Marketers indicated a strong preference for building their own lists, the study found, with 84% of respondents preferring that to using lists rented or bought from third parties. Caitlin Moran, marketing manager at Arrowstream, said traditional methods such as face-to-face events pull in new leads, but digital content, including webinars and white papers, also gives potential customers an incentive to register and opt in to an email list. The company, which provides supply chain technology to restaurants and food distributors, is pushing into new verticals and building marketing efforts that now include an e-newsletter and other email programs. Business communications company Avaya segments its audience and tailors email marketing programs not only to reach new customers but also to better connect with companies already in the database, said Cheryl Hatlevig, director-U.S. field marketing. The company delivers links to landing pages via both email and social media, and also uses other channels. “You have to understand the preferences of the buying audience and the tools that help reach that audience,” Hatlevig said. “Email is just one vehicle to get to other ways to communicate with a customer.” The company embeds podcasts and video clips into its emails, and the multimedia elements have performed well, Hatlevig said. About 60% of the marketers who responded to the BtoB survey said that they used video clips in email programs. BtoB's study was based on an online poll completed by 424 sales and marketing professionals in February and March. Representatives of companies with less than $100 million in annual revenue made up about two-thirds of respondents. About a quarter of respondents represented technology companies. For more information, or to obtain a copy of the report, click here.