Lead Generation & Nurturing Benchmarking Report Published May 2012 KEY FINDINGS IN ASSOCIATION WITH SPONSORED BY
About this report The Lead Generation and Nurturing Benchmarking Report was produced by B2B Marketing, in association with research partner Circle Research and sponsor The Newbury Group. The report provides a robust overview of trends, attitudes and spending patterns in lead generation and nurturing for B2B brands, helping marketers to benchmark their activity against industry standards. Findings are based on 291 interviews with B2B client-side marketers conducted in April 2012. Benchmarking reports are a regular series of products produced by B2B Marketing. They are available free to Premium Members of B2B Marketing, or otherwise can be purchased online for 150 plus VAT. Key findings available to download for free.
1. B2B marketers are highly focused on leads KEY FINDINGS Sixty eight per cent of respondents rated their organisation six out of 10 for lead-orientated objectives.
2. Increasing quality of leads is marketers highest priority objective The highest priorities for respondents are increasing quality and quantity of leads generated as identified by 53 per cent and 50 per cent respectively.
3. Marketers expect to increase spend in lead generation/nurturing activities Almost seventy per cent of survey participants expect to increase investment in lead activity in the next 12 months.
4. Live events and telemarketing are best for lead quality Live events were cited as best for quality of leads by 43 per cent of respondents compared to 40 per cent for telemarketing, while email was top on quantity.
5. Content is the biggest challenge in lead activity Twenty four per cent of respondents reported creating content for lead activity was their top issue.
6. Email is most effective for generating new leads Forty two per cent of respondents identified email as the number one channel for generating new leads when it comes to targeting new customers.
Contents for full report KEY FINDINGS Section 1: About the respondents Respondent company by size Industry sectors Job titles Geographical location Value of product or service offered Responsibility for lead generation and nurturing Section 2: Approach to lead generation and nurturing Separate disciplines Focus on lead generation and nurturing activities Importance of lead activities Most important lead-orientated activities Biggest challenges Section 3: Targeting customer types Customer focus Customer prioritisation Targeting techniques Section 4: Budgeting Budget allocation to lead activities Proportion of budget allocated to lead activities Year-on-year change in lead generation Section 5: Measurement and ROI Measurement of ROI Reasons for failure to measure ROI on lead activities Measurement criteria used Importance of metrics Demonstration of ROI Section 6: Lead generation Processes for lead generation Approach to lead generation Understanding the cost of lead generation Activities used to generate leads Effectiveness of different activities in generation techniques Role of content in lead generation Section 7: Lead nurturing Use of lead scoring Lead scoring process Lead scoring criteria Accuracy of lead scoring Percentage of sales-ready leads generated Conversion rates for sales-ready leads Use of lead nurturing Channels used to nurture leads Effectiveness of nurturing channels Importance of content Recycling of leads Approach to lead recycling Section 8: Technology and service providers Use of marketing automation platforms Marketing automation platforms used Use of outsourcing suppliers Use of telemarketing
Buy this report KEY FINDINGS This report will help you: benchmark your lead generation and nurturing activity, qualify your results, integrate marketing with sales, validate internal results against the market, review key trends in lead generation and nurturing activity and optimise your future spending plans. You can buy this report now for just 99* + VAT (full price is 150 + VAT). To secure this preferential price use promotion code exec_lead. B2B Marketing produces over 20 reports per year, including: Benchmarking reports: indepth analysis of key channels, helping marketers benchmark their activities against industry standards. Best practice guides: practical guidance focused on key objectives or utilising particular marketing tools or techniques. Business cases: insight and data to help build a case towards a specific marketing investment. Technology evaluation guides: indepth functional comparison data on a particular type of marketing technology. For more information on B2B Marketing membership, or to buy: Go to b2bmarketing.net/membership Email membership@b2bmarketing.net, or call the membership team on *Promotion valid until 31 May 2012, cannot be used in conjunction with other offers.