LEAD NURTURING& ACCELERATIONBENCHMARKSURVEY
MOVING INTO THE MODERN ERAWITH HIGHLY-TARGETED,ACCOUNT-BASED LEAD NURTURINGS P O N S O R E D BY

Executive Summary
Lead nurturing is a foundational part of successful demand gen strategies, as it progresses leads from initial interest,
keeps them engaged, provides them with relevant content and accelerates their buying journeys. In this year’s
Lead Nurturing & Acceleration Benchmark Survey, the results overwhelmingly pointed to the modernization oflead nurturing and the nuanced nature that comes along with its evolution. As lead nurturing and its accompanying
strategies become a bigger priority, it’s simultaneously becoming more challenging.
In fact, 56% of respondents said their performance is poor/inadequate or needs improvement. When asked how thechallenges of lead nurturing programs have changed over the past 12 to 18 months, 60% said it was challenging while
24% indicated that it was very challenging.
This demonstrates that while lead nurturing is still a core goal and major factor in campaigns, it’s growing harder
to engage leads due to external factors, therefore requiring a more modern approach. With issues such as shorter
digital attention spans and people being pulled in multiple directions, organizations must get creative and enhancetheir approach to lead nurturing with highly customized, targeted strategies.
This new era of lead nurturing includes more advanced approaches that eliminate the lengthy drip campaignsof years past. The new tactics and approaches respondents are implementing with their nurture programs include:• Social media (50%);• Re-targeting (40%);• Content engagement data (49%);• Un-gated content (39%); and• Virtual, in-person and hybrid event marketing (48%);• Analyzing intent data (37%).

• Account-based nurtures (44%);22021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTHow would you rate your current lead nurturing initiatives?

12%

Poor/inadequate

44%

Needs
improvement

36%

Average

Excellent

38%2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTHave you found lead nurturing programs to be more challenging
over the past 12-18 months, in terms of generating responses?
60%

24%8%
It has not been challenging togenerate responses with ournurture programs

4

It has been somewhat challenging
to generate responses with ournurture programs

It has been very challenging
to generate responses with
our nurture programs

2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORT

44% of respondents indicated that their current leadnurturing initiatives need improvement.

The more interesting approaches in the above list include social media, account-based nurtures and re-targeting,which demonstrates a notable shift away from traditional methods. Throughout this report, we’ll dive deeper into thenew world of lead nurturing, specifically focusing on:• How to combat the challenges that emerge with a modernized sales cycle;• The need to accurately target and engage clients at the right time;• The shift to nurturing warmer, sales-ready leads;• The importance of exclusive and highly relevant content to nurture campaigns; and• The lengthening of sales cycles and increased number of touchpoints.

52021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTWhat new approaches/tactics have you taken withyour nurture program?
Using contentengagement data

49%

Doing account-basednurtures

44%

Using intent data
(i.e. insights highlightingbuyers that are in-market)

37%
31%

Incorporating video
messaging

Enhanced personalization
strategies

29%

Using signal data
(i.e. new hire announcements,rounds of funding, etc.)

Using predictive/AI

617%
12%
2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTThe Continued Success Of Nurture Campaigns
Lead nurturing is a core need of any demand generation program, and the survey reinforced the idea that people arestill seeing value and return on investment (ROI) coming out of the nurture campaigns. For example, the top benefits
respondents indicated include:• Generating warmer, sales-ready leads (75%);• Better response to campaigns/offers due to targeting/relevance (52%);• Ability to segment prospects based on interests/behaviors (51%);• Leads moving faster through the funnel (42%); and• Higher acceptance of leads from sales (40%).
The benefits of warmer, more sales ready leads further indicate why lead nurturing is an essential part of the buyer’sjourney. Simply contrast it with the “old-fashioned” way, so to speak: If an organization sends a lead a white paper,
whether they’re in market or not, chances are the prospect won’t respond or be receptive to further outreach.
Speaking to the success of these campaigns, 60% of respondents indicated that they are seeing a 10% increase or
greater in sales opportunities. This shows that lead nurturing works, and it’s a critical component of any B2B arsenal.

72021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTWhat have you seen as the biggest benefits of lead nurture programs?

