Ceo Playbook risks & rewards of online marketing

PLAYBOOKPLAYBOOKPLAYBOOK
THE B2B ONLINE MARKETING
A CEO’S Guide to
Risks and Rewards

1The B2B Online Marketing Playbook: A CEO’s Guide to Risks & Rewards |
“
Introduction
CEOs at small and midsized B2B firms wear a lot of different hats. That
makes it hard to stay on top of new technology – especially in the rapidly
changing discipline of online marketing.
Marketing has always been vital to your company’s success, but the
marketing mix has shifted in the last five years. Along with events,
advertising, direct mail, and other traditional methods, it’s become extremely
important to use online marketing to help your company identify, engage
with, and convert today’s B2B buyers. These buyers play by new rules, using
the web, social media, and a variety of new content channels to research
and make purchasing decisions.
In fact, according to a study from Google and CEB, the average B2B buyer
now gets nearly 60% of the way through the purchase process before
engaging with a supplier sales rep.1
And for the most part, they take this
journey online.
You need to know which online marketing tactics can help your company
reach these buyers. You also need to know which tactics may not be a good
fit for your business due to cost, complexity, or other factors. This playbook
is a practical, easy-to-use guide to help you make these decisions. You’ll
get a quick introduction to 10 key online marketing concepts with the
information you need to make smart investments, generate higher quality
leads and boost your company’s revenue.
Forrester Research
shows that today’s B2B buyer will
find three pieces of content about
a vendor for every one piece that
marketing can publish or sales
can deliver. They are finding this
content in an ever-expanding
number and variety of channels.
And they are accessing these
channels from an increasingly
diverse array of devices.
—Lori Wizdo, Forrester Research
“Buyer Behavior Helps
B2B Marketers Guide
The Buyer’s Journey”
1
Forbes: The Disappearing Sales Process

Contents
A Quick Overview of the Buyer’s Journey Framework 3
PLAY #1: Lead Generation 4
PLAY #2: Email Marketing 5
PLAY #3: Social Media Marketing 6
PLAY #4: Content Marketing 7
PLAY #5: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 8
PLAY #6: Paid Online Advertising 9
PLAY #7: Sales Acceleration 11
TIME OUT: The Promise of Lead Scoring 12
PLAY #8: Lead Nurturing 13
PLAY #9: Marketing Analytics and ROI Calculation 14
PLAY #10: Mobile Marketing 15
Conclusion: Making the Right B2B Online Marketing Choices 16
Acclaim for Act-On 18

A Quick Overview of the Buyer’s
Journey Framework
As we discuss the online marketing tactics in this playbook, you’ll find it
useful to understand the modern B2B buyer’s journey: the process
through which a prospect is identified first as a qualified lead, and
eventually as a buyer and a loyal repeat customer. It’s a helpful
framework for considering which tactics might best suit your
own purposes.
Our model of this journey (you’ll find others from a variety of
sources) is a cycle that moves prospects through five stages:
Attract:
Earn a prospect’s attention with content that interests,
educates, and builds awareness around a
business challenge.
Capture:
Get the prospect’s contact information and
their permission to engage with them.
Nurture:
Build a trusted relationship with the prospect using carefully crafted and timed content offers and decision-making
resources. Prove that your company is the one to help them.
Convert:
Help the prospect make, and justify, a purchasing decision.
Expand:
Build loyalty to your brand and higher lifetime customer value with the right content, support, and empowerment tactics.
ATTRACT
CAPTURE
NURTURE
CONVERT
EXPAND
MEASURE &
REPORT
At every step of this process, modern marketers track, measure, and report key performance indicators (KPIs)
for their online tactics. Whether you’re using a marketing automation platform, web analytics, or other tools, the
ability to measure your marketing’s success – and revenue impact – is a powerful competitive advantage for three
big reasons:
• They give you consistent and objective standards for measuring the effectiveness of your online marketing
tactics.
• They make it possible to measure the ROI from your online marketing investments, rather than rely
on gut feel for which ones are paying back your investments.
• Metrics allow you to test and experiment with different marketing tactics and assess which ones
deliver the best results.
Every online marketing tactic can support measurement and analysis – and every tactic should be measured
carefully when you assess its value, so you can decide whether the reward is worth the risk.

