Are you normal? . As a business I mean. . If you’re running a B2B marketing agency do you really know how your firm performs relative to competitors? It’s tough to answer this question with confidence.  After all, your competitors only share the legal minimum of information about performance.  Information which is also usually opaque and outdated. . Despair not though.  The 2011 B2B Marketing Agency League Table , compiled by B2B Marketing Magazine and Circle Research , fills in the gaps.  . The UK’s top ten B2B marketing agencies by turnover in 2011: IAS B2B (£12.6m). MRM London (£10.5m). MORE >>

We recently partnered with B2B Marketing Magazine to create the first report in their Benchmarking series.  The topic was search marketing in B2B. One of the most striking findings from the research is how digital has altered the marketing landscape. The two most commonly used techniques in the modern B2B marketer’s armoury are now email (82% use) and search marketing (67%). It would be a mistake though to assume that ‘traditional’ techniques are dead.  Rather, what we’re seeing is an integrated approach with 75% of B2B marketers deploying five or more channels. The third driver is confidence.  MORE >>

To say it’s been an eventful few years economically is an understatement.  First we had the credit crunch and a deep recession.  Now deficit reduction measures are biting and bond markets shaking. These turbulent times make the latest instalment of the bi-annual B2B Barometer interesting reading.  The survey – conducted in August 2011 and based on the opinions of 137 B2B agencies and marketers – shows that despite strong headwinds, the last 12 months have been rather rosy for most. In the meantime, here’s a sneak preview. key beneficiary of this spend, agencies, have also experienced a fillip.  MORE >>

There are 1.3 million of them, they generate half of the UK’s GDP and employ 60 per cent of the private sector workforce.  Moreover, they’re big buyers of B2B products and services.  Just ask Sage who’s built a £1.4 billion business on the back of them. SMEs are a potentially significant opportunity for many B2B marketers then, but how best to open a conversation? This was puzzling me so I asked 450 buyers of B2B services within SMEs to imagine a prospective supplier wanted to engage with them.  Their answers provide clear guidance on where best to target marketing resources.  An overview. MORE >>

Marketing still plays second fiddle to sales in B2B organisations. . Past readings of the B2B Barometer survey reveal that up to 60% of B2B marketers agree with this statement and the latest survey published in June 2012 confirms it. . Two fifths (41%) of B2B marketers report that their single highest marketing priority for 2012 is to generate more of the salesperson’s raw material – leads.  Fair enough.  After all, few brands have buyers queuing at their door so ‘hunting’ revenue has to be a key focus. It’s packed full of useful information, but a few findings in particular leaped out at me. . MORE >>