Lead generation is one of the most important disciplines in your business. Especially if you have a high-end product that doesn’t work well with impulse purchases.
This post shares some of the most compelling lead generation statistics so you can make the right moves now and in the future.
Lead generation statistics that matter
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Only 16% of marketers believe outbound methods produce the highest quality leads for sales teams (Source: DemandGen)
Times are changing. In the past, almost all leads were produced by outbound methods. It wasn’t perfect but it worked. That is, until we figured out this inbound marketing thing. Today, people who need what you have will seek you out.
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Fewer than 10% of salespeople said the leads gotten from marketing are high quality (source: Hubspot)
The main reason behind this lead generation statistic is the fact that there’s little to no alignment between sales and marketing. To prevent this from happening in your organization, ensure teams have defined what a SQL and an MQL are.
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85% of the marketers in B2B companies say lead generation is one of the most important content marketing goals (CMI)
Many B2B marketing strategies see lead generation and content marketing tied together closely – if you do it right. Yes, traffic can be a goal but it shouldn’t be the only goal. In fact, it shouldn’t be the primary goal.
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But 65% of them are struggling to generate enough quality leads to fill the pipeline (CSO insights).
There’s often a disconnect between stated goals and results. The major challenge of content marketing is getting it right. There’s only so much you can copy from competitors. In the end, you’ll have to focus on the specific aspects that’ll move the needle for your business.
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Strategic landing pages are used by 68% of B2B businesses to acquire leads (Marketo)
That means the homepage or a single generic landing page shouldn’t be what drives lead generation for your business. It should be varied based on the stage of awareness, customer segment, and more. The more tailored landing pages you have, the higher your conversion rates will be.
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The most common B2B lead generation strategy is email marketing – 78% of businesses use it.
We love email marketing strategies at KyLeads because they move the needle. It’s also what everyone else is doing so it’s important to test and optimize over time so you’re able to get the most out of it.
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After that, event marketing is the second most common with 73% adoption and content marketing with 67% adoption. (Direct marketing news)
Please note that events, in this case, include in-person and online events. It’s surprising that event marketing is the second most common lead generation strategy. Whatever the case, it wouldn’t be popular if it didn’t work. There are many types of events like online summits or meetups. Determine the type that works best in your industry before doubling down.
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Because of a lack of relevant nurturing sequences, 79% of marketing sales never convert to customers (Marketo)
The takeaway here is simple. Nurture leads until they’re ready to buy. Set up lead scoring or other metrics that makes it simple to gauge the stage of awareness and act accordingly.
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25% of marketers have no idea of their lead conversion rates (b2b technology marketing community)
I have little to say about it because there’s no real excuse. If it’s because of tools, get better tools. If it’s because of talent, hire a consultant to set up your systems for you.
Consider engaging a business consultant to streamline your lead generation strategies and enhance overall business performance.
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According to B2B marketers, the greatest challenges with lead generation are lack of resources when it comes to staffing, budgeting, and or time (b2b technology marketing community)
If you’re the founder then you need to prioritize lead generation. If you’re on a marketing team then you have to find a way to make the case for lead generation. It’s the lifeblood of the business whether you like it or not.
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Though only 4% of website visitors are ready to buy at any given time, a large majority are ready to perform an intermediate action (Marketo)
That means to turn them into a lead so you can communicate with them over time instead of shoving a buy now button down their throat.
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Well executed content marketing strategy generates 3X as many prospects as outbound marketing but costs 62% less (Demand Metric)
The operative word is well executed. Anyone can crank out a few videos or a few blog posts but are they moving the business forward? That takes more effort over an extended period of time.
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Sales reps and marketers who follow up with leads within 5 minutes are 9x more likely to convert them (inside Sales)
Following up with leads quickly is easier said than done. It’s worth the effort it takes and can change everything for you.
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90% of customers say video helps them make informed buying decisions
If your product or service lends itself to it, spend some time creating demo or explainer videos and measure the impact it has on your bottom line and lead generation.
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Marketers who prioritize blogging and content marketing are 13X more likely to see a positive ROI
The reason why they’re more likely is that they get better at it over time. It’s not a one week or one month process but the more you do something, the more proficient you become.
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42% of organizations hold the belief that email is among their most effective lead generation channel (Circle Research)
We saw a statistic earlier that said email is the most commonly used channel. This statistic shows that almost half of the people who use email are getting results from it.
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Emails focused on lead nurturing can get up to 10x higher response rate when compared to standalone emails (SilverPop/DemandGen Report)
What does that mean in a practical sense? It suggests that when you nurture leads with a combination of educational and sales content, you can get a higher response rate on your offers. Another thing to consider is making offers more often.
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Over half of B2B marketers generate leads through LinkedIn while 49% generate leads through Facebook and only 36% generate leads through Twitter (Pinpoint Market Research)
This makes sense because LinkedIn is a professional network. At the same time, that doesn’t mean Facebook or Twitter aren’t effective. For some companies, Facebook is their best channel and for others, that channel is Twitter.
If you do choose to use LinkedIn like the majority of B2B marketers, take advantage of automation tools like Expandi. It’ll make it easier to start seeing results without alienating your prospects.
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Personalizing lead nurturing emails have been shown to increase revenue by up to 760% (CampaignMonitor)
Lead generation statistics don’t paint the entire picture. What you personalize matters more than anything else. The key to these kinds of results is personalizing content in a way that makes sense. Yes, you can send guys emails about menswear, but it won’t be too spectacular. If you start sending them emails about brands they’ve purchased in the past, that’s when you’re on to something.
Lead nurturing is an intricate endeavor, demanding an extensive understanding of the company and significant effort. It’s essential to subtly and naturally guide potential clients toward realizing the necessity of your services, thereby laying a foundation for their transition into consistent users of what you offer.
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Larger websites (401 – 1000 pages) can get up to 6x the leads than that of a smaller website (51 – 100 pages) (HubSpot)
This isn’t something you can do overnight and it’s more than just throwing up a bunch of landing pages. The key here is to create pages targeted at specific buyer personas. For example, you may create pages for working women, stay at home moms, and college students. That’s when you’ll unlock 6X the conversions.
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92% of B2B marketers are committed to content marketing for lead generation (CMI)
Content marketing works but as I’ve said more than once in this article, it’s only effective with a clear strategy. Which content is designed for links? What content is designed for revenue and conversions? Which content is designed for traffic?
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53% of marketers report that more than half of their total budget is geared towards lead generation (BrightTalk)
Like other lead generation statistics, this one supports the fact that lead generation is one of the most important activities in your business. Without it, you’re dead in the water. Spend as much time, money, and energy as it takes to generate quality leads and you’ll be much more successful.
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73% of B2B companies are now focused on lead quality as opposed to lead quantity and 72% are focused on improving conversion rates (demand gen report)
As you can see, contacts aren’t important until they have the intention to buy. They may be in the research phase and if you send them sales messages, it’ll fall on deaf ears.
Conclusion
These 23 lead generation statistics are here to help you understand what’s working and what isn’t. For example, if most people are spending money in a certain area then there must be a reason for it.
At the same time, it’s important to test out things no one else is doing. Understand the playbook but also throw it out every now and then so you can create a step-change in your organization.
