state of b2b product marketing 2015
TRANSCRIPT
Research Report - March 2015
STATE OF B2BPRODUCT MARKETING 2015
WHO WE SPOKE TO
To understand the state of product marketing in B2B companies, we
spoke to senior marketers on current trends and practices in the field.
The companies we spoke to were spread across various product types
ranging from Software (72%) to Hardware (23%), Cloud (50%) and
Mobile (28%). A majority of the companies were in the technology
sector. While 67% of the companies were from the US, the rest were
from across the globe.
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 01
KEY FINDINGS:
84% respondents say they invest in product marketing » tweet this «
69% marketers choose understanding buyer needs or
pain points as the most important go-to-market
strategy to a product launch
» tweet this «
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 02
81% executives choose direct selling as their
top sales distribution strategy» tweet this «
89% marketers mention new customer acquisition
as the metric they use to measure the impact of
product marketing
» tweet this «
70% respondents say they look at revenue
generated to measure the success of a
product launch
» tweet this «
PRODUCT TEAMS LEAD PRODUCT LAUNCH ACTIVITIES
Which of the following teams own product launch activities in your organization?
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 03
76 percent of the companies identified their product teams as owners of product
launch activities within the company.
53%Product marketing team
23%Product management team
22%Corporate marketing/ Marketing communication team
2%Public relations team
MAJORITY OF COMPANIES INVEST IN PRODUCT MARKETING
84 percent of the respondents said their companies invested in product marketing;
16 percent said they didn’t.
Does your organization invest in Product Marketing?
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 04
Yes No
84%16%
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 05
CREATING MARKETING COLLATERAL & ENABLING SALES TOP THE LIST OF ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT IN PRODUCT MARKETING
80 percent of marketers we spoke to chose creating marketing collateral as an activity
that they carry out to achieve their product marketing goals; while the same figure for
sales enablement stood at 70%.
While it was encouraging to hear 67% of our respondents mention market research
as part of their product marketing initiative, we were surprised to find a lack of such
enthusiasm when it came to collecting product feedback & measuring product
satisfaction, which scored a low 48%.
Given the current relevance of ‘lean business’ practices and the minimum viable product,
increased focus on product feedback might be necessary for future product successes.
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 06
Which of the following activities do you carry out to achieve product marketing goals?
80%Creating marketing collaterals
69%Launch planning
71%Sales enablement
67%Market research
Defining positioning 70%
Creation and execution of Go-To-Market plans 64%
Creating marketing plans 70%
Lead generation 59%
Understanding the sales process 58%
Collecting product feedback and measuring product satisfaction 48%
Buyer persona 57%
Building awareness plans 45%
Managing marketing programs 53%
Win/ Loss analysis 44%
Building customer acquisition plans 28%
Channel/ Partner enablement 51%
Measuring the ROI of marketing program 42%
Building customer retention plans 27%
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 07
UNDERSTANDING BUYER NEEDS IS THE MOST CITED GO-TO-MARKET STRATEGY
69 percent of respondents picked understanding buyer needs or pain points as the
most important go-to-market strategy to a product launch. Enabling the ecosystem
came next at 58%.
Only 21% of marketers chose working with a marketing agency for creative writing/
ad campaign as important to their product launch; sending a gentle reminder to
agencies to relook at the role they currently play in product marketing and see how
they could make themselves strategically more relevant to the client’s needs.
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 08
Which of the following go-to-market strategies are most important to your product launch?
69%Understanding buyer needs or pain points
49%Identifying your target addressable market
58%Enabling the ecosystem (sales, channel, partner, support, renewals, etc)
44%Engaging prospects
Creating demos/ launch videos for analyst/ PR/ partners/ channel 55%
Establishing your brand 28%
Defining effective communication plan 51%
Feedback collection 28%
Message testing 27%
Creating microsite 12%
Working with marketing agency for creative writing/ ad campaigns 21%
Enabling pre-orders 11%
Creating formal and social connect platform 20%
Establishing Directly Responsible Individual matrix 9%
Creating viral landing Page 15%
WEBSITE & EMAIL ARE THE MOST POPULAR DIGITAL CHANNELS THAT COMPANIES RELY ON FOR MARKETING THEIR PRODUCTS
Besides Website and Email, preferences on the list chosen by our respondents,
include Webinars, Social Media, Search and Blog.
Mobile finds less favour with our marketers. This trend was evident even in our earlier
study on the ‘State of B2B Marketing 2015’.
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 09
Which of the following digital channels does your organization tap into for marketing its product?
