What’s hot? What’s not? What works? What is on the way out? What is the latest in the world of B2B Marketing?
We may not have all the answers, but we’ve done some research, called on some great sources, and compiled a list of B2B marketing stats for 2022 and beyond.
If you need to convince your C-suite or manager to set aside money, time, or other resources for your B2B marketing efforts, these stats should help.
B2B, or B-to-B, or BtoB Marketing: General Stats
A large majority, 73% to be exact, of B2B buyers involved in doing research and making the decision are millennials and over 1/3 are the sole decision-maker. (Source: HBR)
B2B vendors are behind when it comes to meeting the needs of millennials who are B2B buyers. For example, 21% of millennials look to analyst rankings and reports as part of their decision-making process. (Source: TrustRadius)
Research shows that 76% of B2B organizations have created a formal marketing plan. It’s also surprising that almost 25% don’t have a formal marketing plan. (WebFX)
90% of customers start their B2B buying journey with an online search. (Dialogtech)
B2B buyers are more than halfway (57%) through the purchase process when they finally reach out to a potential vendor. (WebFX)
In the B2B space, 56% of B2B firms are incorporating digital marketing. (WebFX)
Digital marketing makes up 44% of the marketing spend by B2B firms. (WebFX)
B2B buyers read more than 10 pieces of content before they make a decision to purchase. (99 Firms)
A large chunk, 70%, of B2B buyers and decision-makers prefer remote or digital interactions with vendors. (99 Firms)
The average buyer’s journey for B2B products and services lasts up to 4 months for almost 75% of purchasers. (99 Firms)
Is Search Engine Optimization Still Relevant?
SEO is very relevant for marketers. In fact, 64% of marketers actively spend time working on search engine optimization. (Source: HubSpot)
SEO > Organic Social Media, as it drives 1,000% more website traffic than just posting to social media. (Source: HubSpot)
In recent studies of B2B buyers, 49% said they use Google’s search engine to find a new item or product. (Source: HubSpot)
According to a recent poll, 70% of those surveyed stated that SEO generates more sales than PPC. (Source: HubSpot)
Does Content Marketing for B2B Get Results?
Before contacting a salesperson, an average of 41% of B2B buyers read 3-5 pieces of content. (Source: DemandGenReport)
In a recent CMI study, 70% of respondents stated the pandemic significantly impacted their content strategy, both in the short-term and the long-term. (Source: CMI)
Since the pandemic started, 33% of B2B buyers spend more time researching products than prior to the pandemic. (Source: TrustRadius)
77% of B2B firms have a content marketing strategy. (Source: HubSpot)
Almost 70% of B2B buyers find and consume content directly from a vendor’s website. (99 Firms)
Once they’ve read a vendor’s content, 52% of B2B purchases said they are “definitely” more likely to buy from that vendor. (Source: Backlinko)
Wondering if Your B2B Website Design Is Current?
More than 63% of millennials say they prefer live chats for communicating/interacting with brands (Source: Magellan)
An overwhelming majority, 90%, of B2B buyers research between 2 to 7 websites prior to making a purchase decision. (Source: Dialogtech)
To Email or Not to Email, Is That Your Question?
The number one email marketing tactic used to improve engagement is email message personalization. (Source: HubSpot)
Segmented email campaigns can increase revenue by up to 760%, according to recent studies. (Source: HubSpot)
Of email recipients who open an email on a mobile device, 25% will open it again. (Source: HubSpot)
B2B Marketing Takeaways for the Future
Unless there is a significant technological innovation in the next year, the majority of avenues for B2B marketing will remain the same. However, how marketers leverage those avenues will change and the resources allocated to those avenues will likely increase. Understanding how your target B2B buyer wants your brand to engage with them is essential. Doing marketing according to what is comfortable for your brand won’t be effective anymore.
Sources:
HBR: https://hbr.org/2018/03/how-digital-natives-are-changing-b2b-purchasing
HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
MarTechAlliance: https://www.martechalliance.com/stories/b2b-marketing-stats-and-trends-for-2021
WebFX: https://www.webfx.com/blog/marketing/b2b-marketing-statistics/
99 Firms: https://99firms.com/blog/b2b-marketing-statistics/#gref
Dialogtech: https://www.dialogtech.com/blog/b2b-marketing-statistics/
Backlinko: https://backlinko.com/b2b-marketing-stats
TrustRadius: https://www.trustradius.com/vendor-blog/b2b-buying-disconnect-2021
DemandGenReport: https://www.demandgenreport.com/resources/reports/2019-content-preferences-survey-report/
Content Marketing Institute: https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/b2b-2021-research-final.pdf
Magellan: https://www.magellan-solutions.com/blog/live-chat-statistics-2020/