Top B2B Lead Generation Statistics for 2021

Millions of companies crowd the B2B universe, vying for the same share of business.

As new companies join the space, existing companies will find it increasingly difficult to generate new leads. As bleak as this sounds for marketers, we remain hopeful.

We’ll go out on a limb and say that, as a marketing practice, lead generation will never go extinct. There will always be prospects who need B2B products or services. That won’t change. What will change, however, is this: Marketers who fail to adapt to the changing B2B landscape will fall behind.

As such, it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest lead generation trends, technological advances, and- as always- your customer base. Ready to learn more? Keep reading.

Here are the most important B2B lead generation statistics to inform and evolve your marketing lead generation strategy:

B2B Lead Generation Statistics

The Current State of Lead Generation

  • 53% of marketers say half or more of their budget is allocated to lead generation, while 34% say less than half of their budget is allocated to lead generation (source).
  • Strategic landing pages are used by 68% of B2B businesses to acquire leads (source).
  • The three most commonly used B2B lead generation strategies are email marketing (78%), event marketing (73%), and content marketing (67%) (source).
  • For B2B software marketers, however, the top sources of new business are organic search, SEM/PPC advertising, and word of mouth referrals (source).
  • 85% of B2B marketers say lead generation is their most important content marketing goal (source).
  • Outbound leads cost 39% more than inbound leads (source).
  • Only 5-10% of qualified leads successfully convert for marketers (source).
  • The average cost of a B2B sales lead varies by industry. Healthcare leads rank highest ($60) followed by business/finance ($43). At the low end are leads for marketing products/services ($32) and technology ($31) (source).
  • Verifying business leads before passing it to the sales team is conducted by only 56% of B2B companies (source).
  • 22% of B2B businesses reach out to prospects with lead nurturing on a weekly basis (source).
  • 46% of marketers with well-planned lead management strategies have sales teams who follow up on more than 75% of leads (source).
  • 37% of B2B marketers are using marketing automation to generate leads (source).
  • Over 50% of B2B marketers do not use direct mail to generate leads (source).

Successful Tactics

  • By spending as little as six hours per week, 66% of marketers see lead generation benefits with social media (source).
  • Content marketing is used for lead generation by 83% of B2B marketers (source).
  • 70% of B2B marketers claim that videos are more effective than other content when it comes to converting users to qualified leads (source).
  • 93% of B2B companies say content marketing generates more leads than traditional marketing strategies (source).
  • Lead generation from LinkedIn was successful for 65% of B2B companies (source).
  • More than 80% of leads generated through social media come from LinkedIn (source).
  • Expertise in lead nurturing results in a 50% increase in sales-ready leads, along with a 33% decrease in its cost (source).
  • A CRM system is believed by 84% of companies to be beneficial in determining the quality of leads (source).
  • Lead generation outsourcing is 43% more efficient than generating leads in-house because lead generation companies have more expertise (source).
  • Content marketing generates three times as many prospects as outbound marketing but costs 62% less (source).
  • 39% of marketers have generated leads through Facebook and just 30% through Twitter (source).
  • Emails for nurturing leads generate an 8% CTR compared to general emails, which generate just a 3% CTR (source).
  • Lead-nurturing emails get 4-10x times the response rate compared to standalone emails (source).
  • 42% of organizations believe email is one of their most effective lead generation channels (source).
  • Nurtured leads produce a 20% increase in sales opportunities versus other leads (source).
  • Follow up with web leads within 5 minutes, and you’re 9 times more likely to convert them (source).
  • Companies that have mastered lead nurturing have 9% more sales reps making quota (source).
  • 81% of businesses report that their blog is important or critical in generating leads (source).
  • B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads than companies that don’t (source).
  • Businesses who nurture leads make 50% more sales at a cost 33% less than non-nurtured prospects (source).
  • Companies who automate lead management see a 10% or more bump in revenue in 6-9 months time (source).
  • Organizations with websites of 401-1000 pages get 6 times more leads than sites with 51-100 pages (source).
  • 49% of B2B marketers are heavily engaged in mobile marketing for generating leads (source).

The Challenges of B2B Lead Gen

  • 63% of marketers say generating traffic and leads is their top challenge (source).
  • 80% of marketers say their lead generation efforts are only slightly or somewhat effective (source).
  • Lack of resources such as staff, funding, and time remains the biggest obstacle to successful lead generation efforts for 61% of B2B marketers (source).
  • Only 16% of marketers say outbound practices provide the highest quality leads for sales (source).
  • 42% of sales reps state that a lack of quality data is their biggest barrier to lead generation (source).
  • 79% of marketing leads never convert into sales. Lack of nurture is the main cause for this (source).
  • 49% of B2B marketers site social media marketing as the most difficult lead generation tactic to execute (source).

Lead Generation Statistics: Key Takeaways

There you have it, the most important B2B lead generation statistics to guide your future lead generation efforts. The key takeaway here is to never grow complacent with your lead generation strategy. What works this month might not work the next- and remember, there are countless other companies just waiting to step in grab those leads from you.

For more information about lead generation, check out our lead generation strategy guide. Or, contact ZoomInfo to see how our B2B contact database can transform your lead generation strategy.