Today we live in a digitalized world and the world is only a click away. This is where the role of Digital Marketing assumes importance. While it presents a range of Opportunities that any savvy marketer or entrepreneur would  like to encash on, it also has some Challenges that we need to take care of as below :

1. Being a marketer is more challenging than ever before nowadays

It’s a changing world for marketers in the US, 80% of whom agree that their priorities have altered in the last three years. But it’s not just priorities that have changed. US-based B2B professionals are now handling more channels, more audiences and more geographies than three years ago. No wonder 85% of them agree that being a marketer is more challenging than ever before when it comes to reaching out to larger audiences.

2. Marketers’ biggest challenge is proving return on investment Less than one in five (19%) of marketers

feel confident in the accuracy of their ROI measurements. On average, marketers use five metrics to measure ROI, which suggests that there is no simple solution to proving the value of marketing activities. But most agree that the most useful metrics are lead generation and conversion rates.

3. Thought leadership is the number one priority for US B2B marketers

The top priorities are thought leadership, customer relationships, and brand awareness. Unlike their counterparts in the UK, US marketers put thought leadership before the customer. And 74% feel that they are being asked to tackle objectives beyond the traditional province of marketing. This recognition that marketers have a key role to play in meeting wider objectives puts them, arguably, at the heart of the business.

4. Digital marketing is allocated a larger share of total marketing budget

Digital is an important element of the marketing mix, with over two fifths (42%) of the total budget. However, 84% of respondents say they are doing more with less, which suggests that although objectives, audiences, and territories are expanding, budgets and resources are not. This could perhaps be a symptom of the struggle to prove ROI.

5. Digital channels provide key opportunities to meet business goals

Almost all marketers (95%) have started using a wider range of digital channels in the last three years. Websites and email are still the favorite channels for effectiveness and share of the budget. Online video, social media, and SEO are the ‘bargain’ channels being used more frequently than before, as they’re effective and take up only a relatively smaller share of the budget. Marketers are less convinced about the effectiveness of mobile, and investment is low (only 4% of digital marketing budgets).

This could be a missed opportunity, given the growth in mobile and its relevance in B2B. In light of the challenges and opportunities these marketers face, we advise B2B marketers to revisit their results and identify priority channels to improve as well as ineffective channels to purge, so they can be flexible and maximise the opportunities that will best help them to reach their goals.

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