Lead Generation
THE PLAY:
Lead generation is the process of finding and engaging with qualified
potential customers of your B2B products or services. The goal is
simple: Attract more (and better!) likely buyers, and get them into your
sales pipeline.
In practice, lead generation isn’t so much a tactic as it is an outcome;
most of the online marketing tactics we’ll discuss here will contribute to
and accelerate the lead generation process. But we’re calling out lead
generation for special attention because it’s such a fundamental concept
in modern B2B marketing.
A wide range of activities contribute to lead generation, from content
marketing to social media to advertising. It’s important to know which
tactics work best together, and the costs of implementing various tactics,
before you and your marketing team create a lead generation strategy.
RISKS:
The most common risk is trying to do too many things, which can
lead to doing nothing very well — wasting both time and money. Pick a
few complementary tactics that your team has the bandwidth to execute
on; make sure you can measure the results.
REWARDS:
Over 75% of B2B marketers say generating high-quality leads is their top
challenge.2
When planned and executed well, lead generation addresses
that problem, delivering a steady stream of new, qualified prospects.
Good lead generation supports a bigger sales pipeline, more closed
deals, and higher revenue.
PLAY #1:
PRO TIP:
When you weigh the pros and
cons of any online marketing
tactic, ask yourself: Will the
benefits, measured in qualified
leads and closed deals, outweigh
the costs of my investment?
2
MarketingSherpa Research Chart: What Is the Biggest B2B Marketing Challenge?

Email Marketing
THE PLAY:
B2B marketers have been using email for 20 years; it’s both low-cost and effective. The goal today is to reach your
prospect with targeted, useful, relevant offers (such as content or promotions) that win their attention and persuade
them to engage with your company.
Helpful technologies: Email marketing services are designed to simplify and automate the process, but they can
also do much more. A best-in-class email service can test email to ensure it won’t get caught in spam filters, analyze
recipients’ response rates and website activity, supply templates that adhere to email design best practices, and
segment subscriber lists, among many other features. With so many different choices, price levels, and feature sets,
it pays to think carefully about the features you need today – as well as those you might need tomorrow as your
company grows.
Stand alone or integrated? Many email marketing tools are stand alone software as a service (SaaS) applications.
Others are packaged with marketing automation or CRM solutions (or are designed to integrate with them).
RISKS:
• The biggest risk of using a stand alone tool is finding that you need to add other marketing tools, each of
which carries a separate cost in budget and time. They also produce disparate data, which may be hard to
integrate and reconcile.
• The biggest risk of using an integrated platform is overbuying. You probably won’t need every bell and
every whistle, but they do make a package look enticing. Some enterprise-level systems require a months-
long implementation schedule and dedicated personnel.
In either case, some tools may be too complex, require too much attention, or simply be too expensive. You don’t
want to pay for more power than you need now, but you also don’t want a tool you’ll outgrow in six months. The
answer lies in having a thorough understanding of your existing and projected business requirements, and
the processes you use to fulfill them. Once you know those, it’s easier to find the system that optimizes your
processes with the most horsepower and headroom, and the least amount of extra baggage. As an example, if you
have a long sales cycle, you may decide to implement a lead nurturing program. This would require the capability to
automate multi-step email campaigns.
REWARDS:
Email still delivers the highest return on investment: 4,300%, according to the Direct Marketing Association. In
addition, email is overwhelmingly the way prospects and customers (77% of them) prefer that businesses like yours
communicate with them. If a system makes it easier to do more campaigns in less time, adds segmentation and
targeting capabilities, and provides more or better reports, you should get an excellent return on your investment.
PLAY #2:

