Survey: 50% of B2B Marketing Leads with the Highest ROI Now Come from Email

As B2B marketers hunt for digital marketing tactics that will provide them with the most leads, new research suggests that email marketing may be the leading candidate.

Chief Marketer recently published results from its “2020 B2B Marketing Outlook Survey,” and statistics showed that email (50%) is the channel that produces the most B2B marketing leads with the highest ROI. This is followed by search engine optimization (43%), content marketing (34%) and live events (32%).

That being said, statistics suggest that there are still many barriers associated with email marketing. Click-through rates (53%) was ranked as the top challenge to effective email marketing by the survey respondents, followed by open rates (42%). List fatigue (36%) and deliverability (26%) also made the list.

Lead Gen Remains a Top Priority Among Marketers

Despite the hurdles associated with lead generation, previous research suggests that it’s still a top priority among marketers in 2020.

Ascend2 conducted its “2020 Digital Marketing Plans Survey,” and data showed that the majority of marketers (54%) want to increase their amount of leads generated in 2020. In addition, 49% want to boost customer acquisition, and 43% want to increase customer engagement.

In 2019, most respondents (57%) stated that their digital marketing plan had been at least “somewhat successful” at achieving their top priorities, such as lead generation. Looking ahead, marketers believe increasing customer acquisition (48%) and boosting lead gen (48%) will be top challenges in the coming months.