17 Demand Generation Stats Every CMO Needs to See

Determining the success of your marketing programs and analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs) can be challenging if you don’t have access to industry data.

But how can you improve your KPIs if you don't understand which ones really matter?

To find out how companies are generating demands for their brands and how successful they've been in these efforts, HubSpot and Qualtrics conducted a survey of 900 management-level marketers in North America and Europe. The results are included in our new ebook, The Demand Generation Benchmarks Report.

Below is a highlight of the main charts and stats from the survey:

Nearly 80% of companies not meeting their revenue goals attract 10,000 monthly website visitors or less. 

For those exceeding their revenue goals, nearly the reverse is true. 70% report attracting more than 10,000 visitors per month.

Companies meeting or exceeding their revenue goals attract significantly more website traffic and generate more leads, Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), sales opportunities, and customers than those that aren’t.

Companies with higher annual revenues tend to pay a higher cost per lead. However, companies with between $250,000 and $10 million in revenue all average a cost per lead of $26-$50.

Companies with the highest annual revenue also report more visitors, leads, MQLs, sales opportunities, and customers than other companies.

82% of companies generating $250,000 or less in annual revenue report generating less than 100 leads per month whereas only 8% of companies generating $1 billion in annual revenue report the same.

74% of companies that weren’t exceeding revenue goals did not know their visitor, lead, MQL, or sales opportunities. 

40% of companies not achieving their revenue goals didn’t know their click-through rate. That’s 90% more than those exceeding their revenue goals.

34% of companies not achieving their revenue goals didn’t know their open rate -- 52% more than those exceeding their revenue goals.

60% of those exceeding their revenue goals had an above-average open rate, while the same was true for only 48% of those achieving their revenue goals and 35% of those not achieving their goals.

79% of all marketing leads never convert into sales and a lack of lead nurturing is the common cause. 

Companies exceeding their revenue goals report branding, website design and optimization, and social media as their top 3 marketing investments. 

24% of telecommunications companies aren’t reaching their revenue goals (20% higher than average), and it's one of the few industries still ranking telemarketing and traditional advertising among their top investments.

91% of companies not achieving their revenue goals generate 500 MQLs or less per month , whereas the same is true for only 45% of companies exceeding their revenue goals. 

The travel and tourism industry lists "online advertising" as a top investment, which is 75% more than other industries.

Financial services companies list "marketing automation" as a top investment, which is 73% higher than other industries.

Content creation is a top investment for 43% of information technology companies, which is 54% more than other industries.