Social Media Marketing
THE PLAY:
We know it’s tempting to view social media as a frivolous activity; there
are several reasons for that. First, the earliest adopters were students
who used social for personal reasons. (That has changed.) Second:
many companies’ social media marketing efforts are poorly focused and
lack specific goals, so there are lots of stories of failed attempts. And, of
course, social results can be hard to measure.
All that said, social may be a valuable tactic to consider. Try this: Ask your
best customers (the ones you’d like to replicate) what their social media
habits are. If you find significant usage, then your business should be
active as well. Ask your marketing manager to browse the social channels
looking for the types of businesses and customers you sell to (or would
like to sell to). This research can help you determine not only whether you
should be active in social media, but on which channels.
If you’re not using social yet, your competitors probably are: Best-in-
class B2B firms generate an average of 17% of their leads from social
media, and 84% of all B2B firms are using social media in some form.3
According to Forrester Research, fully 100% of business decision-makers
use social media for work purposes.5
PLAY #3:
PRO TIP:
Check out the social media
engagement and monitoring tools
that can help you. As with email,
some are stand-alone and others
come packaged with a marketing
technology platform. Also: For
most B2B companies, getting
LinkedIn right should be your
first priority. LinkedIn (over 313
million members as of fall 2014)
is the social network most used
purely for business purposes.4
Among B2B decision-makers,
81% use LinkedIn, with 26% using
it primarily for business and 48%
using it for both personal and
business purposes.
3
MarketingProfs: Top B2B Firms Gaining 230% More Leads via Social Media Than Peers
4
Hootsuite, July 2013, Among Decision-Makers, LinkedIn The Most-Used Social Network for Work
5
Forrester Research blog post, In Business, Everybody Uses Social Media For Work; The Question Is How
RISKS:
Without a thoughtful social media marketing strategy, it’s easy to spin your wheels and burn a lot of hours with not
much to show for it. Make sure every social activity serves a well-defined goal beyond trying to get as many
“shares” or “likes” as possible. Also, because social media moves so fast, one careless post can become a PR
debacle. It takes experience and judgment to do social well; don’t risk your social branding by handing this program
to the new intern. Give it instead to someone who’s articulate about your business and values, and has seasoned
judgment. They can learn the technology; it’s not rocket science.
REWARDS:
Social media marketing can turn followers into brand advocates. It can also amplify your content and website
investments, allowing you to reach more potential buyers at a lower cost per lead. The key to social marketing
success is to use it as a tool for achieving specific goals.

Content Marketing
THE PLAY:
According to a recent study, 91% of B2B marketers now use content
marketing, including white papers, blogs, infographics, eBooks, podcasts,
videos, and other information assets as part of their lead generation
strategy.6
That’s because content marketing is a proven, highly effective
tactic for reaching and affecting buyers throughout the entire decision-
making process – establishing your brand as a trustworthy source of
information, and building relationships with key influencers and
decision-makers.
Good content helps searchers find you, helps prospects understand your
brand and offerings, and helps close deals. It’s the fuel of both inbound and
outbound campaigns.
What it takes: A full-scale content marketing commitment means investing
in quality content, effective campaign planning, an understanding of
your buyers’ content preferences and business needs, and a systematic
approach to distributing and promoting your content. But full-scale isn’t
your only option. If money or time is a limiting factor, content marketing can
also be as simple as a regularly updated blog that keeps your buyers up to
date on a topic where your firm’s unique expertise shines through.
PLAY #4:
PRO TIPS:
Document your content strategy.
Marketers who document their
strategy are more effective in all
aspects of content marketing than
those who have not.8
Content marketing and social
media marketing are perfect
partners. Combine the two, and
you’ll get more bang for the buck
from every piece of content you
create! That’s also true for
content marketing and SEO,
as we’ll explain next.
RISKS:
The biggest risk is being too ambitious. Some B2B firms give up on content marketing because they can’t launch
an all-out campaign with dozens of assets. Start small: Even a few quality pieces of content, or a regularly
updated blog, can pay big dividends. Another risk: Outsourcing, and getting poor quality assets created by
vendors who don’t really understand your market. Mitigate your content risks by spending the money to create one
good white paper or eBook, and then take the time to turn it into multiple blog posts and perhaps a few webinars,
which you can record and place on your website. Quality is far more important than quantity.
REWARDS:
Quality content can help prospects discover your company, products and services, then move them through
the decision-making process. You can calibrate content to appeal to buyers at all stages of the buying process,
including your existing long-term customers. Quality content also gives your brand a stronger identity, and if you
distribute it well, it extends your brand’s reach. Best of all, it offers an incredible value: Content marketing costs an
average of 62% less than traditional marketing and, per dollar spent, generates about three times as many leads.7
6
Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs, B2B Content Marketing, 2013 Benchmarks
7
DemandMetric.com infographic, A Guide to Marketing Genius: Content Marketing
8
Content Marketing Institute: New B2B Content Marketing Research: Focus on Documenting Your Strategy

