Earnest's new film exploring the latest trends in B2B marketing.
9 out of 10 business buyers say when they are ready to buy, they will find you
Not long ago, being a B2B marketer was simple. The more you pushed out there, the better your pipeline. But then something changed.
Here are all the latest facts and stats B2B Marketers need to build the case for a balanced inbound and outbound marketing strategy.
VIDEO
As always use and abuse at your leisure and feel free to share your own Vital Statistics using #b2bvitalstats
The way businesses buy is changing
9 out of 10 business buyers say when they are ready to buy, they will find you
81% of them start the process with a web search
Many are 50-60% of the way into the buy cycle before they will even make contact with a vendor
Source: DemandGen report (https://www.slideshare.net/G3Com/content-preferences-surveyfinal )
And B2B buyers are hungrier for information
78% are looking for information around their business challenge
84% said Word of Mouth recommendations influence their purchase decisions
58% engage with peers, 48% follow industry conversations, and 41% read research papers and postings from thought leaders
Source: Breaking out of the funnel https://www.genius.com/media/pdfs/mgResources/DGR_GeniusWP_3-11.pdf
You
Content is still king
If the order value is more than $10k – 70% of buyers say they review four or more pieces of content prior to purchase
The white paper is still the most read piece of content – but 60% of buyers say they don’t have the time for reading – so the shorter, the better
But remember – 75% of buyers want vendors to curb the sales messages
And show your sources – 60% say trust in the source of the content is important.
Source: Marketing profs https://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2012/7070/five-trends-b2b-marketers-need-to-understand-to-succeed-in-2012
Source: DemandGen Report https://www.demandgenreport.com/
Source: Content4Demand https://www.content4demand.com/blog/?Tag=relevant%20content
And how content is being consumed is changing
80% of business leaders are watching more online video than ever before
75% of senior executives watch videos on business sites every week
And 65% go on to visit the vendors website after watching a video
Mobile searches have increased by 247% in the last year (despite only 10% of the web being mobile friendly)
And 67% of business buyers want interesting and exclusive content through apps
Source: Rise of the digital C-Suite https://www.forbes.com/forbesinsights/digital_csuite/index.html
Source: State of search https://www.stateofsearch.com/mobile-web-search-on-android-is-the-future-247-increase-in-uk-says-yes/
Source: CMA
Let’s settle this once and for all – Inbound and outbound tactics are not mutually exclusive.
But traditional outbound methods are not dead
74% of B2B Marketers still find direct mail effective
71% think email marketing is critical
And 72% are sure that events still pack a punch
But the numbers are worth taking into account… outbound costs $364 per lead compared to $135 for inbound
Source: Marketing Sherpa https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/direct-mail-rated-as-an
Source: HubSpot https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/31555/Inbound-Leads-Cost-61-Less-Than-Outbound-New-Data.aspx
Source: Circle Research https://www.circle-research.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Email-Marketing-Infographic-Hi-Res.pdf
However, reaching the right people is getting harder
An average marketing database contains 25-30% useless records
And 88% of people report having lied on registration forms
Data has a shelf life – if it’s more than 3 years old, chances are only 10% of your data will be clean and useful
But get it right and the best quality data can drive 70% more revenue
Source: B2B Digital https://b2bdigital.net/2012/05/31/b2b-marketers-bad-data/
Source: Fearless competitor
Source: Sirius Decisions https://siriusdecisions.com/
Want to take a peek at what the future actually looks like? Check out our 2023 Vital Stats .
Download our Vital Stats SlideShare now to learn even more about marketing to the modern business buyer.
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Big Thinking
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Paul Hewerdine
Strategy Partner
I head up the Strategy team at Earnest. I helped found Earnest, and I love a tricky brief and an ambitious client – and play my B2B marketing with a twist.