BOSTON, March 22, 2016 – There are now few places within the customer journey that can’t be bolstered by content, finds a new report released today from Seismic, the leading end-to-end sales enablement solution, and Demand Metric. According to the more than 180 B2B enterprise stakeholders surveyed, lead generation (70 percent of respondents) is the most cited objective for B2B content marketing initiatives, and sales team support and enablement (64 percent) is the second-most cited objective, surpassing both thought leadership efforts (58 percent) and web traffic generation (56 percent), among other objectives. Eighty percent of respondents also indicate that these objectives are better met when content is personalized.

“The conclusion of the report is unmistakable: content personalization throughout the customer journey—from first-touch to close—is imperative,” said Doug Winter, CEO of Seismic. “Much like how marketing automation disrupted the marketing landscape about a decade ago, marketers today that can execute a holistic and efficient content personalization process before their competitors do will be in a much better position to win more deals and close more sales.”

However, many B2B marketers remain only in the beginning stages of a content personalization process, as indicated by additional key findings from the report:

  • Fifty-five percent of respondents have only been personalizing content for two years or less.
  • Of those not currently personalizing content, 59 percent cite a lack of technology, 59 percent cite lack of bandwidth, and 53 percent cite lack of data.
  • Sixty-seven percent of respondents are performing content personalization via an entirely manual or mostly manual process.
  • Only 40 percent of those who are personalizing content are currently leveraging CRM data to inform their efforts.
  • More than half of respondents are currently considering, implementing or using content automation solutions to personalize content.

The report also delves into near-term future prospects of content personalization, revealing that it is top-of-mind for the majority of B2B executives. Seventy-six percent of respondents indicate that their organization plans on increasing the use of personalization over the next 12 months; many are also looking to implement content personalization tools to help make the process more efficient and effective.

“This new report shows that the race towards content personalization is on,” said Jerry Rackley, chief analyst at Demand Metric. “Eighty percent of respondents find personalized content more effective, and when one also considers that more than half of those polled are considering implementing or are using content personalization tools, those who are not may find themselves at a competitive disadvantage in the very near future.”

About Seismic
Seismic is the leading end-to-end sales enablement solution that increases sales productivity and marketing effectiveness by delivering the right content at the right time on any device. By creating, customizing and analyzing sales materials with Seismic, customers dramatically increase time spent selling and improve win rates. With offices in San Diego, Boston, New York City, Chicago, San Francisco and Melbourne, Seismic is privately held by its three-time serial entrepreneur executive team and investment firms JMI Equity and Jackson Square Ventures.

About Demand Metric
Demand Metric is a marketing research and advisory firm serving a membership community of over 70,000 marketing professionals and consultants in 75 countries.

Offering consulting methodologies, advisory services, and 500+ premium marketing tools and templates, Demand Metric resources and expertise help the marketing community plan more efficiently and effectively, answer the difficult questions about their work with authority and conviction and complete marketing projects more quickly and with greater confidence, boosting the respect of the marketing team and making it easier to justify resources the team needs to succeed. To learn more about Demand Metric, please visit: www.demandmetric.com.