Australian B2B Marketing Outlook 2015 EC

IN ASSOCIATION WITH SPONSORED BY
MEASURABLE B2B MARKETING
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

B2B Marketing Outlook | AUSTRALIA 2015
2
FOREWORD
Andrew Haussegger
MANAGING DIRECTOR, GREEN HAT
Jodie Sangster
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ADMA
Foreword
2015 promises to be a good year for B2B marketers. Happily, budgets are rising again
with a majority of marketers noting there’s more resources. This year, digital marketing
will take the biggest slice of the marketing pie, but content marketing will not be far
behind.
Marketers say that content marketing will be a key pillar for customer outreach.
However, providing engaging content that cuts through will continue to challenge, as will
measuring effectiveness.
Online marketing tactics remain popular while print advertising and direct mail continue
a downward trajectory. PR remains popular. Marketing automation continues to flourish,
with nearly two-thirds of B2B marketers using automation having integrated it with their
sales CRM. But many marketers are not satisfied with their technology investments
because of a skills gap/lack of training. Marketing technology is only as good as the team
who works it, and marketers need to invest in training to get it right.
To conclude, it’s a year where marketers need to track their efforts effectively and
understand how technology can play that vital role in helping them. We will watch with
interest.
A grand total of 455 marketers participated in the study this year – a number that
continues to grow year on year.
B2B is alight with opportunity and challenges. One astute B2B CMO looked me
squarely in the eye recently and said, “seemingly every week someone in my team
comes across another way we could reach our customers… if things could stand
still, we could get on with it!” Perhaps you feel the same way?
B2B marketing is increasingly becoming more a science than an art. Data and
technology are the two ingredients that will separate the winners from the losers.
Smart use of these can tell us how B2B buyers want to engage, what content works
and what stage they are at in their buying process. Thanks to digital and automation,
we can collect and analyse a trail of breadcrumbs – in fact, many criss-crossing
trails – to execute smarter marketing.
So it’s interesting to see the #1 challenge of the respondents is now ‘measuring
marketing ROI’. The fact that today’s buyer is effectively more multi-channel than
the seller adds to the dilemma.
Thanks once again to ADMA and Marketing Magazine for their support this year, as
well as our international partner, B2B Marketing UK.

3
Section 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1 Key Findings.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2 Observations.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Section 2: RESEARCH RESULTS
2.1 Market Offerings.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Typical Order Value
Lead Times
2.2 Marketing Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Size of Marketing Budget
Changes in Marketing Budget
Budget Allocation
Size of Marketing Team
Outsourcing Plans
2.3 Marketing Challenges & Objectives.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Marketing Challenges in 2014
Marketing Objectives in 2015
2.4 Marketing Channels.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Traditional Marketing Tactics
Digital Marketing Tactics
Digital versus Traditional Marketing Trends
Inbound versus Outbound
2.5 Marketing Automation.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Marketing Automation Adoption
CRM Integration
Marketing Automation ROI
Marketing Automation Benefits
2.6 Content Marketing.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Significance of Content
Content Trends
Targeting Buyers
2.7 Social Media Marketing.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Social Media Platforms
Social Media Involvement
Social Media ROI
2.8 Marketing & Sales Alignment.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Cost Per Lead
Lead Follow-up Rate
Lead Conversion to Order Rate
Lead Journey Mapping
Section 3: ABOUT THIS RESEARCH
3.1 Demographics & Methodology.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.2 Research Supporters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
©2015 Green Hat Marketing Pty Ltd ABN 30 099 016 752. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form without the prior approval of Green Hat Marketing Pty Ltd. Any quotation from this document must be attributed to the author.
CONTENTS
Table of Contents

