Statistics Every B2B Company Should Know to Boost Sales and Get More Customers
Buyers today are incredibly busy and have a wealth of information at their fingertips. If marketing is not actively engaging in the sales cycle to help drive relationships online, the job of B2B sales teams get even harder.
Take a look at these B2B statistics and decide for yourself if you have the right marketing plan in place to maximize your sales team’s efforts.
GROWTH IN MARKETING BUDGET STATISTICS
Marketing budgets are expected to grow by 8.7% in 2020. Are you keeping up with your competition?
Marketing budgets as a percentage of firm revenues are rising to 9.8%, with B2B product companies at 8.6% and B2B service companies at 15.6%.
Growth in digital marketing spend greatly outpaces traditional advertising with traditional— down .02% and digital up 11.8%.
THE GROWING INFLUENCE OF MILLENNIALS IN B2B BUYING DECISIONS
73% of Millennial workers are involved in decisions to purchase products or services for their companies.
(Merit)
Millennial B2B buyers cited Internet search and vendors’ websites as their top two means of researching products and services.
(Merit)
Over 45% of B2B technology buyers are 25- to 34-year-olds, making them the single largest demographic, followed by 30% in the 35- to 44-year-old age group.
(TrustRadius)
65% of Millennials believe the technologies they purchase for personal use influence the technologies they purchase for their organization, compared to 55% of Generation X and 57% of Baby Boomers.
(Spiceworks)
This trend is also true among engineers specifically, who are consuming 24% more content than they were a year ago. With 84% of their total content consumption taking place online, 49% of their content consumption occurs on a computer, 25% occurs on a mobile phone, 16% by reading a print publication, and 10% occurs on a tablet.
In today’s digitally-focused marketing sphere, it’s essential not to overlook the enduring value of phone communication in augmenting sales and drawing in new clients. A key player in this regard is VoIP phone service, which substantially refines and simplifies the process of telephone outreach.
By integrating VoIP, marketing professionals can harness the reliable power of voice calls while utilizing advanced, efficient communication techniques. This blend of traditional and contemporary methods enriches customer engagement strategies, highlighting the continued significance of telephonic interaction in the digital era.
(Engineering.com)
For the first time ever, across all age groups at least one in two engineers uses a mobile phone for content consumption:
- 25 and under: 90%;
- 26 – 35: 84%;
- 36 – 45: 77%;
- 46 – 55: 63%;
- 56 – 65+: 51%.
(Engineering.com)
In the current B2B environment, deeply influenced by digital advancements, the implementation of a dependable virtual phone system for small businesses emerges as a pivotal strategy. This approach not only refines interactions with clientele and collaborators but also propels the performance and output of sales and marketing divisions to new heights.
With such a system in place, smaller entities gain the agility and connectivity needed to thrive amidst market shifts, emphasizing the vital role of cutting-edge solutions in fostering organizational growth and deepening customer connections.
B2B BUYERS / DECISION MAKERS / INFLUENCERS STATISTICS
70% of buyers fully define their needs on their own before engaging with a sales representative, and 44% identify specific solutions before reaching out to a seller.
(CSO Insights)
70% of B2B buyers cite company reputation as the most influential factor when choosing which company to do business with.
(LoSasso)
72% of B2B buyers are most likely to share useful content via email.
(Earnest Agency)
34% of B2B buyers say their purchase decisions are driven most by features, while 27% say price and 39% say brand.
(LoSasso)
65.2% of B2B buyer said that they found value in discussing their situations with salespeople.
(CSO Insights)
45.6% of B2B buyers want to hear new ideas at the beginning of a sales conversation.
(CSO Insights)
Nine out of 10 B2B buyers say online content has a moderate to major effect on purchasing decisions.
(CMO Council)
84% of CEOs and VPs use social media to make purchasing decisions.
(Source IDC)
80% of business decision-makers prefer to get company information from a series of articles versus an advertisement.
(B2B PR Sense Blog)
67% of the buyer’s journey is now done digitally.
(Sirius Decisions)
63% of consumers need to hear company claims three to five times before they actually believe it.
(Edelman Trust Barometer)
B2B buyers are typically 57% of the way to a buying decision before actively engaging with sales. This underscores the importance for marketing to pave the path at every step of the journey for consumers to learn about and engage with your brand.
(CEB)
63% of consumers think marketing wastes time trying to force prospects to pay attention instead of making them want to pay attention.
(LoSasso)
55% of B2B buyers search for information on social media.
(Biznology)
In a typical firm with 100 to 500 employees, an average of seven people are involved in most buying decisions.
(Gartner Group)
SALES / LEAD GENERATION / RETENTION STATISTICS
Only 53% of sales representatives are meeting or exceeding their quotas. (How many other departments could get away with a 50/50 success rate?) Even more concerning is that this is the fifth straight year of decline.
(CSO Insights)
It takes eight cold call attempts to reach a prospect. Yet, the average salesperson only makes two attempts.
(Sirius Decisions)
Only 2% of cold calls result in an appointment—all the more reason to expand your marketing efforts.
(Leap Job)
91% of customers say they’d give referrals, but only 11% of salespeople ask for them.
(Dale Carnegie)
82% of B2B decision-makers think sales reps are unprepared.
(Biznology)
68% of B2B customers are lost because of indifference or perceived apathy, not because of mistakes. Only 46% of customers said vendors deliver on what was promised.
(Gallop)
Nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads.
(The Annuitas Group)
Today’s sales process takes 22% longer than five years ago.
(Biznology)
Top sellers use LinkedIn six hours per week to research prospects, connect with peers, interact with industry-related groups, and publish helpful and insightful content. Top guns also tend to have enhanced profiles that stand out from their competition.
(Jill Konrath)
Email is twice as powerful as cold calling with email marketing yielding 2x higher Return on Investment (ROI) than cold calling, networking, or trade shows, yet good old-fashioned trade shows remain the top source for most B2B lead generation, with 77% of marketers saying they generate a significant quantity of leads, and 82% saying they generate high-quality leads.
ACTIONS YOU SHOULD TAKE BASED ON THESE B2B BUYER STATISTICS
You can enhance the effectiveness of your sales team by aligning your marketing efforts to your sales cycle.
INCREASE YOUR VISIBILITY by expanding your presence and influence online, in trade publications, and at events.
DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF with consistent branding that stands out instead of me-too marketing.
GO WHERE YOUR BUYERS GO by joining them where conversations are happening in social media.
You can better serve your market at the beginning of the sales cycle by providing helpful resources online. This can generate a competitive advantage of attention and position as you get closer to the sale.
The Marketing Blender is a full-service B2B marketing agency focused on accelerating growth for clients in manufacturing, healthcare, software and professional service.