Thursday, June 16, 2005
Marketing ROI and Interactive Are High on the B-to-B Trend List
bySometimes it takes an outside resource to make you realize you’re heading in the right direction. We’ve been laser-focused for the last year on Web-centric marketing systems, ROI and interactive advertising. Then along comes this article that essentially says, “Hey, you guys are aboard a big locomotive and on the right track.”
According to an article in this month’s B-to-B Magazine, marketing ROI, electronic communications and online advertising are some of the dominant marketing trends. It’s a great read.
The article states that all departments in most successful B-to-B businesses are being asked to justify their budgets. Marketing is no exception. The story quotes Taddy Hall, chief strategy officer for the Advertising Research Foundation, “A driving force of accountability is the fact that measurement and the ability to calculate returns have improved dramatically with the Internet and real-time response measurement capabilities.”
Regarding electronic communications and the need to build relationships with customers in new ways, Scott Anderson, director of brand communications for HP commented, “With search engines, RSS feeds, spam filters, iPods and other technologies, customers are now more in control of the information they receive than ever before...with that in mind, our strategy is to engage our customers with online interactions and content.”
The story also highlights the growth of online advertising and the reasons for that growth. It affirms, “One of the key drivers of online ad growth is its accountability through tracking technologies and the ability to prove ROI.” The article also states that while online advertising was originally used for mostly direct response marketing, it is increasingly being used as a vehicle to build brand awareness and increase intent.
I suspect another reason is that branding is switching from a “telling” function to an experiential function. Customers are no longer willing to just listen to what companies say their brand is all about...they need to experience the brand. A company’s online presence is now one of the primary ways that new and current customers interact with a brand. It has become a primary brand touchpoint.
The B-to-B Magazine article also lists email and search engine marketing as other major trends. Based on the way the Web is reshaping the way we all communicate, it seems reasonable to assume that these trends will only strengthen in the years ahead.
