2021 Lead Generation Statistics

2021 Lead generation Statistics

Does it feel like you are on a hamster wheel chasing your next paying client?

If you answered yes, you don't have a solid lead generation strategy or you aren't working consistently. If you answered no, congratulations!

What does it look like when you don't have a good lead generation strategy?

You will constantly be chasing your next paying client

Your revenue is sporadic and unpredictable

Your not hitting your discovery or complimentary consult goals

Your leads never convert to clients

It wasn't until I realized the importance at lead generation that my business started to consistently grow. Once I defined my lead generation strategy, did everything else start falling into place like my message became more clear, content more targeted, and marketing more consistent. All because I had a lead generation strategy targeting my ideal client.

The purpose of a lead generation strategy is to avoid the feast or famine revenue cycle because you will always have a warm list of people that know, like, and trust you.

What are other businesses doing to generate leads?

What lead generation strategies are working?

How important is my marketing content to lead generation?

Is Google My Business something I should be investing time in?

I like to have a reference point to gauge how well my own efforts are doing. In doing my own research, I decided to collect the latest lead generation statistics.

Download the Lead Generation 101 Guide to demystify what it is all about, what's needed to get started, and how to do it well. Put the insights you gain from reviewing the statistics into practice with the Lead Generation 101 Guide. Avoid the hamster wheel and develop a lead generation strategy that works for your business.

Lead Generation

Only 3% of people are active buyers. These are the people and companies that have a need and are actively shopping for vendors. They want to make a purchase in the next thirty to ninety days. These are sales leads. (Source: Sticky Brand)
59% of B2B marketers prefer email for lead generation. (Source: BtoB Magazine)
61% of marketers rank lead generation as their number one challenge. Lead generation isn’t as easy as it once was. 61% of marketers consider generating traffic and leads to be their biggest challenge. (Source: Hubspot)
53% of marketers spend at least half of their budget on lead generation. (Source: BrightTALK).
Only 18% of marketers still think that outbound practices provide the highest-quality sales leads. Gone are the days of excessive cold-calling. Now, it’s all about inbound lead generation. (Source: Hubspot 2021 State of Marketing Report)
80% of marketers think marketing automation generates more leads (and conversions). One of the biggest trends we’re seeing in lead generation is the increased use of automation software. (Source: APSIS)
According to recent reports, 80% of marketers that use automation software drive increased leads (as much as 451% more), and that 77% of them convert more leads than those that don’t use automation. (Source: APSIS)
Content marketing generates 3x as many leads as outbound marketing at less than half the cost. (Source: Demand Metric)
62% of B2B businesses leverage strategic landing pages for lead generation. (Source: Marketo)
Companies that have 30 or more landing pages get 7 times more leads than those that only have 10 landing pages. (TechJury, 2020)
Businesses with active blogs gain 67% more leads than firms that do not have blogs. (OptinMonster, 2021)
Companies that nurture leads generate 50% more sales at 33% lower costs.(Source Marketo)
63% of leads who inquire about your business won’t convert for at least 3 months. (Source MarketingDonut)
59% of B2B marketers prefer email for lead generation. (Source: Snov.io)
47% of consumers view 3-5 pieces of content created by a company before talking to a salesman from that company. (Source: DemandGen)
47% of marketers rate email marketing as the most effective marketing channel (39% for social media, 33% for SEO, and 33% for content marketing). (Source: Get Response)

Google My Business

When writing a review, 20% of consumers expect to receive a response within one day. (Source: Bright Local)
On average, 56% of actions on GMB listings are website visits. (Source: Bright Local)
Google My Business listings have an average of 11 photos. (Source: Google My Business Insights)
97% of the customers say that reviews influence their buying decision, so review management has to be a top priority for every customer-facing business. (Source: Right Time Marketer)
79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations. (Source: Bright Local)
86% of people look up the location of a business on Google Maps. (Source: BoostMedical)

SEO Statistics

49% of businesses receive more than 1,000 Views on Search per month. (Source: Google My Business Insights)
After searching on a smartphone for something close, 76% of people end up visiting the company in 1 day. (Source: WebFX)
70% of online marketers say that SEO is better than pay-per-click (PPC) for generating sales. (Source: DATABOX)
Leads from search engines have a 14.6% close rate, while outbound leads (ex. cold-calling, direct mail, etc.) have a 1.7% close rate. (Source: HubSpot)
70-80% of people ignore paid search results, choosing to only click on organic search results. (Source: imFORZA)

Social Media

57% of consumers will follow a brand to learn about new products or services while 47% will follow to stay up to date on company news. (Source: SproutSocial)
After following a brand on social media, consumers continue to engage in various ways. Ninety-one percent visit the brand’s website or app, 89% will buy from the brand and 85% will recommend the brand to a family or friend. (Source: SproutSocial)
90% of people on Instagram follow a business. (Source: Instagram)
83% of people use Instagram to discover new products and services and 87% said they took specific action, like making a purchase, after seeing product information. (Source: Facebook for Business)
82% of B2B markers report finding the greatest success on LinkedIn. (Source: LinkedIn Marketing Solutions)

Email Marketing

47% of marketers rate email marketing as the most effective marketing channel (39% for social media, 33% for SEO, and 33% for content marketing). (Source: ~~GetResponse~~)
40% of B2B marketers claim that email newsletters are the most important tactic in their content marketing strategy. (Source: Content Marketing Institute)
37% of respondents named email as the most effective channel for customer loyalty and retention, while websites were named by 13% and social media by only 11%. (Source: KVN Mail)
Marketing and advertising emails influence the buying decision of 50.7% of customers. (Source: Snov.io)
Email marketing is mostly used for lead generation (85%), sales (84%), lead nurturing (78%), and customer retention (74%). (Source: Tallyfy)
Email is 40x more effective than social media for customer acquisition. (McKinsey)

Marketing Automation

On average, 51% of companies are currently using automation. (Source: Email Monday)
64% of B2B respondents say that they use email automation techniques. (Source: Marketing Charts)
Marketing automation is used for lead generation (22%). (Source: GetResponse)
68.5% of responders believe that automation improved the targeting of messages. (Source: Lianatech)
Triggered emails result in 8 times more opens and greater earnings than typical bulk emails. (Source: Experian)
The best tactics for automation are mapping the customer experience (53%) and use of personalized messages (51%). (Source: Research Ascend)

Mobile Statistics

81% check their email on smartphones, 74% on desktop/laptop, 21% on tablet, 2% on a smartwatch. (Source: Adobe Consumer)
75% of Gmail users are using their mobile devices to access their email. (Source: Backlinko)
49% of emails are opened on mobile. If you’re not optimizing your email messages for mobile users, you’re not optimizing your emails for almost half your list. (Source: IBM)
61% of mobile searchers are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site. (Source: Saga Pixel)
51% of smartphone users have discovered a new company or product while using a search engine on their phone. (Source: Google)

Download The Lead Generation 101 Guide Below

This guide will demystify what lead generation is all about, what's needed to get started, and how to do it well. Avoid the hamster wheel and develop a lead generation strategy that works for your business.

Demystifies what lead generation is and how to do it

Proven lead generation tactics to keep your calendar fully booked

Biggest mistakes to avoid when lead generating

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Mary Sue Dahill, Founder & CEO of Work Smarter Digital

Business owners look to us when they are tired of wasting time and money on digital tools that don't make a dent in their business. What they want is a one-stop-shop for their digital solution and CRM support that "...just handles it" and starts making them more money. Schedule a Work Smarter Consult to explore what’s possible.