If one marketing aspect stands out from all others, it’s the audience you intend to target. If you fail to connect with your chosen demographic, you’ll be scooping up prospects like water with a sieve.
B2B marketing entails catering to a unique audience that expects specific things from you. It demands a deep understanding to make sure your efforts don’t fall on deaf ears.
This article lists the most impressive statistics that will help you tackle the B2B marketing industry like a pro.
Top B2B Marketing Statistics: Editor’s Choice
- 65% of B2B businesses have used LinkedIn paid ads.
- LinkedIn is utilized by 86% of marketers, and it continued to be their most-used social media channel in 2021.
- 69% of successful B2B marketers have a documented content strategy.
- 89% of B2B marketers claim video improved their ROI.
- 52% of marketers admit their company has close to non-existent ability to analyze the impact of their campaigns.
- Vendor reputation is the most important selling feature for 53% of B2B enterprises.
- B2B campaigns have email open rates of 15.1%.
- 80% of B2B buying decisions hinge on their direct or indirect customer experience.
B2B Social Media Statistics: What Platforms Do Marketers Bet on in 2022?
There’s no debating how pivotal social platforms have become to the marketing world, including B2B marketing. Read on to find out what some of the latest reports indicate.
1. 95% of B2B marketers use social media to create content.
Social media networks are valuable tools in the hands of marketers who want to make their voices heard. Similarly, social media amplifies customer voices as well.
Moreover, social media is so prevalent in marketing strategies that almost every marketer uses it for creating content. Further statistics about B2B marketing demonstrate that 89% of marketers make blog posts and short articles, 81% send email newsletters, and 73% organize in-person events.
2. LinkedIn accounts for 80% of B2B social media leads.
For B2B marketers, LinkedIn is probably the most important social media platform. Geared towards professionals and network-building, LinkedIn makes for an excellent place for B2B companies to sell their services and products.
LinkedIn alone is responsible for generating the highest number of leads—the figure accounts for four out of five. Overall, the B2B marketing landscape for 2022 is not so different from the previous years.
Other social platforms combined—Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus—only make up for the remaining 20% of leads.
3. 65% of B2B businesses have used LinkedIn paid ads to attract customers.
Linkedin statistics for businesses indicate that paid ads are an excellent way to enhance your online visibility. While they’re more expensive than ads on Facebook or Twitter, they have proven very useful, given the price you’re asked to pay for them.
According to B2B social media stats, B2B advertisers have caught wind of this fact as over 60% of these businesses use the paid ad feature on LinkedIn.
4. 91% of B2B marketers use Facebook to connect with customers.
Though contested by recently burgeoning networks, Facebook still stands as the king of social media. Any marketer that denies its influence is doomed to be left in the dust of other more savvy competitors. In general, the use of Facebook and other social media platforms in marketing help increase exposure, traffic, and conversions.
B2B Facebook marketing statistics testify how irreplaceable Facebook is as an advertising channel. An excess of 91% of them is on Facebook, as these stats reveal. LinkedIn doesn’t quite measure up to Facebook despite its niche, with 81% of B2B marketers using it.
5. 75% of B2B businesses use Twitter to market their products or services.
Twitter provides a unique opportunity to interact with your customer base directly. Despite its seemingly limited format, it does wonders to create a positive brand image in your audience’s eyes.
For this reason, among others, three-quarters of B2B marketers take to Twitter to show off their products or services, as Twitter B2B marketing statistics indicate. As long as marketers engage on the network, they have great odds of profiting off Twitter.
6. 38% of B2B marketers state that LinkedIn generates revenue for them.
The platform’s business-friendly character has made it a perfect fit for B2B organizations. LinkedIn users are much more receptive to a company’s marketing efforts, so the opportunities to boost revenues by establishing a presence on the platform are increased.
Almost 40% of B2B marketers see some revenue from doing business on LinkedIn. In this respect, the platform outperforms the likes of Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by multitudes.
7. LinkedIn B2B marketing statistics show that 86% of marketers used the business platform in 2021.
In 2021, LinkedIn continued to be B2B marketers’ most used social media channel. It led the way for the vast majority of B2B advertisers, closely followed by Facebook, whose platform is used by 79% of marketers.
The use of Instagram has increased by an incredible 30% YoY and now stands at 60%. Only 5% of marketers reported not using any social media platform for marketing in 2021.
Content Marketing Statistics for B2B Advertisers in 2022
Companies are spending more of their budget on content than ever before. This doesn’t come as a surprise, as content marketing has proved itself to be one of the best ways to promote a business.
8. 69% of successful B2B marketers have a documented content strategy.
Content is king, as the saying goes. Yet only thought-out content is worthy of the crown. Sadly, this is something that many B2B marketers that put out content fail to take into account.
Luckily, though, most marketers do publish content in a planned manner. According to the latest B2B content marketing statistics available at the moment, just a hair shy of 70% of them does so.
9. B2B marketers who run blogs as a part of their strategy have 67% more leads than those who don’t.
A blog is an essential part of all companies’ marketing model, B2B businesses included. These stats confirm this, seeing that over 70% of B2B companies read a blog during the buying process.
10. 89% of B2B video marketers claim video gives them a good ROI.
Video as a prominent selling tool has been long since in the sights of marketers. Looking at these B2B video marketing stats, it’s easy to see why they are eager to put videos wherever they can prove useful.
Using video has achieved a good ROI for as many as nearly 90% of B2B marketers. Given that video can clearly and concisely convey concepts with neat visuals, it does a great job convincing customers to purchase.
11. 47% of B2B companies consider case studies to be the most valuable form of influencer content.
Influencer marketing has skyrocketed in legitimacy and popularity. But some forms of influencer content matter more than others in the B2B realm, as the most recent B2B influencer marketing statistics highlight.
As we can see from the data, almost half of B2B companies agree that case studies are the most valuable type of content influencers can create.
12. 64% of B2B customers will read two to five pieces of content before making a purchasing decision.
It’s a well-known fact in the B2B selling universe that companies like to do their research before committing to any buying decision. In fact, the average company will read between two and five pieces of content before deciding to buy.
These B2B marketing stats demonstrate the value of content marketing. Businesses want to research any prospective seller’s offerings, so providing quality content is crucial. Therefore, the content stands as a top priority for marketers looking to see good results.
13. 93% of B2B buying processes begin with an online search.
The first step on the buying journey is a simple online search. This statistic alone does justice to the fact that smart content marketing is a fantastic tool in a marketer’s arsenal.
However, B2B SEO statistics state that marketers shouldn’t overlook the role of paid advertising, and here’s why. Google puts more effort into its paid ads than its organic listings.
14. 66% of marketers plan to increase their B2B content marketing spending in 2022.
With so many marketers focusing on digital marketing, it’s evident that a good percentage of companies are allocating their budget there.
While digital marketing is highly significant to advertisers, so is the way their business is presented online. That’s why the 2022 B2B marketing spend trends show that 46% of marketers increased their budget by 1% to 9%. Another 9% increased their budget by 20%, while 24% decided to invest the same amount for the year. Only 3% feel like they should allocate less money to B2B marketing.
15. Testimonials and recommendations are the most reliable forms of content for 97% of B2B customers.
Peer reviews come off as trustworthy and genuine evidence pointing to the quality of a given provider. That explains the extremely favorable B2B marketing trends, stating that almost every B2B customer considers testimonials to be the most reliable source out there.
16. 52% of marketers admit their company has a close to non-existent ability to analyze the impact of their campaigns.
Another 47% admit they don’t have the means to measure their marketing ROI, while 18% remarked they weren’t sure.
Additionally, only 28% of marketers consider themselves very effective when corroborating the worth of their marketing strategies to their fellow marketers.
Promoting An Online Store: B2B Ecommerce Statistics
While the pandemic has affected nearly every industry worldwide, eCommerce companies have become the only way to shop for many people since the lockdowns started. Here’s how B2B eCommerce businesses have changed.
17. During the 2021–2028 period, the global B2B ecommerce market will be worth $25.65 trillion.
These figures are estimated to grow at a CAGR of 18.7% for the 2021–2028 decade. This estimate is optimistic, considering that the pandemic severely affected many B2B businesses worldwide in 2020. The lockdown brought a sudden change in consumers’ habits, pushing them to opt for online purchases.
Despite the disastrous effect of COVID-19 on the overall economy, the B2B ecommerce market size hit an all-time high.