4
Generally…
• The top two marketing objectives for 2015 are all to
do with leads – generating leads (81%) and nurturing
leads (78%)
• Digital Marketing will take the biggest slice of the B2B
marketer’s budget in 2015 (28%, up from 23% in 2014)
with traditional offline marketing in second place (21%)
• Content Marketing is the big mover with plans to take
17% of the 2015 budget
• 2015 marketing budgets are rising with 36% increasing
by 5% or more
• Lead follow-up by Sales is on the decline with only 48%
of marketers reporting that Sales follow up at least
two-thirds of their leads
• Demographic/physiographic buyer personas have been
developed by 43% of those surveyed, up from 35% last year
About Marketing Tactics
• The biggest challenge faced in 2014 was measuring
marketing ROI, with 46% of respondents finding it
‘challenging’ – even more than generating leads (38%)
• Email, e-nurturing and social media marketing remain
the top three digital tactics that marketers will do
more of in 2015
• Marketers will do more to get their content into the
right hands with content amplification/syndication
rising (61% will do more in 2015) as with online
portals/hubs (46%)
• Print advertising is once again the top tactic that
marketers will do less of (34%, the highest decline of
all tactics), followed by tradeshows (25%) and direct
mail (23%)
• Public Relations is the most popular ‘traditional’ tactic
with 40% planning to do more in 2015 and only 8% less
About Content Marketing
• Content Marketing is now significant for 3 in 4
respondents, with 45% saying it is a ‘key pillar’
in their marketing
• Short articles/blogs, case studies and videos are
the top content types planned for 2015
• Inbound/outbound ratio continues to tip towards
inbound – which itself is reliant on content
(41% will spend more on inbound than outbound
marketing in 2015)
1.1 Key Findings

5
1.1 Key Findings
About Marketing Automation
• Marketing Automation is used by 47% of respondents –
with nearly two-thirds (64%) of these having integrated
it with their CRM
• Marketo is the most popular platform (11%) closely
followed by Eloqua (10%)
• 38% of Marketing Automation users are satisfied or
very satisfied with their ROI
About Social Media
• Social Media marketing continues to grow, with
64% now creating/publishing blogs and online
content (up from 51% in 2014)
• Only 20% said they had good results from social
media marketing in 2014, although this is up from
just 11% in last year’s study
• LinkedIn was the B2B social platform of choice in
2014 with 88% penetration, although Twitter (62%)
narrowed the gap a little
Global Insights
As a comprehensive overview of B2B marketing trends
and practices in Australia, this study is unable to
go in-depth on every topic, as we must necessarily
limit the number of questions in order to maximise
participation.
So to add value for those Australian marketers
seeking deeper insights into specific B2B marketing
practices such as: Digital, Content and Social Media
Marketing, we’ve included data from specialised
overseas research throughout this report.

6
Measuring Marketing ROI goes to top spot
For the first time in the five years of running this study,
marketers have ranked ‘Measuring Marketing ROI’ as
their number one challenge – even more challenging
than generating leads.
Why is this so? We believe there are two key drivers. Firstly,
measurement is easier when you have small amounts of
data. However, today B2B marketers are flooded with so
much digitised data they find themselves trying to ‘drink
from a fire hose’. Not just the volume of data, but also the
range of digital channels exacerbates the challenge.
Secondly, C-level and Sales executives expect Marketing
to be more accountable and to justify their investment.
So marketers have to get on top of lead measurement
and attribution to prove its fiscal value to the business.
Further on measurement, we thought that lead-centric
metrics would be getting more focus. However, in this
study we find nearly two in five marketers (37%) do not
know the cost of a lead – the highest this rate has been
over the last four years. They either cannot measure it or
choose not to.
Prediction: Marketing/Sales analytics will become a key
focus for 2015/16. Look for more investment in technology,
talent and process re-engineering.
I’m a Vendor so that makes me a Publisher!
B2B vendors are behaving like content publishers. Three
quarters are saying that content is significant in their
marketing plan. As a percentage of the 2015 budget,
content has increased 54% year on year (from 11% to
17% of total budget).
Forrester Research pointed to the root of the issue when
it reported that buyers might be anywhere from two-thirds
to 90% of the way through their journey before they reach
out to the vendor. In other words, buyers are predominantly
using web and peer research to (almost) make their
decisions – with little room left for influence by the vendor.
Respondents will use blogs/short articles in 2015 (94%)
more than any other format. However, only one in five
claim they are getting good ROI from their social activity.
Having good quality content is not enough. Marketers
will need to attract and engage prospects with targeted
distribution and amplification via a variety of channels –
and part of the challenge here is that many buyers are
more multi-channel than the marketer trying lure them.
A positive trend to support content marketing is that more
marketers are developing buyer personas (43%) than last
year. So now, more need to take the next step and map the
lead journey for these personas – as only 36% did in 2014.
Marketing Automation adoption up, ROI down
This year we asked respondents to nominate the marketing
automation platform they had implemented – if one at all.
The response was an uplift from last year with 47% now
having a platform and nearly two-thirds of these (64%)
having integrated it with their CRM. We believe MA/CRM
integration is a key pillar enabling true sales/marketing
alignment.
Many companies are setting up new demand generation
and/or digital teams and investing in automation to support
these initiatives.
However, ROI satisfaction is down on last year. Only 38%
said they were satisfied with their automation investment
compared to 51% in the 2014 study – quite a decline! It
would appear that marketers often buy the ‘automation
promise’ of better lead outcomes and improved lead
management, without a clear plan on how to turn this
into reality.
1.2 Observations

