Advertising is the largest segment of B2B marketing budgets, taking a 19% share, according to a survey of marketers worldwide by Salesforce.
While advertising receives the most, account-based marketing, content, and tools & technology follow close behind and each take a 16% share. This is followed by 15% for people and 14% for events & sponsorships.
Across the 37 markets surveyed, B2B marketers in Taiwan (15%), Indonesia (15%) and South Africa (16%) allocate the least to advertising. In comparison, a quarter of B2B marketing spend goes to advertising in the UAE (26%), followed by Belgium (22%), Ireland (22%) and Italy (22%).
Salesforce also finds that 47% of B2B marketers have ‘completely changed’ their marketing channel mix as a result of the pandemic, with WARC research highlighting growing B2B opportunities in new channels like video and audio. Account-based marketing is also evolving to encompass broader reach and greater personalisation.
While mental availability and marketing attribution are two key challenges for B2B marketers, B2C brands are providing some potential solutions.
Credit: WARC