Generating warmer,
sales-ready leads

75%

Better response tocampaigns/offers due totargeting/relevance

52%
51%

Ability to segment prospects
based on interests/behaviors

Leads moving fasterthrough the funnel

842%

2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTHow have nurtured leads performed within your funnel versus
non-nurtured leads?
36%
30%

17%
10%

No measurabledifference

9We see a 10% increasein sales opportunities
from nurtured leads

We see a 20% increasein sales opportunities
from nurtured leads

We see a 30% increasein sales opportunities
from nurtured leads

2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTHow Practitioners Are Targeting,Segmenting & Timing
Despite the demonstrated potential for success with lead nurturing, it’s not without its challenges. For example, thetop difficulties respondents indicated include:• Developing targeted content by buyer stage/interest (55%);• Building the right timing/workflows for campaigns (45%);• Lack of support from sales teams in following up on nurtured leads (37%); and• Lack of insights into best practices on lead nurture frameworks (36%).
Accurately timing and targeting leads is key here, as the top two responses indicate organizations are still struggling
in those areas. This emphasizes the need for marketers to focus on building these skill sets, which helps to identify
the specifics of what content to send, how often to send it and on which channels.
When it comes to measurement metrics, there was a shift away from assessing response or click-through rates, as
the highest percentage of respondents indicated they’re now basing measurement on conversion rates (56%) todetermine how leads are progressing. Additionally, a large percentage said they’re looking at lead volume in sales
pipeline (39%), which indicates an interest in measuring direct revenue impact.

102021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTWhat are your biggest challenges when it comesto lead nurture programs?
55%

Developing targeted content
by buyer stage/interest

45%

Building the right timing/
workflows for campaigns
Lack of support from sales
team in following up onnurtured leads

37%

Lack of insights into bestpractices on lead nurture
framework

36%

Anonymous visitors
to the website

35%

Declining response rates

35%

Shortage of data on whichleads to nurture

1131%

2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTThe highest percentage of respondents indicated they’re now
basing measurement on conversion rates (56%) to determine
how leads are progressing.

Perhaps one of the biggest indicators of nurture campaign modernization was how organizations are segmenting
nurture campaigns by:• Industry (51%);• Title/role (43%);• Personas (43%);• Company size (38%); and• Account (37%).
Industry segmentation was the most popular method, which makes sense as it provides more relevance thansegmenting by title, role or company size. This shows that today’s lead nurturing campaigns are designed to be much
more targeted and relevant, which is strengthened by personas tie for second.

122021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTWhat metrics do you use to measure lead nurturing success?
45%
39%

39%
35%

22%

Emailclick-through rates

13Revenue

Lead volume
in sales pipeline

Email open rates

Cost-per-lead

2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTHow do you segment your database for lead nurture programs?
51%
43%
38%

37%
28%

We segment
by industry

14

We segmentby title/role

We segment
by company size

We segment
by accountWe segment
by funnel stage

2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTContent’s Role In Engaging Leads
Shifting over to content, organizations must provide highly targeted and relevant assets to their leads. Although 63%of respondents admitted they don’t have nurture-specific content, the more telling percentage is the amount that do.
With more than 25% indicating they have exclusive content for nurtures, backed by the 12% that indicated they want toadd exclusive content within the year, it’s clear the category is slowly but surely moving into modernization.
Webinars remained the top content format, coming in at 48% — a 15-point increase from last year. Webinars arerelatively easy to customize to meet prospects in the buyer’s journey, which is a key component of nurture campaigns,
making them a valuable asset. While webinars continued their No. 1 reign, other high-ranking items include:• Thought leadership articles (41%);• Email newsletters (40%);• Sales emails (40%); and• Sales calls (38%).

152021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTDo you have content offers that are used exclusively for nurture
programs, or are they multipurpose assets?

63%

No, we only havemultipurpose content25%

Yes, we have exclusive
content for lead nurturingNo, but we plan to create
exclusive nurture content
within the next 12 months

1612%

2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTWhich tactics have worked best within your nurture initiatives?

48%

WebinarsThought leadership articles

41%

Email newsletters

40%

Sales emails

40%

Customer content (i.e. casestudies, reviews, etc.)1739%2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTPercentage Of Return For NurtureWith re-targeting campaigns rounding out the top five approaches for nurture campaigns, it comes as
no surprise that 69% of respondents indicated that at least 10% of their leads are returned for additionalnurturing. This directly corroborates the trend of targeting warmer, more sales-ready leads, as 42% oforganizations indicated that they rely on warm-up campaigns.

