Regalix Releases State of Product Marketing Report 2014

Online, March 18, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Palo Alto, CA: Regalix, a digital marketing company announced the release of its latest study "State of Product Marketing Report 2014". The survey demonstrated that the digitization of purchase decisions has now forced product marketers to re-think and revisit their customer acquisition and relationship-building techniques. Marketers can no longer afford to use only one or two channels to market their products, they have to use the right combination of assets (both digital and physical) during the right stage of the product life-cycle to drive conversions.

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Regalix surveyed some of the top marketing executives and professionals to understand the current trends in product marketing, designed to help B2B marketers market their product or solution in today's environment.

"Product marketing as we know it has changed indefinitely with customers resorting to multiple channels and devices to make purchase decisions. The action-plan followed by product marketers to launch products, drive conversions no longer hold true in today's environment. This research gives marketing professionals the opportunity to decipher customer purchase trends in order to formulate a fool-proof plan for their own product marketing programs," says Vikas Sharan, CEO, Regalix.

Key findings from the report include:

• 87% marketers believe that product marketing to a B2B audience has changed drastically in the past few years

• 82% marketers report that their customers expect to see a product demo to take a purchase decision

• 75% of marketers use videos during the introduction stage of their product's life-cycle

• 49% of marketers allocate 25% to 50% of their total budget to outbound marketing

• 77% of marketers carry out lead scoring and lead nurturing exercises

Detailed Findings

Findings of the report include an analysis on using product marketing techniques during various stages of a product's life-cycle, an exploration of the notable trends in B2B buying impacting marketers, along with actionable tips on using product marketing techniques to advance buyers/prospects along the purchase cycle.

Product Marketing Techniques in the digital world

The survey demonstrated that product marketing to a B2B audience has changed drastically due to the advent of the digital age and penetration of new age media.

• 95 % of marketers reported gathering customer feedback on product performance as an essential product marketing tactic, allowing marketers to persistently understand what is important to the customers and tailor their solutions accordingly

• 92 % of marketers reported conducting a competitive analysis to understand where their product stands vis-à-vis the competition in order to market it appropriately

• 66 % of marketers reported creating personas and tailoring communications for each one of them

Notable Trends in B2B Buying

Here are some of the most noteworthy trends as per the data from the survey:

• 82% marketers reported an increasing demand for product demos by customers who almost always now expect to see the product in action before considering or buying it

• 76% of marketers reported that potential buyers are now conducting a competitive analysis of vendors and offerings so as to make an informed purchase decision using the information acquired from social media and other digital channels

• 65% of marketers reported that there is a substantial increase in the amount of research conducted by customers before they purchase a product or solution

• The survey also found that in today's environment, the average number of "touches" or interactions to convert a cold lead to warm customer is four to seven

Metrics and Measurement

• 79% of survey respondents reported using the number of new customers acquired as the leading metric for measuring the impact of product marketing programs

• This is followed by rate of increase in revenue as the second most widely used metric to measure product marketing performance, reported by 70% of marketers surveyed.

Product Marketing and the Buying Cycle

The survey demonstrated that an increasing number of marketers now believe in capturing the attention of their prospects in the early stages of the product life cycle by using inbound marketing techniques; whereas marketers use outbound marketing during the latter stages of the product life-cycle subsequent to its becoming mature, to appeal to their customers.

• Social Media (77%), Organic Search (74%) and Email (72%) were reported as the most widely used channels during the introductory phase of a product

• Website (82%), email (81%) and social media (80%) were found to be the most widely utilized during the growth of the product

• Subsequent to the product becoming mature, marketers reported using websites (75%), email marketing (60%), and organic search (55%) to hold the interest of their audience

• When the product goes in a state of decline, marketers reported using radio, television and outdoor advertisements to uphold the interest of their audience

Overview

The survey was conducted by Regalix Inc, and respondents included CMOs and mid-level marketing professionals from leading B2B companies.

For a detailed set of recommendations, download the complete report here http://bit.ly/1nfcVfI

Supporting Resources

Read more about product marketing at http://research.regalix.com/

About Regalix:

Regalix is an award-winning Co-Innovation company that leverages technology and marketing to help companies grow. They create successful ventures with clients through co-innovation and idea-driven frameworks that inspire companies to think differently. Founded in 1998, Regalix is based in Palo Alto. For over a decade, we have provided complete marketing services - Social, Mobile, Content, Multi-channel Campaigns, Technology Development, and Analytics - to companies such as CA Technologies, Citi, Apple, eBay, Cisco, VMWare, NetApp, Cypress, LSI, Keynote, and MetricStream.
For more information, please visit: http://www.regalix.com/