The Ultimate Resource for 2013 Inbound Marketing Stats and Charts [SlideShare]

Meghan Lockwood
Meghan Lockwood

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86-charts-from-soim-coverI love reading great writing, which is what we aim to deliver consistently on this blog. But sometimes you're just looking for a compelling piece of data to plug into a presentation or support a point you're making in your writing. Well, if that's what you need today, then this post is for you.

Here, we've compiled the ultimate resource of charts (86 of 'em in the SlideShare below!) and statistics from the recently released 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report. Feel free to use this data in your own content, tweet the stats you find most interesting, or just enlighten yourself about the current state of inbound marketing.

86 Revealing Charts From the 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report

150+ Tweetable Stats About the Current State of Inbound Marketing

The Industry Reach of Inbound Marketing

1) 60% of companies have adopted some element of the inbound marketing methodology into their overall strategy. Tweet This Stat

2) 19% of marketers are unsure whether to characterize their marketing activities as inbound. Tweet This Stat

3) Marketing agencies are the most advanced inbound marketing adaptors, with 73% implementing inbound strategies. Tweet This Stat

4) B2B companies are early to embrace inbound marketing -- 65% implemented inbound practices in 2013, while just 46% of B2C companies report doing inbound marketing. Tweet This Stat

5) Only 41% of nonprofits report adopting inbound tactics for 2013. Tweet This Stat

6) 81% of companies report some level of integration between inbound marketing and larger marketing goals. Tweet This Stat

7) Only 5% of companies do not integrate inbound marketing with larger marketing goals. Tweet This Stat

8) 45% of CEOs say inbound is completely integrated in their organization. Tweet This Stat

9) Marketing agencies are much more integrated than their peers, with 49% completely integrated and 86% at least somewhat integrated. Tweet This Stat

10) Agencies are 25% more likely to implement inbound marketing than marketers in general. Tweet This Stat

11) B2B companies are much more likely to be completely integrated. 38% of B2B companies completely integrate inbound compared to just 27% of B2C companies. Tweet This Stat

12) Just 21% of enterprise companies completely assimilate inbound marketing into a larger marketing strategy. Tweet This Stat

The ROI of Inbound Marketing

13) 41% of marketers say inbound marketing produced measurable ROI in 2013. Tweet This Stat

14) 41% of CMOs/CEOs report that inbound generated the positive ROI they sought last year. Tweet This Stat

15) More than half of marketing agencies (51%) reported positive ROI for their inbound marketing efforts in 2013. Tweet This Stat

16) 34% of businesses cannot or do not calculate inbound marketing ROI in 2013. Tweet This Stat

17) 15% of marketers tie their inbound results directly to either company revenue or customers/wins generated. Tweet This Stat

18) 1/4 of marketers report their top challenge in 2013 is proving the ROI of their inbound marketing efforts. Tweet This Stat

19) 30% of marketing agencies say proving the ROI of inbound marketing is their top challenge -- 15% more than the industry at large. Tweet This Stat

Marketing Budgets

20) 48% of marketers will increase their inbound marketing budget in 2013 -- the 3rd year in a row inbound budgets are increasing at or near a 50% pace. Tweet This Stat

21) 53% of CEOs/CMOs increased their 2013 inbound marketing budgets. Tweet This Stat

22) Enterprise companies (200+ employees) increased their marketing budgets 17% more slowly than the larger population – at a rate of 42%. Tweet This Stat

23) Past success at inbound marketing was the number one reason to change a budget in 2012 -- a full 150% more likely to drive budgets allocations than any other reason. Tweet This Stat

24) SEO and social media accounted for a combined 23% of all inbound budget allocations in 2013. Tweet This Stat

25) Just 9% of marketers reduced their inbound budgets in 2013. Tweet This Stat

26) 45% of B2B companies increased marketing budgets due to past inbound success. Tweet This Stat

27) Outbound budgets continue their annual decline, amounting to just 23% of all marketing spending in 2013. Tweet This Stat

28) Today, marketers allocate 34% of their overall budgets to inbound tactics -- 11% more than they dedicate to outbound strategies, such as banners, PPC, and other tactics. Tweet This Stat

29) 23% of marketers adjusted their 2013 budget because of the economy. Tweet This Stat

30) 14% of all budget changes in 2013 were the result of a change in management. Tweet This Stat

31) 20% of marketers report securing enough budget is their top 2013 challenge. Tweet This Stat

