Every B2B company wants to be “data-driven” - but most lack the marketing benchmarks required to contextualize and action the data they generate. This article solves that problem, providing key benchmarks for B2B websites and marketing ROI to help you understand which areas of your marketing need the most attention.
Read on for an overview of the best B2B benchmarks to track, why they matter, and how to use them to optimize your efforts and make data-backed decisions.
A B2B digital marketing benchmark is a standard or reference point used to measure and evaluate the performance of digital marketing strategies and campaigns. It provides a means of comparison against industry averages to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of your marketing efforts.
Benchmarking for B2B involves analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website traffic, conversion rates, lead generation, email marketing metrics, social media engagement, and other relevant metrics.
Why is this important? Benchmarks show you what’s working and what isn’t with your marketing strategy. Today, 54% of companies that extensively use marketing analytics end up with higher profits than average - but 38% of businesses say data analytics is among their top five biggest weaknesses. Ultimately, benchmarks help you improve your data analytics and join the top tier of companies driving higher profits from marketing.
B2B digital marketing benchmarks can vary depending on the specific industry, target audience, and marketing objectives. They may be derived from aggregate data collected from various sources, industry reports, surveys, or internal historical data.
These benchmarks serve as valuable indicators for evaluating the success of digital marketing campaigns, setting realistic goals, and making data-driven decisions to optimize future growth strategies.
There are several vital benchmarks that businesses in the B2B digital marketing space commonly use to evaluate their performance. Let’s break them down into categories:
Your website is the foundation of all online marketing - which means it must function optimally at all times. The following metrics combine to create a clear view of your website’s performance:
Monitoring the number of unique visitors, sessions, average session duration, bounce rate, and more on your website helps assess its overall performance and attractiveness to potential customers.
Benchmarks: When it comes to website traffic, on average, you should aim for:
It’s important to look at all of these metrics together, and not always individually. Together, they tell a story of how visitors are interacting (or not interacting) with your website and the impact it has on their unique buyer’s journey.
Measuring the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, such as filling out a contact form, downloading a whitepaper, or making a purchase, provides insights into the effectiveness of your marketing funnel and helps you identify possible bottlenecks.
Benchmarks: The conversion rate you should aim for will vary depending on your marketing channel but is often between 2% and 5%. Here are some more specific examples:
Marketing should always be focused on driving revenue while minimizing costs. This points us to RevOps benchmarks that evaluate how much you should expect to spend on your marketing - and how you should expect specifically channels to perform:
Calculating the average cost incurred to generate a qualified lead from paid search or paid social helps determine the efficiency of your lead generation efforts and enables comparison with industry averages.
Benchmarks: The CPL benchmark varies by advertising channel, industry, and company size, but the average across all is:
Evaluating email open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates helps gauge the effectiveness of your email campaigns and allows for benchmarking against industry averages.
Benchmarks: When monitoring email metrics, your standards should be:
Monitoring social media engagement metrics across all platforms helps assess the reach and effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts.
Creating a B2B digital marketing benchmarking report involves gathering and analyzing data, comparing performance, and drawing meaningful insights. A report will help you identify areas for improvement and strengths, set realistic goals, stay competitive, and measure progress with a visual representation.
Here are six steps to help you create a benchmarking report:
Remember, a benchmarking report should be an iterative process, and it's essential to regularly update and refine your benchmarks as the digital marketing landscape evolves.
Benchmarks are valuable tools for your business to evaluate and improve performance within an informed context. By comparing metrics against industry peers and identifying best practices, you can gain insights into areas of strength and weakness, make data-backed decisions, and optimize marketing strategies.
These benchmarks provide a clear roadmap for success, enabling businesses to set realistic goals, track progress, and stay competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. With the right benchmarking approach, B2B organizations can drive growth, enhance customer engagement, and confidently achieve their digital marketing objectives.
Want to meet all your KPIs and stand out in a competitive landscape? Get in touch today.