91%Website
64%Organic search (SEO)
89%Email
62%Blog / Microblog
Webinars 77%
Paid search (SEM) 59%
Social media 76%
Digital banners 57%
Online display ads 43%
Mobile campaigns 15%
Micro-websites 40%
Mobile web & apps 28%
Affiliate marketing 24%
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 10
81 PERCENT OF MARKETERS CHOOSE DIRECT SELLING AS THEIR TOP SALES DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
Direct selling included both online and offline selling.
Channel partners came a distant second at 41%.
What is your top sales distribution strategy?
81%Direct selling (online & offline both)
16%Value Added Resellers (VARs)/ Interim Sales Representative (ISRs)
41%Channel partners
11%Managed service
SaaS / Cloud based 24%
Selling through intermediaries (consist of wholesalers, retailers etc) 9%
Telesales 17%
Wholesale & retail sales 5%
Dual distribution (eg: franchisers etc) 2%
Reverse channels 0%
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 11
LINKEDIN & TWITTER ARE THE MOST PREFERRED SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS
LinkedIn at 81% and Twitter at 71% lead the way as the most sought after social media
platforms for a product launch.
With increasing interest being shown on video as a content type in the B2B space
(Source: State of B2B Content Marketing 2015), we anticipate YouTube to soon beat
Facebook to third place.
What are your top social media platforms for product launch?
81%LinkedIn
17%Google+
71%Twitter
Facebook 54%
Youtube 54%
Other 5%
Pinterest 5%
17%Slideshare
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 12
TRADE SHOWS DOMINATE OFFLINE CHANNELS IN LEAD GENERATION
71 percent of respondents chose Tradeshows as the offline channel they used for
generating leads and creating a pipeline. Promotional events came in next at 51%
followed by partners at 50%.
Except for Print media (30%), which offers the option of niche technical journals for
targeted communication, other mass media alternatives like Television, Radio and
Outdoor advertisements have little significance in B2B product marketing.
What are the traditional/offline channels used by your organization for leads or pipeline generation?
Trade shows 71%
Print media 30%
Promotional events 51%
Television 5%
Partners 50%
Radio 5%
Direct mail/ Snail mail 38%
Outdoor advertisements 4%
Franchisees 0%
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 13
MAJORITY OF CHANNELS FIND FAVOR DURING THE GROWTH PHASE OF THE PRODUCT LIFECYCLE
This includes all the popular channels that were preferred by our respondents including
Website, Social media, Email and Trade shows.
The exceptions include Print media, Direct mail, Online display ads and Public relations
which found greater favour among the marketers during the introductory phase of the
product lifecycle.
Only Television and Radio were found to be more suitable during the decline phase than
at any other stage of the product lifecycle. While the intention to get the audience back
through the broadcast media is understandable, the cost efficiency of such an exercise
during the decline phase is questionable.
Interestingly, there appears to be a sharp surge in the need for Affiliate marketing during
the growth phase of the product; a pointer, perhaps, to the strategic role that it could
play in the growth plan of organizations.
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 14
Please map the marketing channels based on their suitability of usage during the various phases of the product lifecycle
Events/ Trade Shows
Direct mail
Affiliate marketing
Radio
Print media
Search marketing
Mobile web & apps
Telemarketing
Website
Social media
Mobile campaigns
Public relations
Online display ads
Television
57% 18%71% 74%
25% 31%59% 53%
46% 17%25% 71%
13% 53%27% 20%
74% 40%70% 83%
34% 11%68% 63%
19% 44%13% 38%
77% 36%79% 85%
50% 17%77% 85%
29% 14%50% 54%
44% 9%67% 63%
23% 19%58% 52%
43% 17%57% 79%
50% 13%57% 73%
42% 24%52% 64%
Introductory Growth Maturity Decline
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 15
PRODUCT VIDEOS SEEN AS MOST SUITABLE CONTENT TYPE DURING INTRODUCTORY & GROWTH PHASE
Among all the content types, Product videos got the most nods from our respondents for
their suitability during the introductory & growth phase of the product lifecycle.
Most of the content types scored the highest on suitability for use during the growth phase.
Print magazines & Press releases were favoured more in the introductory phase, while
Infographics & FAQ documents found equal favour both in the introductory & growth phase.
