1 4 TH E D I T I O N

2021 B2B

MARKETING MIX REPORTSAG E F R O G M A R K E T I N G G R O U P

Welcome to the fourteenth annual B2B Marketing Mix Report by Sagefrog Marketing Group.
Beginning with a survey of B2B professionals in industries ranging from healthcare and technology toprofessional services and manufacturing, this report forecasts the marketing climate for the year ahead.
The B2B Marketing Mix Report is a useful source of information on trends and emerging tactics thatmarketing professionals can consider as they plan their 2021 marketing budget and program.

Whom We Surveyed

27%

Marketing & Advertising

25%

Professional & Business Services

22%

Healthcare & Life Sciences

19%

Software &Technology
Financial &Insurance

C-Level

17%

13%

21%

21%

Industrial & Manufacturing
Other*Vice
President

Manageror Director
Coordinatoror Specialist

27%

38%

13%

Respondents had the option to choose multiple industries as applicable to their field*Transportation and Logistics, Consulting, Engineering, Automotive© 2020-2021 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. Slide 2

2020 vs. 2021: What’s the Same?
Most B2B professionals still answered “yes”
when asked if they have a formal marketing plan.

Yes 76%

No 24%The majority of companies surveyed still use abalance of in-house and outsourced marketing.

In-House
38%

Both In-House &Outsourced 56%
Outsourced
6%

The most implemented marketing tactics are similar to last year.
Email Marketing 84%

Public Relations 44%

Social Media and Social Media Advertising 75%

Seminars & Webinars 43%

Blogging and Content Marketing 69%

Video Marketing

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 60%
Tradeshows & Events 54%

38%
Print Advertisements 27%

Telemarketing 13%

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) 46%© 2020-2021 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. Slide 3

Investments in Marketing Are Increasing
The percentage of budget allocatedto marketing grew across the board
this year compared to 2020 and2019. Throughout this report, you’lllearn about the strategies andtactics marketing professionals arefocusing on in the year ahead—
many of which include third-party
spend to Google or social media
channels. This shift, combined withan increased need for branding
services as companies pivot toaccommodate the changing needsof the world, are major contributors
to budget increases.

Lessthan 1%marketingbudget(10%)
1% marketingbudget (13%)

5% marketingbudget (32%)

Morethan 15%marketingbudget(13%)
15% marketingbudget (13%)

10% marketingbudget (21%)© 2020-2021 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. Slide 4

Websites and Digital Marketing Lead the Way
It shouldn’t come as a surprisethat digital marketing andwebsite development havetaken the lead as the top areasof marketing spend. However,what we couldn’t have predicted
was how COVID-19 fast-tracked
the use of digital marketing andwebsites in industries that are
historically slow to modernize.
Branding also climbed theranks this year, jumping from
17% last year to 27% this year.
Similarly, marketing and sales
collateral saw a significant
increase from 6% to 21%. With
many companies pivoting theirservice and product offerings tomeet new COVID-era demands,
we’re not surprised to see thatbranding and its activation
through collateral are emerging
as top priorities.

Top Areas of Marketing Spend
Website Development 51%
Digital Marketing 44%
Content Marketing 33%
Branding 27%
Social Media 22%
Marketing & Sales Collateral 21%
Marketing Automation and CRM Software 21%
Advertising Spend (e.g., Google) 16%
Email Marketing 16%
Tradeshows and Events 11%
Direct Marketing and Print Advertising 11%
Public Relations 10%
Marketing Planning and Strategy 8%
Video Marketing 6%
Other* 3%*Reputation Management© 2020-2021 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. Slide 5

Top Marketing Objectives for 2021
Lead generation continues
to be the top marketing
objective as we move from2020 to 2021. Last year,
we saw a major push forenhanced marketing andsales alignment in B2B
companies, and we’reencouraged to see this trend
continue as lead generationand sales conversions topthe objectives for marketers.
Further in this report, you’lllearn that account-based
marketing is a top-trending
strategy. For B2B companies
with rigorous conversion
goals, ABM will be an
important strategy.

1 Increasing Sales Leads
2 Converting Leads to Customers
3 Increasing Brand Awareness4 Producing Thought Leadership© 2020-2021 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. Slide 6

Referrals, Email, and SEO Are Your
Go-To Lead SourcesYear after year, referrals emerge as the top
source of qualified marketing and sales leadsin B2B, which is not surprising since B2B
is fueled by networking and interpersonalconnection. Professionals are more likely toinvest their time and money working with acompany if there’s a personal connection. B2B
purchases are big investments that require
department- or company-wide approval,
so it makes sense that personal touches are
influential in gaining trust to move forward.
Beyond referrals, email marketing and SEO
climbed the ranks as top sources of leads.
Email marketing doesn’t surprise us as it’s
the most implemented and relied upontactic of the year, driven by the conditionsof the pandemic. Seeing SEO top the chartsvalidates the importance of ongoing website
optimization and content creation in 2021.

