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    B2B Marketing Benchmark Study Questions

    B2B Marketing Benchmark Study Questions

    We've fielded 2 previous B2B marketing benchmark studies for small and mid-sized companies. The first was in 2012 and again in 2015. We're fielding the next study in September 2018.  

    We have 31 questions from previous studies.  3 - 5 of these will be retired in 2018, and 3 - 5 new questions will be added.  

    2018 B2B Marketing Benchmark Study Call for questions no learn more callout

    Our ask:

    From the 31 questions below, which would you remove?  And what questions would you add?  We're particularly interested in questions about Marketing Automation and Marketing Measurement. We will add a question about Industry.  Other ideas are welcome! 

     

    Questions from the previous B2B Marketing Benchmark studies: 

    1. Which business functions do you believe can have the most impact on the success of your company in the next 12 months? 
    • R&D
    • Sales
    • Marketing
    • Operations
    • Other ______________

     2. What are your top 3 marketing goals for the next 12 months?

    • Refine our messaging
    • Create a formal marketing plan
    • Increase awareness of our company and offerings
    • Generate leads
    • Convert leads to deals
    • Reduce cost of customer acquisition
    • Accelerate the sales cycle
    • Increase profit per customer
    • Other ____________________     

    3. Who is responsible for marketing strategy and planning in your company?
    • CEO
    • COO
    • VP Sales
    • VP  / Dir Marketing
    • Combination of senior executives
    • No one
    • Advisor / Consultant
    • Other

     

    The following series of questions use a scale from 'Always' (4) to 'Not at all' (0). 

    1. As a company, we have a clear understanding of who our ideal customers are
    2. We know how our ideal customers make buying decisions about our products and services
    3. Our company is clearly differentiated from competitors. 
    4. We have a clear message about why customers should choose us
    5. We have a good understanding of what our competitors offer and how we compare to them
    6. We are well known in our target industries and by the market we sell to
    7. We regularly speak at industry conferences
    8. We get sole-sourced for new business
    9. We can achieve price premiums against comparable / alternative solutions
    10. We regularly publish content like whitepapers, blog posts and articles that shares our expertise          
    11. We have defined the keywords that people use to find information online about the problems we solve
    12. We use keywords in our web pages and content to make sure we rank well on search engines
    13. We publish press releases and have relationships with media to get industry attention
    14. We have a blog and publish new posts at least twice a month
    15. We network at events where our prospects and customers gather
    16. Our sales team has compelling collateral that they use in the sales process
    17. We have case studies and other tools like ROI calculators that our sales team can use to advance sales calls
    18. We use a CRM system effectively
    19. We stay in touch with prospects who aren't yet ready to buy through opt-in email communications
    20. Our sales and marketing teams meet at least every two weeks to discuss initiatives and performance               
    21. We communicate regularly with past and existing customers
    22. We perform a customer satisfaction assessment at least every other year
    23. We grow the amount of business we do with existing customers by 5% or more per year
    24. Our customers refer new business to us
    25. Our customers know about our full line of products and services, not just those that they buy from us

     

    Participant data question

    What is your expected revenue for 2018:  

    • Under $1M
    • $1 – 2M
    • $2 – 5M
    • $5 – 10M
    • $10 – 25M
    • $25 – 50M
    • $50 – 100M

    What is your total annual marketing spend including staff (allocate costs for staff who do marketing as a portion of their role), vendors, and 3rd party costs (trade shows, Adwords, etc)?

    • Under $50,000
    • $50,000 - 99,999
    • $100,000 - $249,999
    • $250,000 - $399,999
    • $400,000 - 749,999
    • $750,000 - $999,999
    • $1,000,000 - $1,499,999
    • Over 1.5M

    What country are you based in?  

    • Canada
    • USA
    • Other

     

    Once again, our ask:

    From the 31 questions above, which would you remove?  

    And what questions would you add?  We're particularly interested in questions about Marketing Automation and Marketing Measurement. Other ideas are welcome! 

    Send us your suggestions through social (below), or email Lisa Shepherd at lshepherd@themezzaninegroup.com.  All emails will be read and answered.  

     

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    Thank you.  You'll hear more about the study in the coming weeks, and it will launch the week of September 3rd.