A Meta-Analysis of B2B Sales and Marketing KPIs and Benchmarks
UNLOCKING PERFORMANCE INSIGHTS
This analysis includes more than 50 marketing benchmarks for mid-sized B2B companies, divided into four segments:
We’ve reviewed a hundred studies, reports, and articles about marketing metrics in the B2B world and compiled the most credible findings into one collection. The final list of sources includes 30 materials featuring fresh reports and data from Gartner, DataBox, LinkedIn, and others.
We are confident that investors, founders, CEOs, and heads of sales and marketing at mid-sized B2B companies will find valuable insights in this report that can drive their strategic decisions.
You can download the report or read the summary below. Both are free of charge.
- Strategic Business KPIs,
- Marketing And Sales Org,
- Customer Journey and Funnels,
- Digital Benchmarks.
We’ve reviewed a hundred studies, reports, and articles about marketing metrics in the B2B world and compiled the most credible findings into one collection. The final list of sources includes 30 materials featuring fresh reports and data from Gartner, DataBox, LinkedIn, and others.
We are confident that investors, founders, CEOs, and heads of sales and marketing at mid-sized B2B companies will find valuable insights in this report that can drive their strategic decisions.
You can download the report or read the summary below. Both are free of charge.
We understand that no two businesses are the same. A discrepancy between your metrics and the benchmarks provided does not necessarily mean you or everyone else is doing something wrong. Benchmarks are essentially an average measurement.
The indicator values can vary significantly due to different measurement methodologies. For instance, the report includes a “typical“ ratio of LTV (Lifetime Value, the average total revenue a company expects from a single customer) to CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost, the cost of acquiring a new customer).
While calculating LTV might be straightforward, the calculation approach of CAC raises questions. Some companies include all costs associated with acquisition, including salaries for marketers and sales staff, while others only include direct expenses.
The key is to monitor the metric and understand how it affects the stability of your business.
The indicator values can vary significantly due to different measurement methodologies. For instance, the report includes a “typical“ ratio of LTV (Lifetime Value, the average total revenue a company expects from a single customer) to CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost, the cost of acquiring a new customer).
While calculating LTV might be straightforward, the calculation approach of CAC raises questions. Some companies include all costs associated with acquisition, including salaries for marketers and sales staff, while others only include direct expenses.
The key is to monitor the metric and understand how it affects the stability of your business.
Marketing Budget as a Percentage of Company Revenue
Gartner, Inc. reports that companies are allocating an increasingly smaller percentage of revenue to marketing. Over the last eight years, the share of marketing expenses (excluding salaries) has decreased from 12.1% to 9.1% in 2023.
The CMO Survey is slightly more optimistic, but the difference is minimal. Specific marketing expenses are decreasing, necessitating more effective tools and approaches. AI will lower this indicator even further in the next 2−3 years.
The CMO Survey is slightly more optimistic, but the difference is minimal. Specific marketing expenses are decreasing, necessitating more effective tools and approaches. AI will lower this indicator even further in the next 2−3 years.
Main Marketing Expenditures
In B2B, lead generation typically receives the most significant portion of the budget: 35% of marketing leaders in a LinkedIn and Ipsos study indicated that lead gen tops their budget allocation. Surprisingly, 30% said that branding expenses take the first place in allocation, which is unexpected unless one assumes that companies include product marketing and executive events in this category.
Size and Structure of Sales and Marketing Teams
Regardless of company size, the sales department makes up 15−20% of a company’s workforce, while the marketing department accounts for 7−9% (OPENVIEW).
Norwest reports that startups often rely on outsourcers for significant marketing efforts—typically, they have an average of two outsourcers and one in-house marketer. Most functions transition in-house as businesses grow, although graphic design, website management, and content often remain outsourced.
Norwest reports that startups often rely on outsourcers for significant marketing efforts—typically, they have an average of two outsourcers and one in-house marketer. Most functions transition in-house as businesses grow, although graphic design, website management, and content often remain outsourced.
After surpassing the $10M revenue mark, most companies introduce roles for territory managers, SDRs, and operations managers (RevOps or Sales Excellence).
Funnels and Customer Journey
Dreamdata has gathered statistics showing that from the first touch to closing a deal in B2B, it takes more than half a year. Even if your sales cycle takes weeks, most of the customer journey, which includes dozens of touches, occurs without direct contact with sales.
Marketing channels bring in leads at different stages of readiness. A lead from listings may convert 3−4 times faster than one from social media. Referrals from other clients remain the most effective. Webinars can bring in warm leads but are more effective during the customer journey.
Marketing channels bring in leads at different stages of readiness. A lead from listings may convert 3−4 times faster than one from social media. Referrals from other clients remain the most effective. Webinars can bring in warm leads but are more effective during the customer journey.
Digital Marketing Benchmarks
Conversion rates from visitor to lead vary notably, with sources reporting from 2% to 5%. We adhere to a conservative estimate, but examples of high conversion prompt consideration for bold experiments.
LinkedIn continues to lead overall ad quality, offering up to 15% conversion rates. However, it remains an expensive platform with relatively low click-through rates.
Interest in email is slowly but steadily declining. People read about one-third of emails and click on links in every tenth email.
Our favorite webinars garner one-third of registrations two weeks before the webinar date and as many in the week leading up to it. Remember to allocate resources and budget for promoting the webinar: content does not sell itself, especially if it’s aimed at a cold audience.
LinkedIn continues to lead overall ad quality, offering up to 15% conversion rates. However, it remains an expensive platform with relatively low click-through rates.
Interest in email is slowly but steadily declining. People read about one-third of emails and click on links in every tenth email.
Our favorite webinars garner one-third of registrations two weeks before the webinar date and as many in the week leading up to it. Remember to allocate resources and budget for promoting the webinar: content does not sell itself, especially if it’s aimed at a cold audience.
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