Please map the content types based on their suitability of usage during the various phases of the product lifecycle
Ebooks
Research reports
In-person events
Annual reports
Mobile apps
Articles
Case studies
Digital magazines
Introductory Growth Maturity Decline
67% 18%69% 52% 78% 27%80% 64% 46% 8%50% 64% 46% 9%56% 78%
64% 36%67% 84% 55% 19%22% 69% 57% 14%71% 80% 40% 13%59% 80%
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 16
Blogs
Newsletters
Social media
FAQ documents
White papers
Mobile content
Podcasts
Presentations
Product videos
Webinars/ Webcasts
Data sheets
Press releases
Print magazines
Infographics
Product manuals/ Catalogues
60% 40%80% 82%
33% 11%57% 89%
31% 7%80% 44%
28% 24%68% 78%
46% 23%56% 59%
61% 14%80% 82%
57% 39%49% 68%
62% 24%85% 79%
64% 11%75% 76%
39% 5%75% 82%
67% 11%76% 76%
52% 14%67% 73%
33% 11%70% 89%
49% 29%46% 85%
27% 18%83% 82%
Introductory Growth Maturity Decline
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 17
The top 5 content types in each phase of the product lifecycle
INTRODUCTORY
GROWTH
MATURITY
DECLINE
Product videos Presentations
In-person events Blogs
Infographics
70%68%
64%63%63%
Product videos PresentationsSocial media
In-person events Case studies
73%70%70%
66%66%
Case studies PresentationsWhite papers
In-person events Blogs
63%59%
55%54%
50%
Data sheets Presentations
Case studies Product manuals FAQ documents
29%25%
21%21%21%
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 18
NEW CUSTOMER ACQUISITION MOST WIDELY USED METRIC TO MEASURE IMPACT OF PRODUCT MARKETING
89 percent of respondents mentioned New customer acquisition as the metric they used to
measure the impact of product marketing. Increase in ROI was ranked second at 62%.
In your opinion, which metrics are primarily used for measuring the impact of product marketing?
89%New customer acquisition
21%Social media virality
62%Increase in ROI
Subscribers growth 50%
Visitors growth 46%
8%Reduction in costs
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 19
REVENUE & LEADS DETERMINE THE SUCCESS OF A PRODUCT LAUNCH
With increasing pressure on sales, more and more marketers are defining revenue generation
as their top priority marketing objective (Source: State of B2B Marketing 2015).
Revenue generated (70%), Number of leads generated (67%) & Pipeline created (67%)
overshadowed all other metrics in defining the success of a product launch.
It was heartening to see as much as 53% of respondents mention Tracking and analysing
marketing metrics as an important measure of success. This is in the right direction, keeping
in mind our earlier study on the State of B2B Marketing Metrics & Analytics 2015, where 86%
of the marketers we spoke to said marketing analytics was very important for the success of
their marketing program.
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 20
How do you measure the success of a product launch?
70%Revenue generated
51%Warm leads and new customers
67%Number of leads generated
42%Marketing ROI
Pipeline created/ influenced 67%
Customer/ User engagement 42%
Tracking and analyzing marketing metrics 53%
Page views/ clicks/ shares/ likes/ re-tweets 32%
Online marketing analytics 30%
Sentiment analysis 16%
Feedback collection 19%
Customer retention plan 18%
Ad or call campaign analytics 16%
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 21
MARKETING AUTOMATION TOOLS ARE CHANGING LEAD CONVERSION TECHNIQUES SAY MARKETERS
Strong dependence on marketing automation tools are changing the way lead
conversions are being managed today, said 59% of our respondents.
Pre-purchase demo expectation & slow conversion due to prolonged customer
‘consideration’ phase were the second most cited change to be noticed in
lead conversion techniques.
What changes have you noticed in the contemporary lead conversion techniques?
59%Strong dependence on marketing automation tools
25%Insightful comparative feature walkthrough
23%Abundance of market-sales synchronising tools
46%Pre-purchase demo expectation
Slow conversion due to prolonged customer “consideration” phase 46%
Personal and long lasting relation 30%
25%More preference for dialogue marketing
20%Quick conversion of qualified/ hot leads
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 22
DIFFICULTY IN MEASURING ROI & GENERATING QUALIFIED LEADS ARE THE MOST PREVALENT CHALLENGES FACED BY MARKETERS
When we asked our respondents what their key product marketing challenges were, 49%
of respondents mentioned difficulty in measurement of ROI, while 44% chose customer
awareness and qualified lead generation.
Measuring ROI continues to trouble marketers. This is an area where we see potential for
analytical companies to make a contribution.
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 23
Which of the following digital channels does your organization tap into for marketing its product?
49%Difficulty in measurement of ROI
26%
44%
24%
13%
35%
24%
11%
27%
24%
20%
15%
Customer awareness and qualified lead generation
Lack of budget
Effective demos
Developing a distinctive brand identity
Lack of integration tools to generate/track leads
Lack of skilled resource
Lack of prospect knowledge
Technological changes
Competitive yet profitable pricing strategy
Finding the right product market fit
Customer’s demand for Minimum Viable Product at the earliest
Creating package that is both informative and visually appealing
Product lifecycle phase transitions
Multi-Channel conflicts
Pragmatic decision driven customers
Understanding of Feature Fatigue and Enrichment
Rising media cost
Identifying and leveraging viable distribution networks
Others
Certification/Regulations from regulatory bodies 2%
20%
18%
15%
7%
7%
6%
6%
6%
48 PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS SAY THEY HAVE 1 OR 2 MAJOR PRODUCT LAUNCHES EVERY YEAR; AND 42% SAY THEIR GO-TO-MARKET PLAN LASTS BETWEEN 2 & 3 MONTHS
How many major product launches do you have every year?