7
The ‘Lead Leakage Fiasco’
Lead follow-up rate is a good indicator of how well Sales and
Marketing teams are working together. If Sales are following
up leads and Marketing has good visibility, then we can assume
they are working off the same page.
However, this year the overall follow-up rate went backwards
compared to last year. As a guideline, we nominate that it is
satisfactory for 66% to 100% of leads to be followed up and
unsatisfactory if the follow-up rate is less than this. Based
on this measure, 52% of respondents have an unsatisfactory
outcome.
To illustrate the lost opportunity, let’s assume a marketer has
an average order value of $50k and finds that Sales are only
following up 30% of leads. This represents a loss of marketing-
qualified pipeline of $350k for every 10 leads and, if the lead
closure rate is one in three, the lost potential revenue is $116k.
The CEO might just get involved here. Expect to see more
CMOs carrying revenue targets!
We believe the core reason for this level of lead leakage is
the absence of a lead lifecycle strategy developed in unison
by Marketing and Sales. They need aligned goals; agreed
personas and lead definitions; defined lead stages; and a lead
management and scoring process. And, underpinning these,
technology platforms that provide visibility and control through
reporting and analytics for the different stakeholders.
Inbound Marketing jumping the chasm
More than two in five marketers (41%) plan to spend more on
inbound than on outbound marketing in 2015 (25%). Last year’s
respondents had similar expectations but, on reporting what
actually happened in 2014, they still spent more on outbound
than inbound.
However even given this, the underlying market drivers for
inbound, content and use of social media are increasingly
compelling, as other results show.
There is direct correlation between digital and inbound marketing.
The growing investment in digital marketing will continue to
fuel inbound execution across social, web, search and other
channels to the buyer.
Display (online) advertising – a traditional inbound ‘pull’ tactic
– is becoming more effective. Smarter media advertising
platforms allow marketers to target their audience more
precisely than before, which may be behind marketers
maintaining their level of budget investment in advertising
(14% planned in 2015).
So now, inbound marketers have found another channel in
addition to social and SEO/search marketing to attract buyers
online. Let’s see how this pans out during 2015.
1.2 Observations

11
2.3 Marketing Challenges Objectives
MARKETING CHALLENGES IN 2014
How challenging were the following activities in 2014?
GLOBAL INSIGHT: Measurement is a key area where B2B marketers are
struggling: only 21% say they are successful at tracking ROI; however, having
a documented [content marketing] strategy helps (35% of those with a strategy
say they are successful). CMI/MarketingProfs, B2B Content Marketing 2015:
North America
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
INTEGRATING MARKETING WITH SALES
NURTURING AND PROGRESSING LEADS
GROWING BRAND AWARENESS
GENERATING LEADS
MEASURING MARKETING ROI
CHALLENGING
SOMEWHAT CHALLENGING
NOT CHALLENGING
N/A

