As a follow-up to an earlier post, here are 5 more statistics that are eye-opening, mostly because of the way they challenge the conventional wisdom of what works, and what doesn’t, in B2B marketing.
#1: 43% of B2B marketers have acquired customers through Facebook
[Source: HubSpot]
OK, yes, we all know that Facebook is easily the most popular social media platform in the world, but how many knew that B2B marketers have embraced it so completely? That’s nearly one-half of B2B marketers who have acquired customers through Facebook, so we’re talking about more than just early adopters here.
#2: 62% of B2B users stated that LinkedIn is the most effective social media platform for their business
[Source: Content Marketing Institute]
This is a bit puzzling – LinkedIn is more effective than Facebook or Twitter? But then there’s a second piece of information, supplied by LinkedIn: “Lead generation from LinkedIn was successful for 65% of B2B companies.” It makes more sense that you’re going to get qualified leads via LinkedIn rather than from some guy who posts funny cat videos. What’s surprising, though, is the conversion rate. It’s too easy to think of LinkedIn as just a way to harvest a lot of names — this shows that real sales are going to result.
#3: About 50% of B2B vendors sell through mobile (including stores and applications)
[Source: MarketingCharts]
Mobile is already at a tipping point, and now it’s clear that B2B marketers are picking up on the mobile trend. It would be interesting to push on this a bit, to see whether we’re talking about native apps or third-party apps. But one thing is clear: B2B marketers need to be looking at more ways to embrace mobile as part of the overall marketing process. How can they reach potential prospects on their mobile phones? How can they create new types of customer experiences for mobile?
#4: Outbound leads cost 39% more than inbound leads
[Source: HubSpot]
Build it and they will come. Based on this statistic, it’s easy to see why people are so excited about inbound marketing. It’s much cheaper and more effective if leads come to you, rather than spending on advertising and hoping that they’ll come to you.
#5: Approximately 90% of B2B companies are likely to switch partners even with just a single bad experience
[Source: CMO.com by Adobe]
This is by far the scariest of the five statistics. It means that you basically have one shot with companies. If you screw up just once, your client might leave you. This has two implications – obviously, it’s better for your organization to double-down on offering the best possible experience. But you’re in sales and marketing, so how much of that can you really control? The second implication is that you really have to really ramp up your sales queue to make sure you have replacements for all that churn. Moreover, you have to make sure that you’re over-promising and under-delivering – make sure that your sales message actually matches up with what you can deliver to the client!
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Dane
Dane Cobain is a published author, freelance writer, book blogger, poet and (occasional) musician from High Wycombe, UK. Before going freelance, he worked as a social media marker, now specialising in writing about publishing, technology and marketing.