••• b2b research
B2B marketers identify the ideal but fall short
The ideal modern marketer persona is threefold – a hybrid of content marketer, brand marketer and Web marketer, according to Defining the Modern Marketer: From Real to Ideal, a report based on a survey of U.S.-based B2B marketers by Eloqua. But successful marketing includes more than three roles and should factor in marketing technology, analytics, targeting, conversion and engagement, as these five marketing areas were chosen by respondents to make up the ideal modern marketer scorecard.
The ideal modern marketer has the optimal percentage of all five skill areas – adding up to a total of 100 percent. However, when survey respondents were asked to rate themselves on the five core skills, their current performance was barely passable at only 65 percent.
Respondents recognize it’s crucial to have both art and science as part of their marketing efforts. But while today’s modern marketer needs to be equal parts creative, analytical and tech savvy, survey participants feel unprepared to handle the science side of the equation. Marketers gave themselves the lowest ratings in analytics and marketing technology.
Despite an onslaught of new vendors in the social media space, B2B marketers still very much rely on more traditional digital channels. The three most important channels for a marketer’s organization were company Web site, e-mail and face-to-face events. Content marketing helps provide the right information for these channels and is still in high demand, as respondents declared content marketing as very important to their overall marketing-mix.
The survey also identified the major obstacles marketers face as they try to become more modern. Respondents pointed to lack of budget and poor data analytics infrastructure as the two top roadblocks.
••• social media research
Don’t listen unless spoken to?
When it comes to social media listening and online privacy, consumers want it both ways. According to a survey conducted by NetBase, a Mountain View, Calif., research company, 51 percent of consumers want to talk about companies without being listened to but another 58 percent want companies to respond to complaints shared on social media.
Social media monitoring done in the name of marketing research is a far cry from 1984’s Big Brother but that doesn’t stop consumers from worrying about their online privacy. Forty-three percent of consumers think companies monitoring their comments intrudes on privacy yet 32 percent of consumers of all ages and 38 percent of Millennials (18-to-24-year-olds) have no idea companies are listening to what they say in social media.
Boomers put up the biggest fight, as 36 percent don’t want brands listening to what they say about brands online, while only 17 percent of Millennials said the same. At least 20 percent of each age group don’t yet know how they feel about brands listening.
Nevertheless, the majority of consumers still expect to have their concerns and complaints addressed on social media – inviting companies to listen when they’re being discussed directly – and almost half say companies should listen to improve products.