10 Key B2B Marketing Stats for 2022

Traditionally we always take a moment at this time of the year to summarise what’s happened in B2B marketing over the last 12 months. This year we've changed it up a little and having closely examined a wide range of B2B marketing statistics for 2022 we've identified what we think are the most significant and shortlisted those into our top 10 key stats, with analysis and links to further information that we hope you'll find useful.

1.  59% of B2B organisations state that email marketing is the top tool that helps them gain sales but on average people spend just 35 minutes a week exploring their inboxes. The amount of time spent typically ranges from 10 to 60 minutes per week and just one of five B2B emails is opened, perhaps explaining why 32% of B2B organisations plan to invest in personalisation to increase the chance of their email being opened. If you're looking for some ideas to increase your open rates we've created some Email Best Practice Guides which you can download here.  

2. Despite this 87% of B2B marketers use email to distribute content. Here's a webinar which can help you avoid some of the most common mistakes made in email marketing campaigns or we've got a great email marketing mistakes blog post as well. Of the different types of email campaign, for 81% of B2B marketers email newsletters are the most-used type of content marketing and are also rated the best ways to nurture leads, according to 31% of those B2B marketers.

3. 54% of salespeople admit that contacting prospects now is harder than five years ago which makes it even more critical to have accurate, up-to-date contact data information especially as only 1 out of 50 cold calls yields results so perhaps cold calling is no longer a viable option for B2B businesses.

4. Content marketing is the most popular strategy utilised by B2B firms which makes sense given 77% of B2B customers report that they research thoroughly before making a purchase. Blog posts and press releases attract twice the number of leads that educational content generates but it's important to note that 66% of B2B buyers cite product specifications as the top content they want to read. As the primary purpose of content marketing specified by B2B firms is lead generation given these metrics it's easy to understand why 56% of B2B organisations are investing in digital marketing. 

5. B2B marketers use on average 12 data sources. We think it’s important that you know as much as possible about each data provider you may be considering so that you can make an informed choice. Are they compliant? How do they gather their data, and does this result in effective data? Are there any red flags that should concern you? That's why we've taken a closer look at ZoomInfo, Cognism and Lusha in a recent blog post here. We've also created a free to download B2B Data Buyer's Guide with the '20 Must Ask Questions' which will help you tell the bad from the good and determine the most appropriate B2B data provider for the needs of your business. 

6. The average number of data management tools used by marketers is 6. Eliminate the need for multiple management tools by sourcing data which can be integrated with your existing systems. Learn how you can do this here.

7. Only 59% of B2B marketers track their marketing leads despite the vast majority (84%) believing that ROI has become more important as businesses tighten their budgets in the current economic climate. Good sales data plays a fundamental role in every aspect of business; it steers decision making, helps you manage customer relationships and drives campaigns and productivity. One of the main functions of good sales data is to supply your sales teams with key information to drive productivity and allow them to focus on the right things. Put simply, good sales data leads to insight that drives strategy and results.

8. An average of six to ten people are now involved in a B2B buying cycle so it's important to have accurate, up-to-date comprehensive information about all of those indidviduals in your target organisations.

9. Video continues to grow in popularity in B2B marketing with 98% of B2B Marketers stating that video content converts as well as, if not better than other forms of content. This explains why more than 85% of B2B marketers are already using or planning to use video marketing. Added to which almost 94% of prospects/customers watch videos to understand how a product or service works with the majority stating that they would watch a video until the end if it is below one minute. Most importantly, 84% of buyers reported that they were encouraged to make a purchase by watching a video. 

10. In terms of B2B data compliance, as of March 2022 GDPR fines had reached a record total of around €1.581 billion. Currently leading the 'GDPR fine trigger' list:

• Insufficient legal basis for data processing
• Insufficient technical and organisational measures
• Non-compliance with general data processing principles

Less severe infringements incur a fine of €10 million OR 2% of worldwide annual revenue from preceding financial year (whichever is higher). More serious infringements incur a fine of €20 million OR 4% of worldwide annual revenue from preceding financial year (whichever is higher). You can learn more about data compliance here and we've also created a handy B2B Data Compliance Guide which tells you everything to know in under 2 minutes!

Sources: Web FX, Harvard Business Review, HubSpot, Dialogtech, DemandGenReport, TrustRadius, CMI, Salesforce, Smarts Insights, Marketing Week, Cience, Vidyard, Yans Media

The Role of Data

We also expect to see continued high staff turnover rates across most sectors. This means that keeping contact lists up-to-date and having access to fresh data constantly remains very important. You also need to make sure your data doesn’t become non-compliant and remains legal for you to use.

With the latest stats demonstrating that email remains the main focus of most marketers that's why we are obsessed about our data quality. Our team is judged not on numbers but on accuracy and completeness of data alongside compliance. We provide you with a Service Agreement guarantee that has clear, unambiguous contractual commitments to the quality of our data. If we fall below any of our contractual guarantees you can immediately cancel your subscription at any time. We know of no other intelligence provider that offers this level of quality assurance.

We can help you with a data fitness test to ensure your existing data is fit for use, and we’re also offering you access to our entire contact database for free!

Try our service with zero cost or commitment by taking advantage of our 30-day FREE ACCOUNT.

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Find out more by calling our expert team on 01252 367400, emailing support@i4b.com, or completing our contact form.

All the best for 2023!

The team at i-4business