See the results of our B2B survey of industrial and electrical executives on their online marketing opinions and needs.

1. Sponsored
by:
SURVEY READOUT
September
2013
B2B

2. INTRODUCTION
Content
Marke-ng
means
crea)ng
and
sharing
valuable
free
content
to
a5ract
and
convert
prospects
into
customers,
and
customers
into
repeat
buyers.
The
type
of
content
you
share
is
closely
related
to
what
you
sell;
in
other
words,
you’re
educa)ng
people
so
that
they
know,
like,
and
trust
you
enough
to
do
business
with
you.
• Copyblogger
“
”
Online
marke-ng
and
social
media
con)nue
to
challenge
B2B
marketers.
Primary
research,
while
anecdotal,
reveals
that
55%
of
Industrial
and
Electrical
execu)ves
“struggle”
with
their
online
marke)ng
goals
and
aspira)ons.
Manufacturers
and
distributors
con)nue
to
use
old
tools
to
build
a
new
world
and
defend
against
non-­‐tradi)onal
compe)tors.
Big
clucky
websites
store
safety
data
sheets
and
printed
brochures
are
almost
invisible
to
today’s
search
engines
and
lack
a
clear
vision
and
sustained
budget.
Online
marke)ng
is
not
the
growth
engine
promised
but
a
(nuisance)
expense.
Execu)ves
feel
jus)fied
with
this
posi)on
because
the
organiza)on
lacks
clear
goals
and
measurable
ROI.
It’s
a
chicken-­‐
and-­‐egg
situa)on.
We
wanted
to
learn
a
bit
more
so
compiled
a
short
survey,
just
10
ques)ons,
to
add
some
metrics
to
the
prevailing
commentary.
We
received
dozens
of
responses
and
want
to
thank
everyone
who
par)cipated.
Steve
Hartkopf
shartkopf@aligned-­‐marke)ng.com
800-­‐707-­‐9150

3. Q1
HOW
MANY
ONLINE
INFORMATION
SOURCES
such
as
magazines,
newspapers,
CNN,
WSJ,
blogs
or
Facebook
do
you
read
each
week?
Sponsored
by:

4. Q2
IN
THE
BOX
BELOW
LIST
YOUR
MOST
VISITED
INFORMATION
WEBSITES,
blogs,
and/or
online
groups:
1. Company
website
2. LinkedIn
3. Yahoo
4. WSJ
5. Facebook
6. ISA
(NewsleWer)
7. MDM
8. Fox
News
9. Google
News
10. Industrial
Distribu-on
Magazine
11. NewsMax
12. Accurint
Sponsored
by:

5. Q3
WHICH
TOPICS
WOULD
YOU
READ
ABOUT
MORE
if
there
was
an
easy
to
access
and
easy
to
read
online
source
available?
Sponsored
by:
Industrial
and
Electrical
professionals
were
the
largest
group
of
respondents
so
the
fact
that
they
want
more
“Industry
content”
is
not
surprising.
What’s
surprising
is
25%
of
respondents
want
more
informa)on
on
“Content
crea)on
and
online
marke)ng.”

6. Q4
OUR
ONLINE
MARTKETING
CLEARLY
EXPLAINS
our
product’s
and
service’s
value
proposi-on.
Sponsored
by:
Just
over
30%
“Strongly
agree”
that
their
company’s
website
“clearly
explains”
their
product’s
and
service’s
value
proposi)on.
55%+
“Somewhat
agree,”
which
was
characterized
as
a
“less
than
enthusias)c
endorsement”
by
our
online
marke)ng
team.

7. Q5
OVERALL
ARE
YOU
SATISFIED
with
your
company’s
website
and
online
marke-ng?
Sponsored
by:
The
response
to
this
ques)on
also
surprised
our
team
a
bit.
22%
of
respondents
are
“Neither
sa)sfied
or
dissa)sfied”
with
their
company’s
website
and
online
marke)ng.
Almost
a
quarter
of
respondents
seem
indifferent.
Further,
just
over
65%
are
either
“Extremely
or
Slightly
sa)sfied.”

8. Q6
MY
COMPANY
STRUGGLES
to
consistently
create
high-­‐quality
website
and
social
media
content.
Sponsored
by:
Over
55%
of
respondents
“Somewhat
agree”
that
their
company
struggles
to
create
high-­‐quality
website
and
social
media
content.
Another
<25%
“Neither
agree
or
disagree.”
Are
they
indecisive,
indifferent,
or
just
don’t
know?
If
they
don’t
know
then
why
would
they
respond
to
this,
clearly
online
markeFng,
survey?

9. Q7
HOW
WOULD
YOU
COMPARE
your
company’s
online
marke-ng
to
your
main
compe-tor’s?
Sponsored
by:
Q7
helps
reconcile
the
inconsistency
between
Q5
and
Q6.
Namely
the
high
response
rate
to
the
term
“struggling”
while
only
10%
responded
“Slightly
or
Extremely
dissa)sfied.”
Our
team
drew
three
conclusions,
there
may
be
more:
1. The
general:
We’re
“struggling”
but
we’re
doing
an
acceptable
job.
2. The
comparaFve:
We’re
matching
our
compeFtor’s
and
that’s
acceptable.
3. The
execuFve
conclusion:
We
suffer
from
low
expectaFons.

10. Q8
HOW
WOULD
YOU
DESCRIBE
your
company’s
online
marke-ng?
Sponsored
by:
Only
20%
of
respondents
thought
the
online
marke)ng
(website,
social
media,
etc.)
was
a
“marke)ng
investment
with
a
clear
ROI
designed
to
increase
sales.”
Primary
research
revealed
most
online
marke)ng
consisted
of
websites
focused
on
product
research
and/or
purchasing.
Note:
This
approach
may
maintain
the
status
quo
but
it
lacks
online
markeFng
objecFves,
such
as:
• Be
an
industry
thought
leader
• Online
customer
service
• Engaging
a
younger
audience
• AQracFng
new
customers
• Defense
against
new
online
compeFtors
like
Amazon
and
Google
44%

11. Q9
MY
COMPANY’S
GREATEST
online
need
is:
Sponsored
by:
Finally,
the
respondent’s
“needs”
were
quite
mixed:
(the
numbers
were
rounded
up
or
down
slightly
for
the
reader’s
convenience)
• 30%
need
be5er
content
to
improve
search
engine
results
• 30%
need
dedicated
resources
with
specific
skills
• 20%
need
a
larger
budget
(we
thought
this
would
be
higher)
• 10%
need
a
social
media
policy,
strategy
and
resources
• 10%
need
senior
management
to
make
online
marke)ng
a
priority

12. Sponsored
by:
Contact
the
author
Steve
Hartkopf
Founder,
Aligned
Marke)ng,
LLC
Email:
shartkopf@aligned-­‐marke)ng.com
Phone:
800-­‐707-­‐9150