Marketing TrendsLead Generation
2013 survey resuLts
by Holger Schulze
Sponsored by
Eloqua | DiscoverOrg | Strand Marketing | Optify |
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 1
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the 2013 B2B Lead Generation Report!
It’s no secret that B2B marketing is undergoing dramatic change. Marketing professionals are under immense pressure to deliver results and justify significant program and headcount investments. The B2B Technology Marketing Community on LinkedIn conducted the 2013 lead generation survey to better understand how B2B marketers are adjusting to new challenges, and to identify new trends and best practices.
The results are in! We received more than 800 responses and are excited to share the results with you. We hope you find this report an interesting read that contains the critical data points and trends to inform your 2013 marketing plans, campaigns and budget allocations.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey!
Group Owner, B2B Technology Marketing [email protected] | +1 302-383-5817
B2B buyer behavior has been changing dramatically
over the last few years as buyers become more
sophisticated, and find new ways to gather information online and via social media.
90% of business buyers say when they’re ready to buy,
they’ll find you. *DemandGen Reports
Holger Schulze
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results
The number one challenge for B2B marketers: Generating high-quality leads
The most effective lead generation tactics used by marketers: company website, email marketing and SEO
The greatest barrier to lead generation success is lack of resources:Staff, budget and time
B2B marketers’ top metrics to measure marketing ROI:Cost per lead, revenue and lead volume
The secret to B2B email success: Provide compelling content for each stage in the buying process to move buyers from first touch to purchase
2
Top-5 Trends in B2B Lead Generation
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
1
2
3
4
5
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 3
Generating high-quality leads is by far the number one
challenge for B2B marketers
(61 percent).
Generating high-quality leads
Converting leads into customers
Creating meaningful content
Demonstrating return on investment
Sourcing high-quality data/lists
Lead generation across multiple media
Generating a high-volume of leads
Marketing to a lenghtening sales cycleMarketing to a growing number of
people involvedGenerating public relations and
awareness buzzCommunicating product value
Creating overall marketing strategy
Keeping up with changes inthe marketplace
What are your biggest B2B lead generation challenges? (Select all that apply)
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
WHAT ARE THE BIGGESTLead Generation Challenges?Q1
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 4
The most effective lead
generation tactic used by
marketers is the
company website followed by email marketing
and SEO.
Company website
Conferences/Tradeshows
Email marketing
Search engineoptimization (SEO)
Telemarketing
Virtual events/Webinars
Public relations
Paid search (PPC)
Social media
Online advertising
Direct mail
Print Advertising
How effective are the following B2B lead generation tactics?
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Very Effective Somewhat Effective Ineffective Do not use
HOW EFFECTIVE ARE THEB2B Lead Generation Tactics?Q2
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results
Q4
5
Today’s greatest barriers to
lead generation success are
lack of resources:staff, budget and time.
Lack of resources in staffing, budgeting or time
Lack of high quality data/lists to drive campaigns
Lack of budget
Limited ability to develop content
Lack of time & bandwidth
Lack of sufficient insight on target audience
Lack of alignment between Sales and Marketing
Lack of ability to stop executing and think strategically
Lack of reliable data to drive decisions
The economic climate
Lack of a clear value proposition
Lack of insight in competitive research
Lack of strategic direction
Not enough education on best practices
Lack of clarity on goals and objectives
Difficulty gaining support from the C-suite
Lack of support from IT
What are your greatest barriers to B2B lead generation sucess?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
WHAT ARE THE GREATESTBarriers to B2B Lead Generation?Q3
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 6
Q4
Cost per lead, revenue and lead volumetop the list of metrics most
B2B marketers use to measure
marketing ROI.
Cost per lead
Total revenue
Total lead volume
Lead quality
Closing rate
Web traffic
Cost per customer acquisition
Average deal size
Time to close
Don’t measure
What metrics do you use to measure marketing ROI?
0% 20% 40% 60%
WHAT mETRICS ARE USEDto measure marketing ROI?Q4
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 7
Q4
For most marketers, between
5 and 10 percent of qualifiedleads convertto customers. A whopping
25 percent don’t know their
conversion rates.
What percentage of your leads convert to closed-won deals?
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%00 05 10 15 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Don’t
Know
Percentageof Leads
Surveyresponses
convert to closed-won deals?Q5 WHAT PERCENTAGE OF LEADS
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 8
Q4
The secret to B2B email
success is
compelling contentfor each stage in the buying
process to move buyers from
first touch to purchase.
Compelling contentfor each stage
Offering downloadable content
Segment email campaignsbased on behavior
Segment email campaignsbased on demographicsDynamically personalize
email contentAutomatically send email
based on triggersAllow subscribers to
specify email preferences
Use animated imagesor video in design
Use loyalty/reward program
Don’t use email marketing
Include surveys, trivia or games
What B2B email tactics do you consider most effective?
0% 20% 40% 60%
are most effective?Q6 WHAT B2B EmAIL TACTICS
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 9
Q4Networking and speaking engagementsdrive success at trade
shows – advertising in
tradeshow materials is
the least effective tactic.