Business Blogging

32) 62% of marketers surveyed will blog in 2013. Tweet This Stat

33) 82% of marketers who blog daily acquired a customer using their blog, as opposed to 57% of marketers who blog monthly -- which, by itself, is still an impressive result. Tweet This Stat

34) 79% of companies that have a blog report a positive ROI for inbound marketing this year. Tweet This Stat

35) Blogs produced a new customer for 43% of marketers last year. Tweet This Stat

36) Just 20% of companies without a blog reported ROI from inbound marketing in 2013. Tweet This Stat

37) Blogging has enjoyed strong annual budget growth -- 23% of marketers invested in blogs for 2013, a 9% increase from 2012. Tweet This Stat

38) 9% of companies employ a full-time blogger. Tweet This Stat

39) 43% of marketers generated a customer via their blog this year, and blogging requires roughly 9% of marketers’ total full-time staff dedications and 7% of their total budget. Tweet This Stat

40) Blogs produce low-cost leads for 24% of the marketing community. Tweet This Stat

41) While blogs require roughly 9% of marketers’ total full-time staff dedications, they also demand just 7% of marketers’ total budget outlay this year. Tweet This Stat

42) 43% of marketers generated a customer via their blog with less than 10% of total time allocation. Tweet This Stat

Content Creation 

43) 18% of marketers confirmed that developing quality content was their top priority in 2013. Tweet This Stat

44) 11% of marketers say their top challenge in 2013 is targeting content for an international audience. Tweet This Stat

45) 10% of companies have a dedicated marketer for content creation. Tweet This Stat

Search Engine Optimization

46) After four straight years of consistent SEO outlays, search engine allocations dropped 3% this year to 11% of marketers’ overall budgets. Tweet This Stat

47) SEO delivered 14% of marketers’ total lead sources and 13% of all customers in 2013. Tweet This Stat

48) SEO is the top channel for sales conversions, with 15% of marketers reporting it produces above average conversion rates in 2013. Tweet This Stat

49) SEO is one of the top lead generation sources, with 25% of marketers finding it produces a below average cost per lead this year. Tweet This Stat

50) 15% of marketers say SEO delivers above average sales conversions. Tweet This Stat

51) 9% of companies have either a full-time SEO expert or blog lead. Tweet This Stat

52) SEO consumes an average of 9% of marketers’ overall time, and its leads convert to sales at an industry leading 15% -- 50% better than trade shows, the leading traditional marketing channel. Tweet This Stat

Social Media Marketing

53) Social media accounts for 14% of marketers’ total lead pipeline this year. Tweet This Stat

54) 13% of marketers noted that social media generates above average lead conversion rates. Tweet This Stat

55) 21% of marketers report that social media has become more important to their company over the past six months. Tweet This Stat

56) Social media staffs more full-time employees than any other team --16% engage a full-time social media practitioner. Tweet This Stat

57) Social media requires just 10% more effort, on average, than most traditional marketing roles. Tweet This Stat

58) The 16% of marketers who dedicate their time to social media in 2013 will also deliver the highest proportion of leads, at 14%. Tweet This Stat

Social Media Channel Conversions

59) 52% of all marketers generated a lead from Facebook in 2013. Tweet This Stat

60) 74% said Facebook is important to their lead generation strategy in 2013. Tweet This Stat

61) 43% of marketers generated a customer from LinkedIn in 2013. Tweet This Stat

62) Company blogs produced a customer for 43% of marketers in 2013. Tweet This Stat

63) 36% of markers found a new customer from Twitter this year. Tweet This Stat

64) A relatively new channel, Google+ delivered customers for 15% of marketers this year. Tweet This Stat

65) In 2013, 9% of marketers sourced a customer from Pinterest. Tweet This Stat

66) Social media budgets grew 9% in 2013, to 23% of all marketing allocations. Tweet This Stat

67) Agency firms' social media conversions are 41% better than industry averages -- 17% of agencies reported above average social conversions in 2013. Tweet This Stat

Email Marketing 

68) Only 27% of marketers bought an email list this year. Tweet This Stat

69) Of the marketers who bought an email list in 2013, just 9% said it was very effective. Tweet This Stat

70) Email marketing as a  channel was the third overall lead gen source for marketers in 2013, producing 13% of all leads. Tweet This Stat

71) Email marketing produced above average lead conversions for 27% of marketers in 2013. Tweet This Stat

72) 11% of companies employ a dedicated email marketer. Tweet This Stat

Website Conversion

73) The average 2013 website conversion rate is10%, industry-wide. Tweet This Stat