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 24
How long does your go-to-market plan approximately last for a product launch?
48%1 - 2
31%3 - 5
42%2 - 3 months
14%6 - 10
27%4 - 6 months
6%Above 10
17%6 - 12 months
8%More than a year
6%1 month
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 25
75 PERCENT OF COMPANIES WE SPOKE TO ALLOCATE UP TO 25% OF THEIR MARKETING BUDGET TOWARDS PRODUCT MARKETING
What percentage of your marketing budget is currently allocated toward product marketing?
35%Less than 10%
40%10 - 25%
22%25 - 50%
4%More than 50%
OUTBOUND MARKETING RECEIVES A LARGER SHARE OF THE PRODUCT MARKETING PIE
What percentage of your product marketing budget is currently allocated towards outbound marketing?
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 26
What percentage of your product marketing budget is currently allocated towards inbound marketing?
24%Less than 10%
45%Less than 10%
41%10 - 25%
26%10 - 25%
28%25 - 50%
28%25 - 50%
8%More than 50%
More than 50% 2%
What percentage of your product marketing budget is currently allocated towards digital marketing?
What percentage of your product marketing budget is currently allocated towards traditional marketing?
38%Less than 10%
43%Less than 10%
34%10 - 25%
39%10 - 25%
25 - 50% 18%
25 - 50% 14%
More than 50% 10%
More than 50% 4%
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 27
MAJORITY OF MARKETERS SEE THEIR PRODUCT MARKETING BUDGET EITHER INCREASE OR REMAIN THE SAME IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS
How do you see your product marketing budget change over the next 12 months?
47%
40%
13% Decrease
Increase
Remains the same
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 28
© REGALIX RESEARCH STATE OF B2B PRODUCT MARKETING 2015 / 29
FINAL THOUGHTSProduct marketing has changed dramatically in the digital age. We have tools and
technologies today that enable us to launch products faster, target them better and track
their adoption more closely. It is heartening to see a significant majority of the companies in
our survey willingly investing in product marketing.
We are also seeing an increased awareness amongst B2B marketers of the importance of
automation tools for creating a more efficient delivery system
In terms of marketing channels, most of the traditionally popular digital channels continue
to dominate. This is an area that could see some innovations soon. Video as a content type is
being consumed more and B2B marketers will do well to take note of this.
The only area that worries us is the overarching importance being placed by companies on
revenue generation and customer acquisition in product launches. Such a unidimensional
approach to new product strategy can stifle innovation; and ignore, in the process, other
important aspects of marketing like consumer engagement. This is an area where B2B
marketers can learn a lesson or two from their counterparts in the B2C space.
Ravish KamathSenior Director, Products
Ravish Kamath has over a decade of experience in bringing
products and ideas to life. At Regalix, Ravish is responsible
for driving the overall product strategy and its execution.
He is passionate about prototyping, evangelizing new
technologies, building and mentoring teams and of course
launching new products.
ABOUT THE ANALYSTS
Nimish VohraSVP, Principal Analyst
Nimish, Senior Vice President, works with CMOs and senior
marketing professionals. His research focuses on customer
experience management, predictive analytics, mobile
enablement and other emerging trends that help customers
leverage technology as an enabler of marketing and
business outcomes.
ABOUT REGALIX RESEARCH
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we help the CMO organization leverage emerging digital practices for creating marketing leverage as they bring new products and innovation to market. Regalix Research helps marketers through research-based insights, consulting and peer-to-peer programs that guide marketing strategy development and execution. Our focus is helping Technology companies leverage innovation and best practices to create real differentiation. Our analysts are practitioners with a successful track record of delivering real marketing results for both leading Fortune 500 companies as well as venture backed firms.
Regalix is an award-winning Global Innovation company that leverages technology and marketing to help companies grow. We create successful ventures with our clients through co-innovation and idea-driven frameworks that inspire companies to think different. We bring ideas to life by envisioning new companies, developing brands, engineering products, and designing technology platforms. Founded in 1998, Regalix is based in Palo Alto. Our Silicon Valley setting has enabled us to stay ahead of emerging trends in digital technology and marketing.
For over a decade, we have provided complete marketing services – Social, Mobile, Content, Multi-channel Campaigns, Technology Development, and Analytics – to companies such as CA Technologies, Citi, Apple, eBay, Cisco, VMWare, NetApp, Cypress, LSI, Keynote, and MetricStream.
For more information
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