18 B2B Marketing Automation Stats You Should Know

by / Sep 22, 2014

Marketing automation has helped to transform B2B marketing over the past several years. Most marketers have implemented or have considered implementing a marketing automation solution.

Here are 18 statistics that reveal some interesting dimensions of the marketing automation landscape.

The Marketing Automation Growth Trajectory

  • As of 2013, 1/4 of all B2B Fortune 500 companies were using marketing automation, along with 76% of the world’s largest SaaS companies (source).
  • There are 211 different marketing automation solutions on the market today (source).
  • 79% of top-performing companies have been using marketing automation for more than two years (source).
  • 91% of buyers in 2013 were evaluating marketing automation for the first time (source).
  • The adoption of marketing automation technology is expected to increase 50% by 2015 (source).
  • The software and Internet industry has the highest marketing automation adoption rate (source)

The Impact of Marketing Automation

  • 75% of companies using marketing automation see ROI within 12 months (source).
  • 35% of companies with marketing automation programs regularly capture intelligence for the sales team (from their content marketing efforts), compared with 19% of companies without marketing automation systems (source).
  • B2B marketers who implement marketing automation increase their sales-pipeline contribution by 10% (source).
  • B2B marketers cite the No. 1 benefit of marketing automation as the ability to generate more and better leads (source).
  • 49% of companies that employ marketing automation strategies customize content to the buyer journey stages, compared to only 21% of companies without marketing automation strategies (source).

The Challenges of Marketing Automation

  • Only 26% of B2B marketing automation users have fully adopted their system (source).
  • 54% marketers who have not yet implemented marketing automation cite lack of budget as a major obstacle preventing implementation (source).
  • 31% of current marketing automation users anticipate changing their system within the next two years, primarily because they want better or different capabilities (source).
  • 55% of B2B marketers cite lack of data expertise as the biggest challenge in using their marketing automation system (source).

There is definite momentum (and perhaps a bit of confusion) around marketing automation. What are some of the successes and challenges you’ve had implementing marketing automation in your organization?

The Mx Group

B2B Insights, Staff Writer

The Mx Group is the second-largest independent, integrated B2B marketing agency in the U.S., with a mission to impact the marketplace for companies that impact the world. For over 30 years, we’ve created meaningful end-to-end buying experiences for B2B brands. Our clients are leaders and innovators in automotive, financial services, food, health care, legal services, oil and gas, industrial, packaging, trade associations, technology and SaaS who rely on our expertise to influence and grow their businesses. Our relationships with our clients and people are why B2B Marketing recognized us as Agency of the Year. Our headquarters are in Chicago, but our reach is global. Whether a client is an established or startup B2B brand, we have the people and perspective to be a strong partner that makes a difference.