Innovation Remains Key Challenge In B2B Marketing, Survey Notes
Innovation remains the top business challenge in 2016, according to a survey of 226 North American B2B decision makers while the focus for U.S. businesses marketers remains on branding, value marketing and segmentation.
The unique challenges B2B marketers face as they pave their way through new methods and tools of reaching their target audiences reveals that that nearly 72 percent of U.S. companies see innovation as their top business challenge, but still plan on putting 56 per cent of their marketing efforts into branding/marketing communications, the survey, which was conducted by B2B Marketing International, notes.
While 61 per cent of U.S. businesses see branding research as their biggest asset, and 58 per cent feel that comparing themselves to the market is key, only 43 per cent put customer satisfaction and loyalty as a priority, with employee engagement on the low end at 19 per cent.
In B2B marketing, according to the North American survey, product innovation, managing brands and products are a top priority, while lead generation and customer relations and expansion only netted 31 per cent interest. Having an effective communications strategy and increasing brand awareness are major priorities of all 226 businesses surveyed.
Despite the emphasis on having a brand program in place, many U.S. companies surveyed did not feel that their brand alone was a strong enough selling point. Although B2B marketers encounter companies in the U.S. who want to focus on branding and value marketing, the survey concluded that it is important to embrace other initiatives and try and turn the focus onto developing a better grasp of finding customers within the same segment that share common characteristics.
Marketing segmentation, which the survey notes is a greater priority among European companies, should be more of a priority in U.S. B2B marketing.