Survey: B2B Marketers Feel More Pressure to Generate Quality Leads

New research reveals that B2B marketers are feeling more pressure to generate leads in 2016.

A survey conducted by B2B Marketing and The Telemarketing Company has discovered that the majority of B2B marketers (59 percent) say they are “significantly” pressured to generate additional leads from upper management.

However, there is still confusion surrounding lead generation and the ROI of new leads. About 24 percent said that sales and marketing do not have a shared definition of a “lead.” A quarter of respondents stated that they are “quite unconfident” or “very unconfident” in tracking leads from cold to close.

Marketing automation tools are also somewhat failing to assist B2B marketers in terms of lead generation. While marketing automation is helping them generate more leads, 53 percent say it’s decreasing the quality of leads.

“It’s clear that an over-reliance on technology will lead to poor data sets and an ineffective sales effort,” said Jess Pike, editor of B2B Marketing. “After all, if a lead hasn’t been properly qualified, the chances of the sales team making any headway are significantly reduced.”

The Move toward More Marketing Automation

Previous research shows marketing automation tool adoption increasing among B2B marketers. However, there are still challenges linked to these resources.

The “B2B Marketing Automation Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide” report from Marketing Land has found that 61 percent of marketers would like to see more integration among their marketing technologies. About 61 percent believe an improved process for data sharing between tools would raise their chances of success.

Approximately 65 percent of B2B marketers have increased their budgets for marketing automation in 2016.