Which has a better RoI, direct or broad marketing?

In the consumer world, marketing to a wide audience usually has the most impact, thus companies broadcast or advertise in various media (print, tv, mobile, etc). The return on investment in such marketing campaigns are huge since it can sway a whole new generation of customers. Is the same in B2B?

In the business world it is possible to broadcast in print media, visual advertising and various exhibitions. None of them comes without a cost, the question to me is if is justified with a good return on investment. Exhibitions in particular where costs are around 20,000€ to 100,000€ if you factor in all the cost involved (logistics, resources, etc) are very expensive (not if you are an industry giant) for SMEs. Of course you get that marketing presence but is it really worth it? Just consider that at 100,000€ that’s the annual cost of a good sales person who might be able to reach the same companies you target to get your presence known in an exhibition.

There are advantages of course in broadcasting to business clients such as when launching a new product or entering a completely new market… you announce your presence and increases brand awareness and recognition. Having said that, what is the most cost effective way of achieving a wide brand awareness and product recognition? Is it through various exhibitions or print media or visual advertising or direct marketing? In my humble opinion exhibitions are great if you have a captive audience, such as being a speaker on a hot topic or launching a revolutionary product that everyone is interested in or scheduling meetings in advance with potential customers who are attending the exhibition (saving you the travel cost later on).

With direct marketing you are able to reach your intended audience first hand (if you know who they are and if your marketing message is not considered as a spam). For it to be effective it has to captivating and concise since most readers only has a few seconds to digest your message. The question is how can you design your direct marketing campaign to have the right effect?