When it comes to demand generation, it can feel like you’re moving in the dark. Unsure of what other companies are doing and seeing success with, you only have your own data set to pull from when figuring out what to try next.

But wouldn’t it be nice if you knew some of the research around what’s working (and what’s not) for other marketers focusing on demand gen? It could help guide your strategy and inform some decisions on what to devote resources to, right? Right.

That’s exactly why we’ve gathered 25 current statistics on demand generation (all from the past year) in one place. Take a look at the hard numbers around trends for demand gen in 2018 and find out what you need to be thinking about in the months ahead. We think you might be surprised by some of the numbers.

Demand Gen Statistics

1. Converting leads to customers was the top marketing priority for 70% of organizations in 2017. (HubSpot, State of Inbound)

2. 70% of marketers say their demand gen budgets will increase, and 34% say their spending will grow by more than 20%. (2018 Demand Gen Benchmark Survey)

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3. Most midsize to large organizations average less than 5,000 marketing qualified leads (MQLs) per month. (HubSpot, Demand Generation Marketing Survey 2017)

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4. 79% of B2B marketers credit email as the most effective distribution channel for demand gen efforts. (Content Marketing Institute)

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5. Lack of resources (staff, funding, time) is the biggest obstacle for 61% of marketers working on B2B lead generation. (Brighttalk)

6. B2B marketers consider customer experience and personalization the most promising demand generation trends in the next year. (Econsultancy and Adobe)

7. Only 19% of marketers said they are currently using AI-powered applications today, but 36% of marketers said they are planning to deploy them as part of their martech stack in the next 12 months. (DemandGen 2017 Lead Nurturing & Acceleration Study)

8. B2B marketing teams often spend upwards of 40 hours a month formatting and processing leads for database upload. (Integrate)

9. Organizations with revenues under $500 million have a mean cost per lead of roughly $180; companies with revenues above $500 million spend more than double that, at roughly $430 per lead. (HubSpot, Demand Generation Marketing Survey 2017)

10. 33% of demand generation professionals say that generation of MQLs is their primary metric for success, while 30% say pipeline influence is their top indicator. (2018 Demand Gen Benchmark Survey)

11. 64% of B2B marketers generate leads via LinkedIn, 49% via Facebook, and 36% via Twitter. (Pinpoint Market Research)

12. Cost per lead ranges from $150 to $350 on average, with larger companies paying higher costs per lead. (HubSpot, Demand Generation Marketing Survey 2017)

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13. 42% of lead gen professionals consider lack of quality data a major challenge around quality lead generation. (Brighttalk)

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14. 46% of marketers are using interactive content, with the top reason for moving to interactive being better engagement around demand gen efforts. That same research found that 79% of marketers already using interactive content plan to increase their use in the next 12 months. (Content Marketing Institute)

15. Marketers are now experimenting with buyer engagement through formats other than form fills: Video (66%), thought leadership (65%), and infographics (59%) are being made available ungated to accelerate leads through the funnel. (DemandGen 2017 Lead Nurturing & Acceleration Study)

16. In the B2B setting, events help generate the most leads, while case studies help convert and accelerate the most leads. (MarketingCharts)

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17. 54% of B2B marketers measure success via revenue-based quotas, while 45% measure success through lead-based quotas (NetLine).

18. The top demand generation priorities for 2018 are: 1) focusing on lead quality over quantity, 2) improving conversion rates and results, and 3) generating increased lead volume. (2018 Demand Gen Benchmark Survey)

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19. On average, organizations generate 1,877 leads per month and 1,523 MQLs. Just over 1 in 10 are unable to say how many leads they generate in a given month. (HubSpot, Demand Generation Marketing Survey 2017)

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20. Bundled nurturing content within a resource hub (instead of multiple emails) produced a 3X increase in lead to pipeline ratio. (DemandGen 2017 Lead Nurturing & Acceleration Study)

21. Email was still the go-to demand gen channel for 67% of marketers, but search grew by almost 10% from last year (moving from 41% to 50%), and online ads climbed 5% (moving from 16% to 21%). (2018 Demand Gen Benchmark Survey)

22. 45% of marketers are still unsure what role mobile marketing will play in their demand gen strategies. (Brighttalk)

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23. 66% of marketers use video in their lead nurturing campaigns. (DemandGen 2017 Lead Nurturing & Acceleration Study)

24. 53% of content marketers use interactive content in lead generation efforts. (Content Marketing Institute)

25. 64% of B2B buyers they prefer podcasts at the top of the funnel, while 48% said webinars were valuable to them in the mid-stage of their buying journey. (DemandGen 2018 Content Preferences Survey)

Wrap Up

With this information, you can create a demand gen strategy for the remaining months of 2018 that capitalizes on buyer preferences, current trends, and content formats to drive results for your organization.

Have you seen any other recent, interesting statistics around demand gen not listed here? Share it in the comments below.