THE PLAY:
Web searches are the way B2B buyers begin their search for a business solution. Showing up prominently in search
engine listings (especially Google’s) will have a profound impact on your marketing results.
Optimizing your content for the searcher (and Google) is the name of the SEO game. Google has one key
objective: Making search results more satisfying to the searcher. Google and the other engines relentlessly tune
their search algorithms to improve results and make search harder to game. There is only one dependable constant:
high quality content. This is what searchers want most, so it is what search engines prize most. Metadata also
matters, as it supports how your content is perceived by search engines.
As for the rest of it, ranking factors are in constant flux. At least one member of your marketing team should be
assigned to stay on top of the latest SEO best practices, especially those concerning content creation. If you’re
having serious SEO problems, such as sudden, surprisingly lower search result rankings, it might be time to call in a
professional to analyze your site and content, and look for hidden problems.
RISKS:
Taking shortcuts (like buying links) will come back to bite you. Don’t fall for SEO firms that promise quick miracles to
improve your search placement. Credible SEO experts can certainly help, especially on the off-page factors. But if
you focus consistently on the fundamentals – quality original content and keyword research – you’re on the road
to get good long-term SEO results.
REWARDS:
The top 10 listings in Google’s organic (non-paid)
search results get 91% of the traffic.9
Enough said.
PLAY #5:
Search Engine Optimization
(SEO)
9
Search Engine Watch: No. 1 Position in Google Gets 33% of Search Traffic

Paid Online Advertising
THE PLAY:
Like all forms of advertising, online ads are intended to encourage or persuade a defined target audience. With online
advertising, however, your team can run three versions of the play, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC):
A great example of PPC ads are the all-text ads that look like search results. These show up above (or next to) the
top search results on Google and other search providers. In fact, Google AdWords represents about 80% of the PPC
market. As the name suggests, you pay based on the number of viewers that click on the ad.
RISKS:
PPC can be expensive if you simply throw money at a campaign without researching your audience and tracking your
results. Every keyword you use can and should be tracked against the leads and revenue it generates in a
PPC campaign.
REWARDS:
A PPC campaign can give your firm great visibility on the first page of search results and the ability to reach a large,
but targeted audience. In addition, firms that manage their PPC spend as data-driven business investments, backed
by careful keyword research and analytics, can expect to drive quality leads and higher revenue.
PLAY #6:
Soccer Gear

