50+ Crucial Lead Generation Statistics That Matter

Generating Leads Is Hard But So Important

Let’s first look at some general lead generation statistics.

• 61% of marketers view lead generation as their biggest challenge.
• 34% of salespeople regard lead qualification as their main challenge.
• 62% of B2B companies struggle with lead generation.
• 53% of marketers use half or more of their budget on lead generation efforts.
• 85% of B2B companies name lead generation as the most important marketing objective.
• More than 40% of marketers view the lack of resources as the biggest obstacle to lead generation.
• Around 25% of marketers have hard time calculating conversion rates.
• 79% of leads never convert to sales.

Based on these facts, we can conclude that lead generation is super important, but also super difficult!

Companies use great deal of resources on lead generation efforts, and it still never seems to be enough.

Additionally, it looks like many marketers still need help with measuring their lead generation success efficiently.

B2B Lead Generation Statistics

We know that B2B and B2C marketing look a little different. 

In the B2B field, the target market is usually narrower and the sales cycle is longer.

This of course has its effect on what lead generation strategies B2B marketers choose to employ.

• 68% of B2B marketers use strategic landing pages to convert leads.
• 44% of B2B content marketers used quality of leads as a metric for assessing the content marketing performance. 30% used quantity of leads as a metric.
• Events and case studies are important B2B lead generation channels – at least before the pandemic.
• 65% of B2B brands lack a clear lead nurturing strategy and process.
• 73% of B2B businesses that use video as a part of their marketing efforts report positive ROI.

Pro tip: If you are a B2B marketer looking to increase your landing page conversion rate, check out Trustmary’s lead generation widgets.

Differences Between Lead Generation Channels 

Sometimes it might be challenging to choose the right channels for lead generation.

These lead generation statistics about various channels and strategies should help you figure out which ones are effective.

Ultimately, the best marketing channels for you depend on your business model, target audience, and so many other factors.

Outbound Lead Generation

According to lead generation statistics, the age-old debate between marketers and salespeople is still relevant.

What is a better lead generation strategy, inbound or outbound marketing?

Marketers seem to think that outbound strategies are dead, but salespeople complain about inbound leads that aren’t qualified enough.

• Outbound lead generation tactics, such as cold calling, are seen as valuable by only 18% of marketers.
• On the other hand, 44% of sales representatives are unhappy with the quality of inbound leads.
• Additionally, 97% of people ignore cold calls. However, this is the case mainly in consumer marketing, as… 
• …Only 4% of marketing managers in B2B field find receiving calls annoying. They actually find telemarketing calls useful!

In a nutshell, one could say that in B2C marketing, cold calls are not recommended. For B2B businesses, however, a mixture of inbound and outbound strategies can be very effective.

Automation

Automation is severely underutilized in lead generation, even though marketing automation generates new leads like crazy.

• Marketing automation software is king: 80% of marketing automation users have seen an increase in new leads.
• Marketing automation software can increase the amount of of qualified leads by 451%.
• Only 25% of sales teams use automation tools for lead generation.

Social Media 

Almost all internet users also use social media. There are 4.65 billion social media users globally.

While there are lots of consumers in social media, there are also lots and lots of those who want to leverage the masses. 

It means tough competition for brands who want to generate leads.

On the other hand, social media is a powerful marketing channel that can bring results with minimum effort.

• 68% of marketers view social media as a helpful lead generation channel
• Only six hours of social media per week can be enough to generate good leads, say 66% of marketers.
• LinkedIn is the most effective social media marketing channel for B2B companies. It accounts for 80% of social media leads for B2B brands.
• 47% of marketers want to learn more about TikTok, but only 18% of them are using it. (Pssst… if you want to learn more about TikTok, check out our recent webinar on the topic.)

Content Marketing

Content marketing for lead generation is widely used both in B2B and B2C marketing.

It’s no surprise, as content marketing generates more leads for less money that traditional marketing like calls and advertisements.

There are many different types of content marketing, and research has shown mixed results on what is the most effective type of content.

• Content marketing costs around 60% less than outbound marketing, but generates three times more leads.
• Our of the most successful marketers, 64% use content marketing to nurture leads.
• Blogs are an efficient way to generate traffic and leads. Marketers who use blogs generate positive ROI 13 times more likely than those who don’t use blogs.
• Creating awareness is best done with podcasts, say 77% of marketers. The next best tactics are blog posts (76%) and videos (59%).
• 86% of B2C marketers reach potential customers primarily through content marketing efforts.

Seems like different types of content work best for different purposes. Some are better for the top of the funnel to create awareness, while others are better for getting you the qualified leads.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is the OG lead generation tactic, and it’s’ not going anywhere. Quite the opposite: it’s predicted to grow more and more.

• 81% of B2B marketers name email newsletters as their most used form of content marketing.
• 42% of marketers see email as the most important lead generation tool.
• 79% of B2B marketers view email marketing as the most effective demand generation channel.
• The email marketing revenue will likely reach almost 11 billion USD in 2023.
• 64% of B2C marketers take accessibility into consideration in email marketing campaigns.
• Consumers read brand emails 10 seconds on average.
• Email marketing also generates a high ROI: from 36 USD to 44 USD for each dollar spent.

Email marketing is a mystical strategy. There are mixed signals about what are the best times to send emails, and how much people actually read marketing emails.

