Over 8 in 10 B2B marketers expect marketing budgets to grow in 2024: LinkedIn research

New research conducted by LinkedIn finds that more than 8 in 10 B2B marketing leaders in India anticipate growth in their marketing budgets over the next year.

Furthermore, a majority (87%) have expressed their plans to increase the use of Generative AI to improve efficiency (61%) and create engaging content (57%).

LinkedIn’s ‘The B2B Marketing Benchmark’ – a study of nearly 2,000 senior B2B marketing and finance leaders from organisations across the globe, conducted ahead of the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity – finds that B2B marketers have adapted to uncertainty and made the right investments to come out stronger.

As B2B brands see some green shoots of recovery, 70% of B2B CMOs say that brand building has been elevated in importance by the C-suite as companies look to win a share in the current climate. Becoming ‘financially fluent’ has been key to this with B2B CMOs saying they have learnt the language of finance (74%) and strengthened their skills to prove the value of brand marketing to their CEO and CFO (88%). B2B marketers have the support of the business - 50% of CFOs from B2B organisations in India feel optimistic about marketing’s ability to drive revenue in the year ahead.

This year, one of the top priorities for India’s B2B marketing leaders is to champion bolder creativity in their campaigns to improve mental availability (51%). B2B marketing leaders are confident they have the right creative skills on their team to support brand-building efforts (79%). LinkedIn data shows there has been a 46% increase in creative skills added to the LinkedIn profiles of marketers across the globe in the last year. Creative strategy, innovative thinking, problem solving, as well as marketing technology and data analytics top the list of the most important skills B2B marketers in India need today.

Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, LinkedIn, said, “B2B marketers have expertly navigated economic uncertainty by acquiring greater financial acumen and sharpening their skills to help their CFOs and business leaders recognise the importance of brand building in staying top of mind in a complex macroeconomic environment. Capitalising on this trust, marketers are also increasing their investments in generative AI to become more efficient and inject more creativity in their campaigns. Looking ahead, CMOs will play a more direct role in driving revenue and expansion, and with the strategic investments they have made, they are now poised to build memorable, best-in-class B2B brands to power the next wave of growth.”

Antonia Wade, Global Chief Marketing Officer at PWC, said, "It's great to see B2B leaders continue to show that marketing is a real driver of commercial growth for their companies. This is underpinned by a unique combination of resilience and creativity that their teams display, including embracing new technologies. We are in a golden era of B2B marketing, and the optimism that businesses have in marketing's ability to innovate, create relevant messages at scale and deliver outstanding financial returns is all evidence of that."

To help B2B companies bolster brand building, measure effectiveness, and connect with audiences in new ways, LinkedIn is launching new products and services:

• AI-generated Copy Suggestions: AI-generated copy suggestions use generative AI to create high-performing intro text and headlines for ad creatives by leveraging data from an advertiser’s LinkedIn Page. LinkedIn is rolling out this feature in a pilot in North America and plans to increase functionality, languages, and availability in the coming months.
• CMO Scorecard: To help B2B marketers benchmark creative impact and media performance against competitors, and demonstrate how current brand advertising investments improve recruiter, marketer and seller efficiency, LinkedIn is introducing the CMO Scorecard, a new measurement program through its consultancy, B2B Edge.
• In-stream video ads: To support a full-funnel experience, customers can tap into In-Stream Video ads to scale their campaign reach and connect with professional audiences across LinkedIn’s network of publishers.
• Thought Leader Ads: Thought Leader Ads allow brands to sponsor their thought leaders’ posts, helping them authentically communicate through a trusted voice to build brand equity and stay top-of-mind.
• Conversation Ads: New and improved Conversation Ads allow advertisers to drive higher intent conversations with members in the Focused tab, helping them to increase their reach and maximise budgets with lower frequency caps and cost per click pricing.
• Pages Messaging: LinkedIn is introducing the ability for members to organically connect with organisations through Pages Messaging. This functionality will enable members and Pages on LinkedIn to directly communicate with each other about the topics that matter most to them, like products and services, job listings, and other business inquiries.
• Audience Insights API: The Audience Insights API enables agencies and marketing technology companies to build solutions that help marketers discover and understand their target audiences to create more effective, relevant campaigns.

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