How’s your B2B online marketing strategy? A recent survey by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) suggests that many companies could be missing out on the marketing opportunities offered by the Internet.
B2B online marketing statistics revealed
The IAB survey, conducted in March 2006, discovered some interesting differences in the way businesses use the Internet for their own needs and the way they use it for B2B online marketing purposes.
Consider this:
- 93% of business decision makers use the Internet for business every day
- 96% of business decision makers believe that online marketing is appropriate for business users
- 83% of business decision makers have taken action as result of seeing an advert on a B2B website
- 70% of business decision makers expect their use of B2B websites to increase over the next 2 years
- The most useful sources of work-related information online are search engines (39%) and B2B websites (24%)
In stark contrast, the IAB survey showed that 1.5% of businesses still don’t even have a website, only 39% are using online display ads and 29% use online classifieds.
B2B online marketing focuses on email
The one area of B2B online marketing where businesses were showing enthusiasm and creativity was email. 89% of respondents were already using email marketing for promoting products and services, circulating company newsletters and for customer acquisition. B2B online marketing via email is inexpensive and easy to measure, unlike its offline direct mail relative, which may explain its continued popularity.
Why stop there?
So what’s stopping companies from extending their B2B online marketing campaigns? The IAB survey didn’t cover this, but at the Web Marketing Group, we think that there are two main things that prevent companies from making the jump from traditional marketing to online activity:
- Lack of knowledge of the online marketing mix
- Concerns about cost and measurability
These misconceptions are easily corrected. The online marketing mix may be made up of slightly different components to offline activity, but the principles are exactly the same. As a marketer or business owner, you already know far more than you think. And as for cost and measurability, B2B online marketing incurs no print, distribution or postage costs, and is easily measurable through the use of sophisticated tracking software. You can tell on a regular basis which activity is working for you and which is not, and amend your marketing accordingly without having to dump 3,000 leaflets in the bin or spend more money re-recording your radio ad.
Take it from us, B2B online marketing is an essential part of your strategy – whether you are a small business or an international company. In the IAB’s survey, 63% of respondents said they believed the Internet would play a greater role in their future marketing and we agree with them.
Considering B2B online marketing?
The Web Marketing Group can help you get started – no matter what you need. Click on a service below to find out more:
Click here to contact us now! To speak to Sales, call 0845 555 5040
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