Post-show marketing
Networking during trade show
Speaking engagement as part ofthe conference/tradeshow program
Demonstrations at booth
Pre-show marketing
Staffing trade show boothappropriately
Engaging booth display and design
Utilizing social media
Have a presenter at the booth
Sponsoring trade show orrelated events
Giving away a great promotional item
Games, contests or sweepstakesat booth
Advertising in trade show materials
Don’t use tradeshows
What tradeshow tactis do you find most effective in creating qualified leads?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
most effective in creating qualified leads?Q7 WHAT TRADE SHOW TACTICS ARE THE
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 10
For webinar success
build compelling content, advertise the webinar early, and make sure to follow up .
Developing webinar content
Pre-webinar advertising togain attendees
Post-webinar marketingand follow-up
Recruiting the rightwebinar speaker(s)
Making webinar availableon demand
Creating a compellingwebinar registration page
Day of webinar execution
Producing a webinarplan and deadlines
Setting objectives forthe webinar
What do you consider the most important aspects of aneffective B2B webinar?
0% 20% 40% 60%
aspect of an effective B2B webinar?Q8 WHAT IS THE mOST ImPORTANT
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 11
For the minority of B2B
marketers who still
use direct mail –
letters, brochures and 3D promo packages
are the most effective formats.
Standard business letters
Brochures and catalogs
3 dimensional promo packages
Postcards
Sell sheets and flyers
Self-mailers
Audio or video CDs
Coupons
Promotional items, gifts, etc.
What B2B direct mail formats do you consider most effective?
0% 20% 40% 60%
We don’t use direct mail
is considered the most effective?Q9 WHAT B2B DIRECT mAIL FORmAT
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 12
For social media success,
build relationshipswith bloggers, community
moderators, and social
influencers – and don’t neglect
your corporate blog.
Building relationships with bloggers, communitymoderators, and social influencers
Uploading content to social sharingsites (YouTube, Flickr, Slideshare)
Moderating social networks(Facebook, LinkedIn, etc)
Posting comments onmicroblogs (Twitter, etc)
Including social sharingbuttons in email content
Don’t use social media tactics
Advertising on blogs, social networksor other social media sites
Including social sharing buttons oncompany website
What social media tactics do you consider most effective?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Posting content on company blog
are considered the most effective?Q10 WHAT SOCIAL mEDIA TACTICS
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 13
Most B2B marketers
(43 percent) use marketing
automation software for
reporting, analytics and dashboard capabilities – followed by campaign
tracking (42 percent).
Lead nurturing
Reports, analytics anddashboards
Campaign tracking
Integration with other systems(CRM, Web)
Email distribution and analysis
Lead management
Landing pages
Lead scoring
Lead notifications (for salesand/or marketing)
We don’t use marketingautomation software
Lead distribution
How do you use marketing automation software in yourB2B marketing organization?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
used in B2B marketing?Q11 HOW IS mARkETING AUTOmATION
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 14
Allocation of marketing budgetsto lead generation runs the
gamut – from as little as 10
percent to more than 80
percent. Most B2B marketers
that took the survey, however,
don’t know (20 percent).
What percentage of your marketing budget is allocated to lead generation?
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%00 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Don’t
Know
Percentageof Budget
Surveyresponses
is allocated to lead generation?Q12 WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE BUDGET
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 15
Lead generation
budgets are going upfor about 50 percent of B2B
marketers. Budgets will stay flat for
44 percent. Only a small number
of marketers (7 percent) expect
lead generation budgets to shrink.
How are lead generation budgets going to change
49.0% | Increase
44.0% | No change
7.0% | Decrease
budgets changing?Q13 HOW ARE LEAD GENERATION
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 16
The most commonly outsourced
B2B marketing function is
creative and graphic design(38 percent), followed by SEO
and PR (both 29 percent).
Public relations
Search engine optimization (SEO)
We don’t outsource any
Paid search (PPC)
Company website
Telemarketing
Media buying & management
Online advertising
Tradeshow booth design& marketing
What Marketing tactics do you currently outsource?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Creative/graphic design
are currently outsourced?Q14 WHAT mARkETING TACTICS
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 17
In a nutshell: Most B2B
marketers (49 percent)
have yet to figure out
how mobile marketing fits into their strategies.
What role does mobile marketing play in your marketing plan?
49.2% | 16.6%
15.1%
15.0%
4.0%
Already heavily engagedin mobile marketing
| Not interested inmobile marketing
| Still 6-12 monthsfrom getting serious
| Getting serious in 2013
Not yet clear |
marketing play?Q15 WHAT ROLE DOES mOBILE
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 18
Conferences and tradeshows receive the biggest marketing budget allocation,followed by lead generation
programs, website and
content marketing.
Conferences/Tradeshows
Lead generation
Content Marketing
Company website
Telemarketing
Email marketing
Paid search (PPC)
Public relations
Search engine optimization (SEO)
Virtual events/webinars
Online advertising
Marketing automation
Social media
Direct mailList purchases/
Sales Intelligence tools
Research
Print advertising
Roughly speaking, how will you allocate your B2B marketing budget in 2013?