Display Advertising:
These are the banner ads you see on websites; they come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and some support
audio/video or other rich media capabilities. You generally pay based on the number of times the ad is displayed
(not clicked on) on host sites.
RISKS:
Many firms buy display ads the same way they buy traditional
ads: in broad and non-specific terms. As with PPC spending,
a campaign that isn’t backed by careful research and constant
tracking can be needlessly expensive.
REWARDS:
Online display ads can be extremely effective at engaging with
known prospects, thanks to a tactic known as retargeting. A
retargeting campaign keeps track of viewers who have visited
your website and then shows them your ads as they visit other
sites. Retargeting can boost ad response by 400%, and website
visitors who are retargeted with online ads are 70% more likely to
convert on your website. With help from tracking tools, you can
make online display ads an important part of your B2B marketing
strategy – and a measureable source of leads and revenue.
Native Advertising:
The newest kid on the advertising block, native advertising takes forms such as the “recommended reading”
boxes you’ll see on some news and information websites. The term “native” comes from the fact that these ads
are designed to look like editorial content. They often promote other content, such as articles or videos, created by
consumer and B2B brands.
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RISKS:
Some users don’t like viewing native advertising when it
looks too much like traditional content; they consider it
deceptive. Your choice of retargeting networks can go a
long way towards addressing this risk.
REWARDS:
Using native ads to promote content assets can be a good
way to combine advertising and content marketing. As
with other types of advertising, the ability to measure your
ROI from leads and revenue generated is an important
benefit that traditional media ads still cannot match.
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Play #6, Continued...

Sales Acceleration
THE PLAY:
“Alignment” is not just another buzzword. While marketing is increasingly
responsible for finding and nurturing leads from qualification to closure,
those tasks are impossible unless sales and marketing learn to work closely
together – speaking the same language and defining success the same way,
with the same numbers. In fact, according to SiriusDecisions, B2B firms with
tight sales and marketing alignment enjoyed 24% faster three-year revenue
and 27% faster profit growth.10
Lead scoring is an important part of this shift towards sales and marketing
alignment (see sidebar). So is the process of deciding what constitutes
a “qualified” lead that is ready to be handed off to sales. Some sales
and marketing organizations even set formal standards – service level
agreements, or SLAs – for the number of leads being generated and the
quality of those leads.
In addition, if sales and marketing teams don’t have a clear set of shared
goals and speak the same language, your marketing team risks delivering
sales enablement content that isn’t effective – and doesn’t get used. Sales
will make their own materials, which may not represent your brand well.
A number of digital marketing solutions are available to help the B2B
marketer with sales enablement activities, including those for scoring
and nurturing leads, managing content, and tracking and measuring
the conversion of marketing-qualified leads into closed deals. The most
important sales enablement tool, however, is a shared commitment to
collaborate and work towards a single set of goals.
PLAY #7:
10
SAP Business Innovation blog post 50 Statistics About B2B Sales And Marketing (Mis)Alignment
11
Ibid
PRO TIP:
Sales and marketing alignment is
far more likely to succeed when
this process gets visible and
vocal executive-level support.
Given the potential payoff, it’s
worth your time as a B2B CEO to
make this a high priority.
RISKS:
Sales and marketing alignment is easier said than done. At many companies, the two teams must overcome mutual
mistrust and old rivalries to find common ground. And change is never easy. The beginning could be rocky.
REWARDS:
Sales acceleration and enablement activities can generate higher-quality leads, move those leads more quickly
through the sales pipeline, and ultimately drive higher revenue. Typically, sales and marketing teams that learn how
to work together enjoy 38% higher sales win rates and 36% higher customer retention rates.11

The Promise of Lead Scoring
12
Forbes: The Disappearing Sales Process
LEAD SCORING
is the process of associating numerical
values with certain types of attributes and behavior
in order to identify and prioritize hot, sales-ready leads.
A lead with the right title, in the right industry, looks
good and should have a positive score. If this same lead
downloads several pieces of content from your website and
requests a demo, these actions can be scored. Behavior
that historically has indicated sales-readiness is scored
more highly, and may raise the lead’s overall score high
enough to warrant sales’ immediate attention. A lead
that identifies as a student, or is with a business
headquartered in a country you don’t do business
with, can generate a negative score. This
identifies leads sales should not waste
time on. (See How to Prioritize
Your Leads)
DIGITAL
BODY LANGUAGE
can be observed using website visitor tracking,
and evaluated using marketing automation.
When a prospect’s lead score crosses a certain
threshold (one set by mutual agreement with the
sales team), the automation system will pass
the lead to the sales team for follow-up; it may
also send sales an alert when a particular
prospect (e.g. someone from a specific
company) visits a particular page
(e.g., your pricing page).
As you can see, lead scoring can be a great
tactic to help your sales team decide where to
focus their most precious asset –
TIME