74) Inbound marketers' average website conversion is double the rate of non-inbound marketers -- 12% vs. 6%. Tweet This Stat

75) The average website conversion rate for small companies is 8%. Tweet This Stat

76) The average website conversion rate for medium-sized companies is13%. Tweet This Stat

77) The average website conversion rate for enterprise companies (with 200+ employees) is 10%. Tweet This Stat

78) The average B2B website conversion rate is 9%. Tweet This Stat

79) The average B2C website conversion rate is 8%. Tweet This Stat

Lead Generation

80) 20% of marketers say increasing total lead volume is their top priority this year. Tweet This Stat

81) 22% of marketers say converting leads into customers is their top marketing priority for 2013. Tweet This Stat

82) 34% of the leads marketers generate in 2013 come from inbound marketing sources -- vs. 22% from outbound. Tweet This Stat

83) Inbound marketing delivers 54% more leads into the marketing funnel than traditional outbound leads. Tweet This Stat

84) Traditional methods to source leads and customers generate just 22% of all leads in 2013. Tweet This Stat

85) Top lead generation sources include social media and SEO, each contributing 14% of marketers’ total pipeline in 2013. Tweet This Stat

86) PPC accounted for just 6% of all leads for marketers in 2013. Tweet This Stat 

87) Trade shows and direct mail each provide just 8% of all leads for the 2013 marketing funnel. Tweet This Stat

88) Traditional marketing contributes 6% of all leads for marketers in 2013. Tweet This Stat

89) 17% of marketers indicate that traditional marketing has become less important over the past six months. Tweet This Stat

Cost per Lead

90) Twice as many marketers say inbound delivers a below average cost per lead vs. outbound strategies (8% vs. 4%). Tweet This Stat

91) 27% of marketers report that social media produced below average lead costs in 2013. Tweet This Stat

92) 27% of marketers report that email marketing produces a below average total cost per lead. Tweet This Stat

93) 25% of marketers report that SEO provides a below average cost per lead. Tweet This Stat

94) 24% of marketers report that blogs deliver a below average cost per lead. Tweet This Stat

95) U.S. inbound marketers spending more than $25K per year saved an average of 13% in overall cost per lead (CPL) in 2013, for an average CPL of $36 vs. $41. Tweet This Stat

96) The average B2B cost per lead is $43*. Tweet This Stat

97) The average B2C cost per lead is $15*. Tweet This Stat

98) The average cost per lead for marketers with a formal sales agreement is $24*. Tweet This Stat

99) The average cost per lead for marketers without a formal sales agreement is $49*. Tweet This Stat

100) 16% of marketers cite industry conferences as producing an above average cost per lead. Tweet This Stat

101) 27% of B2B marketers indicate that email also produces below average lead costs. Tweet This Stat

102) 28% of tech firms report that trade shows top out lead costs. Tweet This Stat

* (Note: This data includes marketers who reported $0 CPL, which may skew the data.)

Cost per Customer

103) U.S. inbound marketers spending more than $25K per year saved $14 dollars for every new customer acquired vs. those relying on outbound strategies -- $254 vs. $268. Tweet This Stat

104) The average cost per customer for enterprise companies with a formal marketing-sales agreement is $291*. Tweet This Stat

105) The average B2B cost per customer is $264*. Tweet This Stat

106) The average B2C cost per customer is $149*. Tweet This Stat

* (Note: This data includes marketers who reported $0 cost per customer, which may skew the data.)

Lead Scoring

107) 67% of marketers rate lead scoring as important to their strategic success. Tweet This Stat

108) 72% of C-level marketers said lead scoring was important to achieving marketing goals. Tweet This Stat

109) 75% of international marketers say lead scoring is important to their marketing strategy -- and 41% find lead scoring very important. Tweet This Stat

Marketing Testing

110) 45% of marketers do not test their inbound marketing campaigns. Tweet This Stat

111) 21% of marketers do not know if they test or not. Tweet This Stat

112) Over 2/3 of all inbound strategies will not be effectively tested in 2013. Tweet This Stat

113) Just 3% of inbound marketers test all the time. Tweet This Stat

114) Companies that test are 75% more likely to show ROI for inbound marketing than those that ignore testing. Tweet This Stat

115) 36% of testing marketers report monthly testing campaigns. Tweet This Stat

116) 28% of marketers testing their campaigns do it less than monthly. Tweet This Stat

117) 51% of executives test at least monthly to improve inbound results. Tweet This Stat

