Focus B2B Marketing Budget Gains On Business Outcomes To Succeed In 2014

Business-to-business (B2B) marketing executives must stretch budget dollars across an increasingly fragmented set of funding demands to reach buyers where they are spending their time. While CMOs expect to see some moderate budget growth in 2014, expectations for how marketing should spend this mild bounty are higher and range from investments in core programs to technology and innovation. For this report, Forrester and the Business Marketing Association (BMA) jointly surveyed 56 marketing executives about their 2014 budget plans and expectations. In reviewing the budget priorities, this survey reveals that B2B CMOs need to reprioritize budget line items along two key dimensions. First, they should shift the focus from traditional brand and customer acquisition objectives to a healthier blend of activities that engage both prospects and current buyers and derive new insight from those encounters. Then they should factor risk and reward criteria into their marketing mix choices to decide what makes the final cut.