by Jen Doyle, Senior Research Manager

Marketing Research Chart: Lead Gen Budgets for 2012

Q. Please indicate the expected changes to your lead generation budget for the following channels for 2012.

Click here to see a larger, printable version of this chart

If a brief overview of topics in the marketing blogosphere hasn’t already tipped us off to the movement toward online marketing, a look at the figures for 2012 will. During Marketing Sherpa’s 2012 Lead Generation Benchmark Survey, we asked 1,915 marketers to tell us where their organizations plan to allocate their money in 2012.

According to the study, the tactics that will receive the greatest increases in budget for 2012 include website optimization, social media and SEO. Conversely, the tactics receiving the lowest increases are all outbound, including print advertising, tradeshows and direct mail.

These figures clearly demonstrate the increasing value placed upon online lead generation tactics, yet many marketers continue to struggle against limited budgetary resources in their efforts to generate high-quality leads. No doubt, it is unfortunately common for organizations to view Marketing as a cost center and Sales as a revenue generator.

A great way for marketers to correct this misconception and, more importantly, barter for budget increases is to implement a lead attribution process. This allows them to properly tie marketing activity to revenue, so they can plead a strong case and eventually win the funds they need to develop a strong lead generation campaign.

For additional research data and insights about lead generation, download and read the free Executive Summary from MarketingSherpa’s 2012 Lead Generation Benchmark Report.

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MarketingSherpa’s 2012 Lead Generation Benchmark Report

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