15
GLOBAL INSIGHT: The research indicates a gradual shift among B2B marketers toward investing more
in digital channels to meet their marketing goals. While the traditional channels of marketing aren’t
going away, they will see reduced investments in the coming years…The only bright spot in the offline mix
appears to be Events. Regalix (US), State of B2B Marketing 2015
DIGITAL VERSUS TRADITIONAL MARKETING TRENDS
This graph provides a comparative snapshot of trends in traditional and digital marketing, based on our respondents’ intentions for 2015.
2.4 Marketing Channels
-40% -20% 0% 20% 60%40% 80%
E-NURTURE MARKETING
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
EMAIL CAMPAIGNS
ONLINE CONTENT AMPLIFICATION/SYNDICATION
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO)
ONLINE COMMUNITIES AND PORTALS/HUBS
ONLINE DISPLAY ADVERTISING
WEBINARS
MOBILE APP MARKETING
PUBLIC RELATIONS
IN-PERSON EVENTS
SURVEYS/RESEARCH
DIRECT MAIL
TRADESHOWS/CONFERENCES
TELEMARKETING
PRINT ADVERTISING
MORE
LESS
DIGITALTRADITIONAL

16
INBOUND VERSUS OUTBOUND
In comparing Inbound (pull) versus Outbound (push) tactics, how did/will you spend your marketing budget?
2.4 Marketing Channels
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
MORE EXPENDITURE ON
INBOUND
SIMILAR EXPENDITURE ON
BOTH
MORE EXPENDITURE ON
OUTBOUND
THIS
YEAR
36%
34%
LAST
YEAR
34%
25%
THIS
YEAR
LAST
YEAR
30%
41%
THIS
YEAR
LAST
YEAR

21
2.7 Social Media
SOCIAL MEDIA INVOLVEMENT
Which of the following best describes your organisation’s involvement
in social media?
SOCIAL MEDIA ROI
How would you best describe the effectiveness of your social media marketing
activity during the past year?
GLOBAL INSIGHT: Asked to report directly on the top two challenges, 50%
flagged difficulty in proving ROI. [Others] were lack of time (33%), lack of strategic
planning (32%), lack of social media understanding (23%) and lack of audience
(21%). B2B Marketing (UK), Social Media Benchmarking Report, April 2014
GLOBAL INSIGHT: 28% said there was no emphasis on being able to measure
ROI on social media activities in their organisation. 29% of respondents reported
being able to calculate the ROI of their social media activity ‘at least half of the
time’. B2B Marketing (UK), Social Media Benchmarking Report, April 2014
64%
CREATOR/
PUBLISHER OF
BLOGS AND
ONLINE CONTENT
8%
COMMENTATOR/
PARTICIPATOR IN
DISCUSSIONS
BUT GENERALLY
DO NOT CREATE
11%
JOINER/MEMBER
OF GROUPS BUT
GENERALLY DO
NOT PARTICIPATE
7%
INACTIVE
7%
MONITOR/CONSUMER
OF CONTENT BUT
GENERALLY DO NOT
BECOME A MEMBER
3%
OTHER
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
HAVE INVESTED
BUT TOO EARLY TO TELL
SOME RESULTS BUT NOT COST
EFFECTIVE OR CONSISTENT
HAD GOOD
RESULTS AND ROI
NOT INVESTED IN SOCIAL
MEDIA BUT PLAN TO IN 2015
NOT INVESTED IN SOCIAL MEDIA
AND DO NOT PLAN TO IN 2015
NO RESULTS - WASTE
OF TIME AND MONEY

23
2.8 Marketing Sales Alignment
LEAD JOURNEY MAPPING
Have you mapped a lead journey for your customers from unknown prospect
to the sale?
GLOBAL INSIGHT: B2B organisations with tightly aligned Marketing and
Sales achieved 24% faster revenue growth and 27% faster profit growth over
a three-year period. SiriusDecisions (US), 2014
GLOBAL INSIGHT: 67% of the buyer’s journey is now done digitally. As well,
our research shows that online searches are executives’ first course of action
(just like everyone else). SiriusDecisions (US), July 2013
LEAD CONVERSION TO ORDER RATE
What percentage of leads passed from Marketing to Sales convert to orders?
YES
NO
WE PLAN TO
NOT SURE
36%
31%
27%
6%
43%
LESS THAN
ONE THIRD
25%
ONE TO TWO THIRDS
7%
MORE THAN
TWO THIRDS
25%
NOT SURE