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
allocated in 2013?Q16 HOW ARE mARkETING BUDGETS
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 19
Cost per marketing qualified lead ranges from less than $25
to over $500 per lead – but
most B2B marketers simply
don’t know (41 percent).
What is your average cost per marketing qualified lead (MQL)?
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%Less
Than $2525-50 51-75 76-100 100-150 151-200 200-500 Over
$500NotSure
per marketing qualified lead (MQL)?Q17 WHAT IS THE AVERAGE COST
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 20
This survey was sent to the 42,000 + members of the B2B Technology Marketing Community on
LinkedIn. 845 marketers responded – here is a detailed breakdown of the demographics.
Software
High-Tech
Advertising/Marketing
Business services
Professional services
Manufacturing
Telecommunication
Healthcare
Financial services
Government
What industry is your company in?
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Director
Owner/CEO/President
VP/EVP/SVP
Specialist
C-Level (CMO, CFO, COO)
What is your career level?
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Manager
What is the size of your company (number of employees)?
32.6% | 10-99
25.3% | Fewer than 10
22.0% | 100-999
11.4% | 1,000-10,000
8.6% | 10,000+
CEO/President/Owner
Sales
Consultant
Product Management
Engineering
What is your role?
0% 20% 40% 60%
Marketing
SURVEY mETHODOLOGY
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 22
We would like to thank our sponsors for supporting the B2B Lead Generation Report:
IDG Enterprise | www.idgenterprise.comIDG Enterprise brings together the unique brands (Computerworld, InfoWorld, Network World, CIO, DEMO, CSO, CIO Executive Council, ITworld, CFOworld and CITEworld) to serve the information needs of our IT and security-focused audiences. By leveraging the strengths of each individual brand, while simultaneously harnessing their collective reach and audience affinity, we provide market leadership and media best practices for our marketing customers to engage their customers across our portfolio.
Eloqua | www.eloqua.comEloqua (NASDAQ: ELOQ) is the marketing system of record for modern marketers. The company’s cloud software, professional services and education programs provide marketers with the technology and expertise needed to help marketing drive revenue. More than 100,000 global users from companies both large and small, rely on the marketing automation power of Eloqua to improve demand generation and lead management while driving more qualified leads. Eloqua’s customers include AON, Dow Jones, ADP, Fidelity, Polycom, and National Instruments.
DiscoverOrg | www.discoverorg.com DiscoverOrg is the leading IT marketing tool used by the top IT vendors targeting the IT departments of Fortune Ranked, Mid-Market, and SMB companies in North America. Offered in the form of a constantly refreshed database, DiscoverOrg maps out the IT Org Charts of 15,000 companies complete with verified email addresses, direct dial phone numbers, reporting structure, IT project updates and technology install base.
Optify | www.optify.netOptify is a simple digital marketing software suite and the industry standard for agency marketers. Our complete cloud-based digital marketing platform eliminates the need for standalone tools and empowers agencies to easily create and manage demand generation programs across multiple websites, nurture and score the hottest prospects, prioritize the highest performing programs and streamline co-branded reporting of client results - all from one login.
Strand Marketing | www.strandmarketing.com Strand is an award-winning, strategic marketing and advertising agency focused on the unique needs of growth-oriented high tech companies. Adept at building integrated inbound and outbound solutions, Strand’s strength is aligning strategy with creative content and Web technology to create engaging lead-generation and brand-building campaigns. They’re located North of Boston in Newburyport, MA.
SPONSORS
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 23
About the B2B Technology Marketing Community
With more than 42,000 members, the B2B Technology
Marketing Community is the single largest LinkedIn group
exclusively focused on B2B technology marketing. This
group is for marketing professionals in B2B high-tech
industries to enable networking, sharing of ideas, best
practices and opportunities.
Join the B2B TeChnoLoGy MaRkeTinGCoMMuniTy
on LinkedIn
TechnologyMarketing
Group Partner
Many thanks to everybody who participated in this survey.
If you are interested in co-sponsoring upcoming surveys, or creating your own survey report, please contact Holger Schulze at [email protected].
THANk YOU
B2B Lead Generation MarKetinG trends | Read the 2013 suRvey Results 24
Holger Schulze is a B2B technology marketing
executive delivering demand, brand awareness,
and revenue growth for high-tech companies.
A prolific blogger and online community builder,
Holger manages the B2B Technology Marketing
Community on LinkedIn with over 42,000
members and writes about B2B marketing trends
in his blog Everything Technology Marketing.
Our goal is to inform and educate B2B marketers
about new trends, share marketing ideas and
best practices, and make it easier for you to find
the information you care about to do your jobs
successfully.
Holger SchulzeB2B Marketer
Follow Holger on Twitterhttp://twitter.com/holgerschulze
Subscribe to Holger’sTechnology Marketing Bloghttp://everythingtechnologymarketing.blogspot.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR