From barter systems to online transactions, buyers’ journey has evolved over the years, and so have businesses’ marketing techniques. Leaflets, online ads, promotions, content marketing, you name it—somebody has (probably) already done it and had various degrees of success while they were at it.
So, what strategy should you go for?
If you intend to market your products or services to other businesses, we have all the relevant B2B marketing statistics you need to be aware of so that you can come up with an effective strategy of your own.
Let’s get started.
B2B Marketing Stats Fascinating Facts
- 90% of B2B buyers don't follow the traditional sales pipeline
- In 2020, 80% of the average B2B sales journey happened online.
- More than 50% of companies generate leads by marketing on LinkedIn.
- Email marketing is the primary revenue stream for 59% of B2B marketers.
- 73% of customers say they’d enjoy a personalized B2B marketing experience.
- Most B2B buyers think functionality, price, and reviews are the top three criteria to consider before purchasing a product.
- Top-of-funnel content (aka non-branded, educational info) is what 67% of B2B content marketers focus on.
- According to 88% of B2B marketing pros, videos have great ROI.
- 46% of B2B marketers will lean towards a personalization approach (or account-based marketing) in the near future.
B2B Marketing Statistics: 2022 and Beyond
If you’re a business owner or a team member of the marketing department, these marketing trends, insight, and facts will help you understand the market scope, market structure, market trend, and help you build a better marketing plan in the near future.
1. The global B2B ecommerce market is worth $14.9 trillion.
(Source: Statista)
According to the latest B2B ecommerce stats, companies like Amazon, Alibaba, Rakuten, and Walmart are the market leaders worldwide.
The B2B ecommerce market is thriving now more than ever (it’s worth five times more than the B2C market!), but there are concerns regarding its sustainability—traditional supply chains struggle with the ever-increasing demand and the tight deadlines.
2. B2B ecommerce sales in the US will reach $1.1 trillion by the end of 2022.
(Source: Statista)
Recent B2B ecommerce statistics show that online sales in the US have been on an upwards trend for years, finally surpassing the $1 trillion mark in 2019.
Forecasts expect that number to increase by 65% in less than four years, reaching $1.8 trillion in 2023.
3. For the majority of B2B companies, digital marketing warrants a significant chunk of their promotion budget.
(Source: Smart Insight)
Digital marketing has taken the world by storm in the past ten years. The way B2B companies are allocating their marketing budget suggests that print advertising, direct marketing, and public relations are outdated strategies.
Digital marketing statistics reveal that 44% of B2B enterprises claim that online marketing is their preferred tactic (or, at least, that’s the one they’re spending the most on), but the actual number is probably higher.
In fact, four of the top five lead-conversion strategies among B2B companies take place in the online world—website development, content marketing, social media, and digital marketing.
4. About 82% of marketers focus on content creation.
(Source: HubSpot)
Content marketing is one of B2B marketers' major weapons. They use this strategy to generate online buzz, reassure customers about their products’ quality, and drive conversions.
B2B content marketing stats show that the number of professionals who actively use this technique is 70% higher compared to last year. Videos, infographics, and blogs, for example, are some of the most sought formats.
5. Smartphones account for 50% of B2B queries.
(Source: Big Commerce)
The popularity of smartphones has changed how customers interact with businesses. In fact, website marketing statistics show that 40% of B2B revenue comes from mobile devices.
So, if you haven't optimized your website for smartphones and tablets, you’ll probably want to start working on it right away; otherwise, you’ll likely keep on losing more than 50% of your leads.
6. A B2B user conducts about 12 searches before making a purchase.
(Source: Marketing Charts)
Most B2B customers purchase their products and services online, but before doing that, they spend a fair amount of time researching the prospective product.
B2B search stats show that 74% of B2B buyers look up at least 50% of their work-related purchases online.
How can you make this work in your favor?
Blog posts, infographics, and videos are different forms of content you can publish to entice your audience to click.
After all, stats also say that 65% of B2B buyers consider vendor websites as the most significant content available. So, time to start reading up on SEO tools and how they can help you drive traffic to your site.
Lead Generation Statistics: Garnering Attention
The changes in buyers’ journeys, the increase in online transactions, and all the supply chain disruptions that have been going on lately have impacted businesses’ outlook and the way they draw customers’ attention.
Let’s dive deep into the latest stats and see how effective different strategies have proven to be.
7. Brand awareness stats say ads are a powerful tool for getting customers to remember you.
(Source: Think With Google)
An amazing ad can undoubtedly improve your brand reputation. For a B2B company, it’s vital to make advertisements stand out.
A study conducted by Google, which involved about 800 consumers, revealed that search ads increase top-of-mind awareness by 80%—even if people don’t click the ad.
8. B2B email marketing produces the highest ROI.
(Source: Chief Marketer)
Emails are still one of the most important marketing channels for thousands of B2B business owners.
Looking at the latest B2B marketing stats, 50% of professionals state that email campaigns generate the highest ROI for them. And they’re onto something—email marketing has a 4,200% ROI.
Of course, this isn’t an exact science (43% of marketers say it’s actually SEO that generates the highest ROI) but if you want to cover all your bases, there are various email marketing tools that can help you get started with your electronic campaigns.
9. Social media is the top lead generator for 33% of B2B companies.
(Source: Foundation Inc)
The latest B2B social media stats reveal that LinkedIn is the most effective lead-generating platform, with 59% of B2B marketers asserting that it works for their brands.
Twitter (28%), Facebook (24%), and YouTube (13%) follow not-so-close behind.
10. 71% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for advertising.
(Source: Foundation Inc)
LinkedIn might be a bit expensive (in terms of advertising costs) compared to Facebook, but it delivers top-notch results for B2B marketers—even if it has a smaller user base than other social media networks.
LinkedIn advertisement statistics show that the vast majority of B2B marketers (94%) use the platform to share content. Plus, more than 70% of them choose it as their go-to channel for advertising, too.
11. Most marketers believe SEO is more effective than PPC at steering sales.
(Source: Databox)
A study conducted among 58 marketers revealed that 70% of them picked SEO (instead of PPC) as their favorite channel to generate sales.
To be fair, it’s not that PPC isn’t useful for driving website traffic; it just depends on what your strategy is—SEO is a long-term approach, whereas PPC is an easier and quicker way of generating leads.
12. Recommendations from friends and family are more effective than any marketing strategy.
(Source: Invesp)
Referral marketing statistics reveal that 84% of customers take recommendations from people they know and trust.
Plus, referred customers are four times more likely to promote your brand to other consumers—it’s basically free marketing with a snowball effect.
Digital Marketing B2B Trends: Going Forward
The B2B landscape looks a bit different and advanced compared to a few years back. The evolution of smartphones and AI has changed buyers’ journeys and the ways they purchase their goods and services.
Let’s take a quick look at some amazing B2B marketing stats that highlight current and expected trends.
13. 33% of B2B shoppers prefer a seller-free experience.
(Source: Gartner)
And so do a significant percentage of millennials (44%) too. In fact, the latest projections say nearly 80% of all B2B sales interactions will occur via digital channels by 2025.
This means companies must develop new strategies and find tools to help them cope with this digital trend—things like live chat software, landing page builders, or even recurring billing solutions.
14. Nearly 50% of B2B marketers will increase their content marketing budget.
(Source: Statista)
Professionals are now investing in this strategy more than a few years back. While looking at B2B content marketing statistics, we found that 34% of marketers plan on increasing their content-related budget by less than 9%, whereas 12% aim for an even bigger raise.
The rest of B2B marketers are either still unsure (15%), keeping the same budget (35%), or planning on decreasing it (4%).
15. Marketing automation brings more leads, or so 80% of marketers say.
(Source: APSIS)
One of the most significant changes in lead-acquisition trends is the rising usage of automation tools—55% of B2B companies are currently using them.
Marketing automation is great for generating leads, but it’s also quite good at turning them into actual customers. B2B marketing statistics reveal that 77% of marketers have seen an increase in conversions thanks to these tools.
That said, 26% of companies also claim they saw little to no benefits when they implemented automatization techniques, so it’s not a 100% guarantee.
16. 42% of B2B marketers want to boost their video marketing strategy in 2022.
(Source: Salesforce Research)
Putting all your eggs in one basket is seldom a good tactic—and marketers know it. They have an assortment of tools that they use (some a little more, others a little less) at various points of the B2B buying cycle.
Well, a recent survey asked marketers which tools they’re planning to use a little more in the near future, and results show that AI, social media, and marketing analytics are the crowd’s favorites.
Videos follow close behind, with 42% of marketers betting on this strategy.
17. Video ad spending in the US will reach $9.26 billion by 2024.
(Source: Story Xpress)
Video content has taken the world by storm. Most customers nowadays prefer to watch short videos rather than read a 1,000-word blog post—and it shows.
Nearly 90% of video marketers say they get a good ROI for their efforts. In fact, B2B marketing statistics show that videos earn you 54% more brand awareness and 66% more leads.
18. Content marketing will be worth $600 billion by 2024.
(Source: Content Hacker)
As of 2022, content marketing is worth $400 billion, but estimations expect that number to cross over $600 billion by 2024.
With a fair amount of people using ad-blockers, and search engines upping their selection criteria, marketers’ best bet is to produce high-quality, useful content that internauts will appreciate.
Wrap Up
We hope our selection of B2B marketing statistics and trends gave you the insight and inspiration you were looking for.
If anything, all the stats above show that both businesses and customers are evolving right along with technology, so be sure to keep up.
Sources
Unaware that life beyond the internet exists, Nick is poking servers and control panels, playing with WordPress add-ons, and helping people get the hosting that suits them.