I would recommend that you really pay attention to the catchy headlines and top-notch, interesting content if you want people to actually read your marketing messages.

SEO

Search engine optimization must not be forgotten as a lead generation strategy. After all, that’s how people find your website organically.

• Blogs that provide educational content rather than company-centered content get 52% more organic traffic.
• Top performing B2B companies in Bakclinko’s 2021 report had 147 000 backlinks from 2 560 referring domains.
• 27% of marketers who are able to pinpoint their most successful lead channels say that organic search generates the most leads.
• There are 3.5 billion Google searches each day, which makes Google the best channel for paid advertising.

SEO goes hand in hand with content marketing efforts. Pay attention to technical side of SEO while creating content, and you will be generating traffic that possibly includes sales ready leads!

Reviews

Reviews, both in text and video form are a lead generation tactic that many people overlook.

Everyone is used to product reviews and those are a standard for e-commerce stores and retail.

However, reviews matter also for B2B companies and service industries.

• 93% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase.
• 62% of consumers are more likely to purchase if they see photos and videos of other customers.
• Reviews affect your SEO rankings by over 15%
• In Trustmary’s own customer cases, we have noticed that reviews on a website increase service bookings by 29% and contact requests by 22%.

Reviews are a cost effective way to increase lead generation on your website, but also on social media.

Personalization in Lead Generation

Personalization is no doubt important these days. Consumers have grown used to getting personal recommendations and targeted marketing messages.

And not just consumers: B2B buyers are also expecting it.

Statistics show that brands are taking this seriously, and generating true results.

• In 2020, 60% of B2C brands were using personalization based on past purchases in their marketing emails.
• Targeting relevant content for each stage of the sales funnel results in 73% higher conversion rates.
• When you personalize the lead nurturing process, you can achieve 57% increase in engagement and 63% increase in conversions.
• Segmented and personalized email campaigns generate better ROI: they can boost revenue by 760%.

Why is personalization so important, though?

It has to do with the amount of marketing messages we get all the time. If marketers are not able to hit the sweet spot of what we really want at the moment, we will ignore their messages.

Engage Your Leads Faster

Leads expect faster response than ever before. They also want personalized and conversational experiences.

It’s setting up marketers and sales reps for a great challenge!

• Your online leads are 9 times more likely to convert if you follow up within 5 minutes. That’s quick!
• Taking this fact into consideration, it’s no wonder that 41% of companies struggle to follow up with leads quickly enough.
• Additionally, 44% of salespeople are too busy to follow up with leads fast.
• 73% of B2B marketers think that webinars are the best way to generate high-quality leads, as they are very engaging.
• According to 57% of marketers, engaging the target audience is one of the most challenging parts of generating leads.

One way to tackle the challenge of fast replies is to implement lead generation chatbots.

They provide instant responses and are available 24/7. They are also more personalized and conversational than your typical lead generation forms.

Interactive Content

Interactive content in lead generation is something that not all businesses have adopted in their toolbox. 

You still have time to be a step ahead of half of your competitors if you take interactive content up now.

• 53% of marketers report using interactive content in their lead generation efforts.
• 88% of marketers who have used interactive content say that it helps with differentiating your brand from others.
• Interactive content engages visitors twice as likely as static content.
• 75% of marketers believe that non-gated interactive content helps brand present a sample of themselves and nurture leads.

Interactive content is big because it is tied to the personalized experience, which we discussed earlier.

When leads are granted some agency through interactive content, they will engage with your brand more. Instead of passive listeners who consumer the content made by others, they can be part of the content creation process.

This matches the overall phenomenon of prosumerism: people want to produce and consume content at the same time.

Conclusion and Next Steps

Generating high-quality leads is a challenge for businesses, but luckily, we can learn from the success of others.

Here’s a short summary of what we can learn from the above lead generation statistics:

1. Marketers use lots of resources for lead generation efforts, but they would still need even more money and skills to get those qualified leads.

2. Sales representatives are usually not happy with the quality of inbound leads, but at the same time, the popularity of inbound lead generation strategies is growing.

3. In B2B marketing, website and landing pages have a crucial role for generating leads. That’s why you should put effort into perfecting them.

4. Content marketing continues to be one of the most important lead generation methods. Social media and email marketing are here to stay.

5. Marketers would benefit from using different marketing automation tools more.

6. Reviews are an often overlooked but still important lead generation tool. One could argue its essential to your business to have reviews, as almost all customers want to read them before making a purchase.

7. Personalized experiences are important, which is why interactive content in lead generation should be implemented. Try e.g. chatbots, interactive images, or quizzes.

If you want to boost lead generation on your website, Trustmary can help you.

We offer review generation and lead generation widgets.

Check out the free version of the software or book a meeting to discuss what we could do for you!

Sources

Startup Bonsai, HubSpot State of Marketing 2022 Report, B2B Content Marketing Insights for 2022, The Ultimate List of Email Marketing Stats for 2022, Blogging Wizard, Writer’s Block Live, WebFX, Backlinko’s B2B Content Marketing Report, Exploding Topics, Truelist, Rock Content, UNUM, Video Testimonial Statistics That You Should Mind, Online Reviews: Statistics That Will Blow Your Mind [2022]

Further Reading

• The Ultimate Guide to Lead Generation
• Best Tools for Lead Generation (14 free + 14 paid)
• Tips for Interactive Content in Lead Generation
• 20+ Strategies in Lead Generation for B2B Business

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