Top Sources of Sales and Marketing Leads
Referrals 65%
Email Marketing 38%
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 33%
Social Media 33%
Tradeshows and Events 30%
Inbound and Content Marketing 30%
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) 21%
Public Relations 17%
Other* 13%
Print Advertising 8%
Telemarketing 6%
Direct Mail 5%*Online Directories, RFP Bidding, Cold Calls, Traveling Sales© 2020-2021 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. Slide 7

Instagram and YouTube Are Here to Stay
LinkedIn continues to be the mostused social media channel for B2B
marketing professionals. Additionally,we were pleased to see that Instagram
use increased nearly 30% from lastyear. This jump demonstrates thegrowing influence of social media on
job candidates, as they’re looking to
Instagram for a look inside a potential
employer’s culture—somethingthat companies need to get creativewith as remote work becomes morecommonplace. YouTube also saw asignificant jump, increasing by 20%.
In a world where Zoom and videoconferencing are now the norm, it
makes sense that companies whowere slow to adopt video marketing
now see it as a valuable and easy-toimplement tool.

Most Used Social Media Channels
LinkedIn 86%
Facebook 79%
Twitter 60%
Instagram 60%
YouTube 56%
Vimeo 10%
Do not use social media 5%
Other* 3%
Snapchat 2%*Pinterest© 2020-2021 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. Slide 8

Paid Social Media Is
Coming On Strong

LinkedIn Is the Most Usedand Engaging Channel

Most respondents reported using paidsocial media and seeing ROI from it.

LinkedIn has introduced many new advertising optionsin the past few years, specifically designed to drive
engagement, open rates, and lead generation. LinkedIn
Sponsored Content and LinkedIn InMail are incredibly
effective engagement tactics. While other social channels
have some advertising options, there’s no other channel
focusing on engagement more than LinkedIn.

33%

62%

I don’t use paidsocial yet.

1I’ve seen
ROI frompaid social.

25%
I haven’t
seen ROI
from paidsocial.

3
45Instagram

FacebookLinkedIn

TwitterYouTube© 2020-2021 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. Slide 9Marketers Will Reignite ABM in 2021
Account-based marketing is a
B2B marketing approach thatcan be executed in conjunction
with traditional marketing,content marketing, “smarketing,”and other methods to identify,
communicate with, and eventually
secure desired business accounts.
ABM has slowly but surely gained
traction in the past few years asmarketers focus more on theirtarget markets.

New Marketing and Sales Strategies for 2021

Through ABM tools like LinkedIn
InMail, which lets you specificallytarget key accounts andpersonnel, marketers arebringing back this “old-school”
marketing method andmodernizing it for the digital age.

Podcast and Livestreaming 27%

Account-Based Marketing 46%Video Marketing 41%
Influencer Marketing 38%
Artificial Intelligence (AI) 38%
Retargeting 33%
Personalization 32%
Inbound Marketing 29%

Conversational Marketing (Chat Bots) 24%
Mobile-First Strategy 22%
Programmatic Advertising 11%
Voice Optimization 11%
Other* 5%*CRM, Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing© 2020-2021 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. Slide 10

HubSpot Wins Most Popular Automation Platform
Nearly 50% of marketers use HubSpot as their preferred marketing automation platform.
With functionality across marketing, sales, and CRM, we’re not surprised that marketers are using
and loving this platform for the convenience and alignment it brings between departments.

Most Popular Marketing Automation Platforms
HubSpot 40%
Adobe/Marketo 16%
Other* 16%
Pardot by Salesforce 13%*Includes ActiveCampaign & Oracle© 2020-2021 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. Slide 11

Top Takeaways from
This Year’s Report» Value Email Marketing and Search Engine Optimization» Build Out Your Instagram and YouTube Channels» Regain Brand Awareness If You’ve Pivoted Services» Try Account-Based Marketing Strategies on LinkedIn» Demo HubSpot to Learn Why It’s the Top Platform© 2020-2021 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. Slide 12

Use This Report toYour Advantage
We couldn’t have predicted the impact that COVID-19 would
have on how the world conducts business today. The resultsof this report, however, can help us predict how marketers
in a variety of industries see 2021 playing out. Consult thedata in this report to plan your marketing program andbudget, ensuring it’s on par with how other B2B companies
and industries are adapting in 2021.
If some of these strategies, tactics, or platforms are new toyou—we can help you explore them in ways that complement
the rest of your marketing program and budget. We’ve alllearned in 2020 that things can change on a dime, and there’s
no sense in getting too comfortable. This lesson applies
to your marketing program as well: Don’t get complacent.
Try new things. Lean on others for help and support.

© 2020-2021 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC. Slide 13

About Sagefrog Marketing Group
Sagefrog Marketing Group is a top-ranked B2B marketing agency specializing in healthcare,technology, industrial, and business services. With offices in Doylestown, Princeton, LehighValley, and Philadelphia, Sagefrog is dedicated to accelerating client success through brandbuilding and integrated marketing. Sagefrog provides branding and strategy, website anddigital marketing, content and inbound marketing, and traditional marketing services
through its proven JumpStart™ process.
Contact us to put the insights from this report into action for your company.

sagefrog.com • (215) 230-9024 • info@sagefrog.com

All Rights Reserved © 2020 Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC