Lead generation is more important than ever for marketers in 2024. With increasing competition and constantly evolving digital landscapes, staying on top of the latest lead gen stats is key for success.
In this comprehensive 2,600+ word guide, we dive into the most up-to-date, insightful lead generation benchmarks and statistics from 2023. Beyond just presenting the numbers, we provide context, analysis and actionable takeaways to help inform your strategy.
Let‘s dive in!
Key Lead Generation Stats and Trends
Here are 5 need-to-know lead gen statistics and trends:
- Lead generation budgets are increasing, with 62% of marketers planning to spend more on lead gen activities in 2024. (Ascend2)
- The average cost per lead increased 9% YoY from $64 in 2021 to $70 in 2022 for B2B marketers. (Demand Gen Report)
- Inbound tactics like content marketing and SEO are seeing greater effectiveness for lead gen, while reliance on cold outreach declines. (Ascend2)
- Lead capture and management remains a key challenge – 79% of companies say their CRMs don‘t integrate well with other sales and marketing systems. (SuperOffice)
- Website visitors who view 3+ pages have conversion rates 2X higher than visitors who only view 1 page. (Unbounce)
General Lead Generation Benchmarks
Let‘s start by looking at some overall lead generation statistics across tactics and industries.
Budgets and Spending
- 62% of B2B marketers say they will increase investment in lead gen activities in 2024 compared to 2022. (Ascend2)
- 53% of marketers allocate 50% or more of their total marketing budget to lead generation activities. (Drift)
Lead gen is clearly a top priority when it comes to marketing spend. With competition rising, having sufficient budget to generate and capture new leads is key.
More Companies Investing in Lead Gen
It‘s clear more companies are focused on ramping up investment in lead generation based on data from Ascend2:
| % Companies Increasing Lead Gen Spend | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increase >10% YoY | 48% | 58% | 62% |
With lead gen budgets growing over 10% annually, it‘s clear this is an increasing focus area. Top performing companies are likely allocating 15% or more of total marketing budgets to priority lead gen initiatives across areas like content, events, paid media and Sales Development Rep outreach.
Lead Gen Tactics and Effectiveness
- Content marketing (81%), email marketing (78%) and social media marketing (68%) are the top lead generation tactics used. (Ascend2)
- Inbound tactics see higher effectiveness for quality lead conversion vs outbound cold calling, which converted just 3% of leads on average. (Drift)
- Marketers see the highest ROI from lead gen efforts from organic search (62% say it provides a high ROI), content marketing (57%), email marketing (51%) and PPC (44%). (Ascend2)
As consumers grow resistant to interruptive outreach, inbound lead generation focused on attracting visitors with relevant, valuable content is proving more effective (and cost efficient).
Inbound Lead Gen Sees More Success
In their research of over 2,500 companies, Drift identified clear advantages in conversion rates for inbound lead gen tactics versus traditional outbound calling:
| Tactic | Overall Conversion Rate |
|---|---|
| Cold Calling | 3% |
| Content Syndication (inbound) | 14% |
| Warm Call/Email Leads | 15% |
| Inbound Chat Leads | 18% |
| Inbound Form Leads | 20% |
With 6X+ higher conversion rates, no wonder inbound lead generation is becoming the methodology of choice for B2B and beyond. Approaches like content marketing, SEO and optimizing for organic search success do require more sustained effort, but the payoff in qualified leads is superior based on benchmarks.
Costs and Conversion Rates
Understanding lead costs and conversion values is key for optimizing campaigns.
- The average cost per lead increased 9% from 2021 – 2022 to $70 for B2B marketers. (Demand Gen Report)
- Higher qualifying lead conversion rates lead to lower customer acquisition costs – companies see CAC rise 100%+ when lead conversion rates dip below 10%. (TOPO)
- Leads generated from SEO have 7% higher conversion rates than other lead sources. (Unbounce)
With rising costs, keeping conversion rates high is essential to ensuring profitable lead acquisition. Tactics like SEO and content marketing can help improve conversion potential.
Surging Lead Gen Costs by Industry
A Demand Gen Report survey of over 300 B2B companies shows worryingly high – and rising – cost per lead benchmarks across sectors:
| Industry | 2021 Average CPL | 2022 Average CPL | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS | $65 | $92 | +41% |
| Services | $61 | $86 | +41% |
| Healthcare | $90 | $124 | +38% |
| Financial Services | $81 | $103 | +27% |
With average cost per lead rising over 25%+ annually across verticals, businesses are clearly feeling the burn of rising customer acquisition costs. Nurturing leads and improving conversion rates through tactics like SEO is essential to controlling CPLs. Healthcare businesses likely need to tap referral networks and optimize content for complicated buyer journeys to reduce lead costs.
B2B Lead Generation Benchmarks
For B2B companies, lead generation and new customer acquisition is especially critical. Here are key B2B lead gen stats.
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