18. In 2019, the US registered $6.7 trillion in the B2B ecommerce market.
Compared to the $3.2 trillion reported only a decade earlier, the figure has more than doubled. These pre-pandemic numbers account for one-third of the total wholesale shipments.
During this period, ecommerce sales were exceptionally high for wholesale products in the motor vehicles and automotive and household appliances industries, among many others.
19. 73% of millennials make up a considerable part of the B2B buying market.
This signals a significant shift in consumer demographics. B2B marketing stats show how technology is crucial for this type of marketing.
Millennials are the first generation that grew up with technology intertwined with almost every aspect of their lives—over 70% are involved in B2B decision making. Nowadays, even the older generations are slowly following their steps.
20. 70% of all B2B online traffic came from smartphones in 2020.
The popularity of using mobile phones to browse the internet has grown way past what any marketer can ignore. More and more people turn to their smartphones for quick and convenient access to the online world.
This applies to B2B customers as well. These B2B statistics are vital information for B2B marketing experts since it allows them to study how people approach the content.
21. 42% of consumers prefer content that is personalized.
Of all the emerging trends in marketing, personalization may be among the most exciting ones in recent times. It has the potential to tremendously boost customer nurturing and, ultimately, conversion by making each potential buyer feel well taken care of and valuable.
When it comes to B2B personalization, statistics prove that the vast majority of advertisers believe that personalized content boosts their conversion rates.
22. 53% of B2B companies consider vendor reputation the most crucial selling point.
When it comes to selling, your reputation as a vendor will precede you. If you’re known as trustworthy, efficient, and straightforward, your target audience will be much more receptive to what you have to offer.
Then, it makes sense that over half of all B2B service companies believe a given vendor’s reputation is the most critical factor to consider when assessing said vendor. Further B2B digital marketing trends show that the next most relevant aspect is pricing, which 47% of B2B companies prioritize.
23. The average conversion rate for B2B companies in the financial industry is 10%.
Looking at the standard conversion rates for various B2B-related sectors, we see that some fare better than others. For instance, the B2B conversion rate for the finance industry is around 10%, ever so slightly ahead of media and publishing. While education and healthcare stand at a good 8%, the software industry comes right behind at 7%.
However, the average B2B lead conversion rate for nonprofit organizations and retail sectors fall on the lower end, sitting at 2% and 3%, respectively. Other industries that place relatively low are, surprisingly, the travel and hospitality sectors, at 4%.
B2B Email Marketing Statistics: Is Email Marketing Still Relevant in 2022?
Email is still one of the marketers’ favorite tools for reaching out to their target audience. How many companies use email automation, though? And are the open rates still high enough to invest in an email marketing campaign? The figures are below.
24. 64% of B2B companies use email automation techniques.
Automation can go a long way to boosting any marketing effort’s effectiveness, making every stage less time-consuming. Of all automation processes B2B marketers use, email automation is by far the most widely implemented.
As B2B marketing statistics indicate, more than 60% of these businesses leverage email automation for their email marketing ends.
25. Segmented email campaigns have a 14.32% more successful open rate than non-segmented campaigns.
Email segmentation has long been recognized as an effective means to improve open rates. Your emails have a much better chance of getting opened if you know the kind of person who receives them, as long as you mold the email to suit them.
B2B email marketing segmentation statistics highlight the benefits of this approach. In other words, the segmented email campaign open rate trumps the unsegmented one by 14.32%, which is nothing to scoff at.
26. B2B campaigns have email open rates of 15.1%.
Compared to the 19.7% registered in B2C open rates, the latest available report shows how B2B open rates are much lower.
However, there are some aspects of email marketing where B2B advertisers do better, and it’s the CTR: 3.2% for B2B, as opposed to 2.1% for B2C.
B2B Buyer Journey Statistics: What Customers Care About
Customers should be central to every marketing strategy. Learn more about what buyers prioritize and where they look for information on businesses.
27. 80% of B2B buying decisions hinge on their direct or indirect customer experience.
Customer experience has become the primary draw that marketers rely on to ensure conversions. A whopping 90% of B2B buyers are interested in customer experience over any other factor.
28. When gauging a brand’s overall online experience, 52% of B2B buyers consider self-service features the most significant factor.