Lead Nurturing
THE PLAY:
At any given time, only a small fraction of your team’s leads are ready to engage with sales. What happens to the
rest? How do you keep those leads engaged and moving along until more of them are ready to buy?
Lead nurturing can answer these questions. It’s the process of engaging in a series of ongoing communications
with a prospect, delivering consistent messages and relevant content to inform and educate. It can also help identify
when a lead has matured to the point of being sales-ready.
Lead nurturing requires B2B marketers to understand their buyers’ pain points and business needs (not
coincidentally, the key to creating quality content marketing). It also requires an understanding of a lead’s buying
process in order to deliver the right messages and offers at the right time.
A lead nurture campaign may require more or fewer contacts, or “touches,” based on a variety of factors. In many
cases, lead nurturing is combined with some form of lead scoring (see sidebar) to track a potential buyer’s
interest and readiness for a sales conversation. Lead nurturing, due to the complexity and timing of multi-touch
campaigns, is one of the most common (and most fruitful) activities associated with marketing automation tools. It’s
certainly possible to conduct basic nurture campaigns using manual processes, but it’s very easy for schedules to
slip, and it’s very resource-intensive to scale.
RISKS:
A lead nurturing campaign will probably fail if your marketing team doesn’t have a good understanding of your
buyers’ business needs, buying process, and content and cadence preferences. Put these fundamentals into
place before you consider investing in a lead nurturing strategy or the tools that support it. Nurturing programs are
also easy to over-complicate. Start with a simple program and don’t get fancy without careful testing.
REWARDS:
Nurtured leads are better-educated buyers. A 2012 survey of B2B marketing departments found that those using
lead nurturing showed a 45% higher ROI than marketers that don’t use it.13
That number may be even higher for
B2B firms with an especially long and complex sales process.
PLAY #8:
13
MarketingSherpa Research Chart: The ROI of Lead Nurturing

Marketing Analytics
and ROI Calculation
THE PLAY:
Until very recently, marketers were hopelessly chained to a term every CEO
loves to hate: “soft ROI.” Most people accept that marketing has some
revenue impact, but it was impossible to know for sure which tactics worked
or what their ROI might have been.
Today, that is rapidly changing. Lead scoring, marketing automation and
web analytics data, for example, can tell a B2B marketer precisely which
activities turn prospects into sales-qualified leads and, eventually, into
closed deals. As a result, it’s also possible to know how many closed deals
are sourced through marketing activities, as opposed to sales prospecting or
other sources.
That’s a powerful draw for business executives who want hard data to justify
their companies’ marketing budgets. It’s also putting more pressure on
marketing teams to show results – since for the first time, it’s possible to
know when and how they’re getting results.
Marketing analytics technology is a category unto itself; many of the best
tools are linked to bigger marketing technology packages. Even a small
B2B marketing team, however, can use basic web analytics, such as those
provided by Google, to track the performance of key pages and assets. And
on the high end, advanced analytics tools and big data analysis can uncover
insights from website, email, social media, and other sources, delivering buyer
intelligence that marketers could only dream about 10 years ago.
RISKS:
These tools are still relatively new and immature, they can be extremely expensive to implement, and the process
of setting up things to measure (such as lead nurture campaigns) add an extra level of cost and complexity. For
most B2B firms, marketing analytics is an area where slow but steady progress makes more sense than buying into
an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink solution. Pick just a few key performance indicators that map to revenue to begin
with.
REWARDS:
Analytics that tie marketing activity to sales pipeline and revenue finally put a B2B marketing team on a solid footing
for making rational investment decisions. That’s a big reason why firms are expected to increase their spending
on marketing analytics 73% in the next three years.14
PLAY #9:
14
The CMO Survey, August 2014