118) 20% of marketers use A/B testing. Tweet This Stat

Audience Targeting/Persona Focus

119) 50% of marketers consider their companies to be primarily customer focused. Tweet This Stat

120) Nearly 25% of marketers say reaching the right audience is their top priority for 2013. Tweet This Stat

121) B2C companies were 20% more likely to be customer focused than their B2B counterparts (59% vs. 47%). Tweet This Stat

Marketing Focus and Goals

122) 15% of companies are primarily focusing on their products in 2013. Tweet This Stat

123) 13% of marketers say they are primarily sales focused. Tweet This Stat

124) Nearly 70% of marketing-focused companies implemented inbound marketing strategies, as opposed to 60% of customer-focused companies. Tweet This Stat

125) 49% of marketing-focused companies say they achieved positive ROI from inbound marketing. Tweet This Stat

126) Just 38% of sales-focused companies reported positive inbound marketing ROI for 2013. Tweet This Stat

Working With Sales and Executives

127) Only 17% of sales teams fully support their company's inbound marketing efforts. Tweet This Stat

128) Just 18% of CEOs report they provide significant support for inbound marketing initiatives. Tweet This Stat

129) Just 9% of C-level teams at companies with 200+ employees fully support inbound campaigns. Tweet This Stat

130) Just 14% of B2B sales teams support B2B inbound efforts. Tweet This Stat

131) 24% of companies have a formal handoff between their marketing and sales teams. Tweet This Stat

132) 73% of the companies that reported a formal marketing-sales agreement are engaged in inbound marketing in 2013, as opposed to 50% with no defined lead handoff. Tweet This Stat

133) Adopting a marketing-sales agreement saves enterprise companies an average of $195.84 in total cost per customer. Tweet This Stat

134) 47% of CEO/CMOs say their firms do not have a formal marketing-sales handoff. Tweet This Stat

135) 37% of enterprise companies have formal agreements with their sales teams. Tweet This Stat

136) 37% of enterprise marketers have yet to establish formal contracts with their sales teams. Tweet This Stat

137) Technology firms -- where the term service level agreement (SLA) originated -- report that 40% of their teams have formalized marketing-sales agreements. Tweet This Stat

138) Only 17% of sales teams and 11% of company executives lend their full support (in terms of budget, resources, or political capital) to inbound marketing efforts. Tweet This Stat

139) B2B companies are 8% more likely to delineate marketing-sales obligations than B2C companies. Tweet This Stat

Marketing Technology

140) 46% of marketers use Google Analytics’ free reporting. Tweet This Stat

141) 18% of marketers say finding tools to accurately measure ROI is a major challenge of their technology systems. Tweet This Stat

142) 20% of C-suite marketers said using technology to gauge ROI is their principle technology concern. Tweet This Stat

143) Despite the impending big data influx, just 15% of marketers’ say their top tech concern is managing all their data. Tweet This Stat

144) 16% of marketers say that controlling technology is the most significant challenge they face in 2013. Tweet This Stat

145) B2C companies spend slightly more time than average fighting with technology -- 19% versus the 15% average. Tweet This Stat

146) 24% of marketers say their IT teams provide the least support for inbound marketing efforts. Tweet This Stat

147) 26% of B2B tech groups impede inbound efforts, vs. 20% for B2C companies. Tweet This Stat

148) 31% of marketers in enterprise companies indicate a lack of support from their IT teams. Tweet This Stat

Marketing Hiring

149) Hiring top talent is the top challenge for 9% of marketers, while 8% say it's training their teams. Tweet This Stat

150) Most marketing teams will at least double by the end of the year. Tweet This Stat

151) Inbound marketers plan to hire an average of 9.3 people this year -- 125% more growth than teams not executing inbound marketing. Tweet This Stat

152) On average, marketers plan to hire 4.5 team members in 2013. Tweet This Stat

153) Enterprise companies expect the most personnel growth, citing plans to hire an average of 18.6 full-time marketers this year. Tweet This Stat

Marketing Staffing

154) 81% of all marketers work in teams of fewer than 6 people. Tweet This Stat

155) This small team environment is pervasive at every level -- 31% of companies with 200+ employees still work in 5-person teams or fewer. Tweet This Stat

156) International marketers also operate with smaller staffs -- 50% work in small teams of 1-5. Tweet This Stat

157) Nearly 30% of marketers don’t even have one full-time marketer dedicated to inbound. Tweet This Stat

158) 6% of marketers continue to dedicate time exclusively to each trade shows, direct mail, and telemarketing. Tweet This Stat

Which statistics surprised you the most?

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