, do you have such a disconnect? Do you have any other suggestions to add to the list? Does this 19% exist in your company too, or has this been blown out of proportion?