A third of B2B marketing teams have now launched video and content-sharing platforms or communicate via blogs and dialogue platforms and nearly a quarter of companies are expected to increase their investment in web 2.0 tools in order to create innovative and original campaigns.
By the end of 2010 the number of B2B marketing teams using web 2.0 tools is expected to rise to almost 60% according to research by Benchmark Group and Munier-BBN.
However half of decision makers say the cost of moderation and implementation is the most significant hurdle for putting 2.0 solutions in place, following by lack of expertise (42%) and poor content quality (39%).
Benchmark Group found that admitting a lack of expertise in the area of web 2.0 was a sign of greater maturity in approaching the adopting online tools. “Companies which are most successful at launching Web 2.0 campaigns insist on the need to work with partners who have developed know-how in the area.
“Resorting to these tools solely with opportunist aims can turn out to be dangerous and expensive” said Gilles Blanc, Director of Studies of Benchark Group.
Despite using web 2.0 tools to communicate about their brand or generate site traffic only 38% of B2B companies see them as an opportunity to collect customer insights. One in five companies use the tools to implement training and only 15% see an opportunity to identify new concepts.