Mobile Marketing
THE PLAY:
You already know that smartphone in your pocket is a powerful tool for learning, playing and shopping – activities
you and (and probably everyone you know) do every day. Yet many CEOs are surprised by just how big a role mobile
now plays in the B2B buying process. Consider:
• 74% of marketers now say mobile-optimized websites are “very effective” or “somewhat effective” in
increasing conversions.15
• 56% of B2B buyers use smartphones to access business-related content, and 42% use tablets
for this purpose.16
• 90% of B2B buyers say that vendors need to provide mobile-friendly access to content.17
In other words, B2B buyers see mobile content as a valuable tool for making buying decisions – and they also
think vendors aren’t doing enough to accommodate their mobile preferences.
“Mobile B2B marketing” is a broad concept, covering everything from trade-show apps to mobile search and banner
ads. We think the biggest opportunity, however, lies in creating content that is accessible to B2B buyers using mobile
devices. In an always-on marketing environment, your content has to adapt to your users’ needs. That means creating
websites, email offers, landing pages and content assets that look just as good on a smartphone or tablet as they
do on a desktop.
Creating a mobile-friendly website and content can require a significant investment of time and money. Yet it’s less
expensive than it used to be, and if your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re giving competitors a huge advantage when it
comes to reaching and engaging with buyers.
RISKS:
Mobile optimization can be expansive and complex. Look for content, analytics and marketing automation tools
that include built-in mobile capabilities, and you’ll achieve your mobile marketing goals, while also increasing the ROI
you get from these tools. programs are also easy to over-complicate. Start with a simple program and don’t get fancy
without careful testing.
REWARDS:
As we noted above, B2B buyers now depend on their mobile devices to research and make buying decisions.
Get your content in front of these buyers, and your firm can win a major competitive edge.
PLAY #10:
15
Adobe: 2013 Digital Marketing Optimization Survey Results
16
DemandGen Report B2B Content Preferences Survey: Buyers Want Short, Visual, Mobile-Optimized Content
17
Ibid

Conclusion: Making the Right B2B
Online Marketing Choices
We’ve covered a lot of ground here – hopefully we’ve answered a few of your questions about which online
marketing tactics might be right for your company at this time.
Your next step should be meeting with your B2B marketing team to discuss these and other online marketing
options. Define the business goals that online marketing can help you achieve. Outline your priorities, and chart
your existing capabilities in content marketing, online advertising, marketing analytics and other key tactics. Given
a tight budget or limited resources, pay particular attention to tactics where low-cost options (such as a basic
content marketing plan or carefully targeted PPC ad campaign) can deliver better results.
And remember: Online marketing is still very much a work in progress. Pay close attention to what’s coming over
the horizon; chances are next year’s list of top tactics will have a few new entries to think about.
THE RISKS
of under-using online marketing:
Missing out on new leads, disengaging
with prospects, underserving your
existing customers, being invisible to
the media – and being outstripped by
your competition.
THE REWARDS
of online marketing are up to you
and your goals, but at a minimum:
More leads, better-qualified leads,
more satisfied customers, greater
brand awareness, more effective
recruiting — and greater
bottom-line revenue.
Want more information? Turn the page for an array of resources to help you gain knowledge and confidence in
specific areas of online marketing.

Ready to make your next email campaign amazingly effective? Learn more about
putting these tips into action in these resources:
Email Marketing Toolkit: This free toolkit guides you through the essentials of
building, optimizing, and tracking a modern email marketing program.
Lead Nurturing Essentials Toolkit: With this toolkit, you will learn about the
lead marketing lifecycle, lead nurturing segmentation, automated email programs,
and lead scoring.
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Best Practices in Email Deliverability:
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And be sure to visit the Marketing Action blog to get fresh insights every day for
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Act-On Software delivers cloud-based integrated marketing automation software. Marketers can manage all their online marketing
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Act-On’s fresh approach to marketing automation gives its users full functionality without the complexity other systems impose,
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