B2B Marketing Trends and Stats for Right Now

How Your Peers Are Using AI, Their Budgets, Priorities, and More

Generative AI is here for good, but how do B2B marketers feel about it? More importantly, how will AI impact formal processes in B2B marketing, lead generation, and budgeting??

We are looking at a new era of marketing. So, instead of adding on with projections and opinions, we conducted research with over 300 B2B marketing professionals to find out the latest B2B marketing trends and content marketing statistics we need to know to stay ahead.

Are you looking for more? Unlock the complete B2B Marketer’s Forecast for AI, Budgeting, and Lead Generation to get all the statistics and strategies you need to know.

B2B marketing statistics to think about (+ topics we’ll explore)

Let us start with some highlights:

• The most prominent challenges marketers face are improving lead quality and conversion rates (54%) and generating more leads (41%)
• In 2023, 45% of marketing budgets are projected to be spent on marketing programs and paid media?
• 85% of marketers see AI as having a positive impact on B2B marketing, yet only 41% of marketers plan to use AI in their strategy in 2023.

B2B lead generation statistics: Highest B2B marketing priorities and challenges, ranked

Before we start talking about AI, there are some clear trends we see regarding prioritization and spending across all industries in 2023. Let us drill down on a few of them:

The two biggest challenges marketers are facing this year are improving lead quality and conversion rates (54%) and generating more leads (41%) (ViB, 2023).

We then surveyed respondents about their biggest marketing challenges, giving them the same few options. Coincidentally, we are seeing lead quality and generating leads ranked as the two biggest challenges B2B marketers face.

The following biggest marketing priorities for 2023 are generating more leads (49%) and improving lead quality and conversion rates (46%) (ViB, 2023).

B2B lead generation continues to be a fundamental focus. More specifically, generating more leads (49%) and improving overall lead quality and conversion rates (46%) are the second and third most common priorities, respectively, for B2B marketers. Interestingly, we are seeing lead generation overshadow other priorities that have been popular topics, like ABM and market expansion.

B2B lead generation performance across each stage of the funnel

Next, we unpacked how well B2B marketers have performed in their lead generation strategies.

On average, 55% of marketers met — but did not exceed — their target lead numbers in 2022 (ViB, 2023).

Nearly a quarter of organizations fell well below their conversion rate targets. Furthermore, in particular, 22% of organizations exceeded their targets for overall leads generated at the top of the funnel – with basic contact info generated.?

Compare that to just over 10% of B2B leaders that exceeded their targets for the middle to bottom of the funnel. In B2B marketing, “good enough” is never what we strive for, so what can marketers do to start exceeding expectations instead of just making ends meet?

B2B marketing statistics, by channel: Importance and effectiveness of email marketing and more

Now, let us look at individual marketing channels and how important and influential they are in our B2B marketing strategies today.?

Only 31% of B2B marketers say video and podcast marketing are essential marketing channels, suggesting a slow uptake (ViB, 2023).

B2B marketers may not have fully explored the potential of video and audio despite its effectiveness being highlighted by industry leaders and news outlets.?

For example, short-form video has the highest ROI of any social media marketing strategy, with long-form and podcasts following closely behind (Hubspot, 2023).?

The growing popularity of platforms like TikTok and Twitch makes it increasingly challenging to overlook the significance of video in marketing strategies.

Social media marketing is the least effective in generating quality leads, with 16% of B2B marketers claiming it is ineffective (ViB, 2023).

Among all the marketing channels we asked about, social media marketing had the lowest impact, along with video and podcast marketing, with only 21% and 22% of marketers considering them effective, respectively.?

However, considering our respondents are B2B marketers in high-tech industries, other marketing channels would align more effectively with their longer sales cycles and technical nature.?

So, if you find yourself in this industry without a formal social or video strategy, chances are you are likely not missing out on significant opportunities for now. Surprisingly, we found some contrasting lead generation statistics, too.?

90% of B2B marketers say that B2B appointment setting effectively generates leads despite perceiving it as less important (21%) in their strategies (ViB, 2023).

Another contrast we found was in the B2B appointment setting. Only 21% of B2B marketers rank appointment setting as necessary, i.e., the least essential strategy. Nevertheless, appointment setting is the third most effective channel, according to our respondents.?

As a top-to-mid-of-funnel tactic to generate leads who are ready to meet, B2B appointment setting has seen results, like an 82.5% lead-to-opportunity conversion rate. There is real potential for untapped opportunities and further exploration in the B2B appointment setting.??

Top B2B marketing trends: emerging tools, tactics we are seeing

As a segway into our hot topic of AI, we wondered what other trends B2B marketers were adopting broadly. Moreover, while AI is definitely on our list, it is still taking its time to catch up to other dominant trends.

Most marketers are leaning into short-form video (ViB, 2023).

This is particularly interesting given how many respondents expressed that video was not an effective or high-priority channel. However, we are optimistic!

This shows that these organizations may be open to exploring video as a tactic, even though they may not have a complete understanding of the best practices for driving engagement.

53% of marketers say they are focused on repurposed content this year (ViB, 2023).

Utilizing existing content efficiently, whether by revising older pieces or condensing current long-form copy into bite-sized blogs and other formats, is an intelligent resource allocation strategy.?

It enables the creation of content for multiple channels from a single source, maximizing content output and reach.

Generative AI trends and statistics in B2B marketing

Now we are on to the fun part! Nevertheless, first, let us begin with a definition.?

AI-generated content refers to copy, such as blogs, marketing materials, articles, and product descriptions, produced by machines called generative AI tools. With generative AI, information like keywords, phrases, and topics are inputted by humans, and the AI generates the content accordingly.?

Although ChatGPT gained popularity for this technology, several platforms now utilize generative AI to generate various forms of content, including articles, websites, and videos.? Marketers have started incorporating AI-generated content into their daily activities, too.

Impact and benefits of AI in marketing by channel

Next, we asked which specific marketing channels AI will most impact.

Generative AI will have the most impact on content marketing, with 96% of marketers seeing some to strong impact (ViB, 2023).

It is no surprise that content marketing takes the first spot here. Of the 96% of respondents who agreed, 60% see a strong impact of generative AI on content marketing.

Other contenders include these channels that marketers think will be impacted by AI:

• Email marketing (92%)
• Website and SEO (91%)
• Social media marketing (94%)

The most potential for generative AI-powered tools is in creating content (94%) and personalizing content (94%), according to B2B marketers (ViB, 2023).

We also wanted to find out which specific areas of marketing our respondents see the highest potential for generative AI adoption to see how it would overlap with various marketing channels.

Content marketing activities — i.e., creating assets and personalizing content — have the most potential for AI applications. Interestingly, though, areas planning a marketing strategy are seeing more lukewarm responses, with only 20% of marketers seeing a solid potential.?

One thing remains clear. There are a lot of positive impacts that AI can have on marketing because it is fast, cost-efficient, and may even help SEO! Moreover, for us, the biggest perk is combating writer’s block, whether you are writing long-form pieces or coming up with content ideas.

Best AI tools for digital marketing

61% of marketers are exploring or currently using ChatGPT. Following closely behind is Grammarly (53%) (ViB, 2023).

As to which specific tools and platforms we B2B marketers are either using already or exploring, ChatGPT came on top. Grammarly, a cloud-based typing assistant that recently incorporated AI into its offering, comes at a close second.

Generative AI tools that are not copywriting-related are seeing slower uptake, with less than 5% of marketers having tried various advertising, design, and voice-editing AI tools (ViB, 2023).

If you want to know much more, read our blog article on 27 B2B Marketing Trends and Stats to find a few extra tips on this topic.