24
B2B Marketing Outlook | AUSTRALIA 2015Section 3: ABOUT THIS RESEARCH
3.1 Demographics Methodology
INDUSTRY
Which most accurately describes your industry?
TURNOVER*
What is your organisation’s annual turnover?
ROLE TYPE*
Which of the following best describes your role?
LESS THAN
$5 MILLION
$5-$24 MILLION
$25-$49 MILLION
$50-$499 MILLION
31%
18%
7%
20%
23% $500 MILLION
AND OVER
OTHER
22%
FINANCE/BANKING/
INSURANCE 9%
INFORMATION, MEDIA
TELECOMMUNICATIONS 31%
MANUFACTURING
SUPPLY CHAIN 12%
PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC
TECHNICAL SERVICES 26%
8%
CEO/MD/DIRECTOR
2%
OTHER
38%
MARKETING
PROFESSIONAL
4%
BUSINESS
DEVT/SALES
9%
AGENCY
MARKETER
11%
EXTERNAL MARKETING
CONSULTANT
2%
HEAD
OF SALES
25%
HEAD OF
MARKETING
This research was conducted from November 2014 to January 2015. Respondents were approached
by email and telephone, with 455 complete responses collected via an online questionnaire.
*Please note, results do not total 100% due to rounding *Please note, results do not total 100% due to rounding

25
3.2 Research Supporters
Section 3: ABOUT THIS RESEARCH
This study was conducted by Green Hat with the support of ADMA, Marketing Magazine, B2B Marketing (UK) and Arkadin
Green Hat is a leading Australian marketing consulting
agency dedicated to the B2B sector. We’re a diverse
bunch – from seasoned corporate consultants through
to Gen Y digital die-hards with a wide range of skills,
viewpoints and backgrounds. We assist our clients in
attracting, engaging and qualifying buyers using data-
driven digital marketing strategies.
Our services include B2B strategy development,
market research, lead lifecycle marketing including
lead generation and lead nurturing, marketing
automation, social media, SEO/web services and
content marketing. Industries we specialise in are ICT
(high-tech), professional services, financial services,
industrial and any business dealing in ‘complex and
considered purchases’. Our client list includes IBM,
EMC, SingTel Optus, Nokia as well as many innovative
local organisations.
green-hat.com.au
The Association for data-driven marketing and advertising
(ADMA) is the principal industry body for information based
marketing and advertising and is the largest marketing
and advertising body in Australia with over 600 member
organisations. ADMA is the ultimate authority and go-to
resource for creative and effective data-driven marketing
across all channels and platforms, providing insight, ideas and
innovation to advance responsive and enlightened marketing.
adma.com.au
Andrew Haussegger
Managing Director
andrewh@green-hat.com.au
linkedin.com/in/andrewhaussegger
Caroline Leslie
Head of Content Communications
carolinel@green-hat.com.au
linkedin.com/in/carolineleslie
For further information on this research, please contact the report authors:

B2B Marketing Outlook | AUSTRALIA 2015Section 3: ABOUT THIS RESEARCH
www.green-hat.com.au
hello@green-hat.com.au
linkedin.com/company/green-hat
@greenhatmktg
©2015 Green Hat Marketing Pty Ltd ABN 30 099 016 752. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior approval of Green Hat Marketing Pty Ltd. Any quotation from this document must be attributed to the author.
MELBOURNE | SYDNEY
SPONSORED BY
Marketing’s goal is simple, and has been for over 30 years:
help marketing decision-makers excel. Through print,
online and now in 2015 premium content, tools and events,
Marketing is evolving to give marketers in businesses
large and small gain that extra competitive advantage.
marketingmag.com.au
B2B Marketing (UK) is the leading media and professional
resource, dedicated to supporting the business marketing
sector, both client side and agency. ‘Marketing is the
business of business’, hence, B2B Marketing puts the
$20B global industry within the content of business issues,
not just as a marketing channel. The media, community
and event platforms provide practical content, shared
and branded, professional development and peer-to-peer
engagement.
b2bmarketing.net
Arkadin is one of the largest and fastest growing
Collaboration Service Providers in the world with a full
suite of audio, web, video conferencing, online event and
webcast solutions and Unified Communications services.
The company’s global network of 53 operating centres
in 32 countries has dedicated local support teams to
service its 37,000 customers. As an NTT Communications
Group company, Arkadin offers the most comprehensive
collaboration and Unified Communications solutions for
meeting customer needs around the world.
arkadin.com.au

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