Not only are self-service features a more affordable alternative, but B2B ecommerce stats reveal that a lot of buyers prefer them. A little over half of them consider self-service features a vital factor.
Self-service features are critical in reducing costs while keeping similar levels of conversions and customer satisfaction alike. On average, every interaction through self-service costs about $0.10, compared to $12 for live support.
29. Ebooks are the preferred educational format for over 90% of B2B audiences.
In the world of B2B, an ebook is a dominant way to educate buyers. As B2B digital marketing statistics demonstrate, as many as 90% of B2B audiences prefer ebooks over any other form of content when it comes to learning about a topic.
This, by far, exceeds any other educational content type. For example, the runner-up to ebooks are white papers, but only around 30% of B2Bs say that they prefer white papers over anything else.
B2B Marketing Statistics: The Takeaway
Though similar to B2C in many ways, B2B marketing plays by different rules. However, breaking these rules will, more often than not, get you nowhere as a B2B marketer.
We hope these statistics and trends help you better understand what it takes to effectively sell to a company and keep it as your loyal customer, sale after sale.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is B2B different from B2C?
B2B (Business to Business) marketing targets other businesses, which prefer doing more research without rushing a decision to purchase or relying heavily on emotions. On the other hand, B2C (Business to Customer) marketing takes a more impulse-driven, personal approach to drive conversions.
One factor that sets B2B apart is the targeting of the decision-maker in the company. Many businesses depend on but a few people to decide on a purchase. As such, targeting becomes more challenging for the marketer, and that’s where these stats step in to help.
How big is the B2B market?
The B2B market is consistently growing—its value is projected to be $12.2 trillion worldwide. The Asia Pacific region is the absolute leader when it comes to the B2B market share, as they hold at least 80% of it.
Interestingly, when we compare B2B vs B2C market size, the business-to-business market is known to be six times bigger than that of B2C.
How do you promote B2B?
There are many ways for a B2B company to promote itself, but some channels stand out among others. Although online presence is king, there is still room for live events (such as conferences) to make a real difference in spreading awareness of your brand. Of course, webinars are an option too if in-person meetings aren’t possible.
Other online ways to promote B2B businesses include live streaming (like LinkedIn Live), good SEO practices, email, and a solid social media strategy, which can be achieved through a thorough analysis.
What factors affect the B2B buying process?
According to the current trends, there are plenty of vital factors determining a B2B buying process.
The credibility of a product’s details is crucial as businesses always want accurate, verifiable information on what they intend to buy. Ease of product use and delivery speed matter a great deal, too, for convenience purposes.
Of course, price is a pivotal factor to consider. Moreover, the seller’s website (how it looks, how navigable it is, whether it’s up to date, and so on) can significantly impact the impression B2B visitors have of you. Finally, the number of available products and the quality of service make a significant difference.
What do B2B buyers want?
B2B buyers’ needs align quite a bit with B2C consumers: they all want a product that gives them a specific value that they expected before even buying said product. They also want a personalized experience that demonstrates clear advantages of your product or services, addressing their main points in the process.
That said, B2B purchasers are more likely to demand data-driven pitches, and they usually take more time researching a product and seller. The final decision for purchase rests on just a few individuals (typically higher-ups), so your marketing efforts need to target them specifically.
What are the characteristics of B2B marketing?
One of B2B marketing’s more significant characteristics is that it accounts for a larger DMU (Decision Making Unit), meaning that each business has more people involved in the buying decision. This makes targeting more complicated since these units may have conflicting desires and expectations.
Moreover, B2B marketing sells to an audience that makes an effort to research the seller they’re interested in extensively. Finally, B2B marketers aim to cater to these efforts with high-quality content to boost their B2B marketing statistics.
Sources
B2B Marketing Zone, Blue Corona, Boast, Campaign Monitor, Content Marketing Institute, Content Marketing Institute, Convince and Convert, Ecommerce Germany, Finances Online, Foundation Inc, HubSpot, HubSpot, LinkedIn, Martech Alliance, Neal Schaffer, Oberlo, OptinMonster, OptinMonster, Pipeline, Qualified, SM Perth, Startup Bonsai, Statista, Trade Gecko, Venture Harbor, WordStream, Yahoo! Finance