What percentage of your leads are returned for additional nurturing?
10%-25%22%

25%-50%More than 50%

18

28%
19%

Analyzing Campaign Types
To Demonstrate Most Success
Instead of focusing on one tried-and-true method, it appears that organizations are relying on a mixed bag of nurture
campaigns. Specifically:• Early-stage (new lead, completed form) (69%);• Current client (upsell and cross-sell) (49%);• Warm-up campaigns (42%); and• Touch campaigns (sales owner reached SQL) (27%).
It’s interesting that more than 1/3 of respondents are actually nurturing existing clients, especially by tying cross-selland upsell opportunities into nurture campaigns. It indicates an advanced step forward and opens the door for ABM
components.
Additionally, the survey indicated that more than 1/3 of respondents are running 11-20 different types of programs andincluding more touches within them. This makes it easier for buyers to self-navigate their journeys, supplies them witha variety of different resources and accelerates the nurture cycle.

192021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTWhich types of lead nurturing campaigns do you currently have?
69%

42%

Early-stage (new lead,completed form)

20

Warm-upcampaign

29%

27%Advanced-stage(specific to role/title/industry/company)

Touch campaign(sales ownerreached SQL)

22%

Trial nurture (followingfree trial request)

2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORT

25% of respondents are including between six and 10 touches,
while almost 1/3 are including four to five.

Specifically, 25% of respondents are including between six and 10 touches, while almost 1/3 are including four to five,indicating the practitioners’ realization that leads require a breadth of resources.
Additionally, modern nurture campaigns don’t just rely on monthly or quarterly reach-outs; instead, they’re quickly
becoming more frequent, timely and relevant. Most respondents indicated they operate with weekly cadences (40%),
followed by every three days (19%).
When examined through the lens of the lengthening sales cycle (29% of respondents indicated six to nine months,compared to last year’s 18%), it’s more important than ever that leads remain engaged with multiple touchpoints andcadences to keep the opportunity at their top of their minds.

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2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTWhat is the typical cadence of your nurture campaigns?
40%

20%

Weekly22

Every three days

17%

Every other week

2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTConclusion:
The Vision Of Modern Nurture Programs
Looking into the future, the results indicate that lead nurture campaigns will become more ABM-centric — as indicatedthrough the increase priority given to warm leads — as well as more sculpted around data. With an eye on modernization,
let’s examine the future goals and priorities respondents indicated for their nurture programs.
Increasing conversion rates led the charge, as 70% of respondents indicated it as a priority. Given that the premise of leadnurture campaigns revolves around guiding leads through the sales cycle in the hopes they’ll become customers, this isthe logical No. 1 answer.
Closely following increased conversion rates was the desire to generate warmer, sales-ready leads (62%). Rather thansearching for new leads and hoping they’re impressed with the content they receive, it’s often more beneficial fororganizations to target leads that either went silent at some point during the sales cycle or focus on engaging existingclients with cross-sell and upsell opportunities.
Complementing the anticipated move toward lead nurture-exclusive content is the finding that 41% of respondents
indicated they want to get deeper engagement data on prospects and customers. If organizations can create a larger datapool to draw insights from, it will enable them to create more targeted, customized content that’s more relevant to leads.
It also appears that ABM is continuing to strengthen its grip on the B2B industry, as 40% of respondents indicated thedesire to incorporate ABM strategies. This couples nicely with the desires for more data and targeting warm leads orcurrent clients.
To wrap up on a customization note, 37% of marketers want to deliver a more customized experience through theirwebsite in the coming months and years. As websites house primarily all the information and assets leads are looking for,it’s more important than ever that organizations’ webpages are ready for the challenge.
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What are some of your future goals/priorities
for your lead nurturing programs?
70%

62%
41%

Increase conversion
rates

24

Generate warmer,
sales-ready leads

Get deeper engagement
data on prospects
and customers

40%

Incorporate ABM tonurture by account37%

Deliver a customizedexperience throughyour website

2021 LEAD NURTURING & ACCELERATION BENCHMARK SURVEY REPORTAbout The Survey
The 2021 Lead Nurturing & Acceleration Benchmark Survey includes responses from 161 B2B marketing,sales and IT executives from July through to mid-August of 2021.

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KELLY LINDENAU

is an editor and writer who loves covering the latest B2B marketing trends, research and industry insights.
She’s a New Jersey native, runner and reader who always has a GIF from The Office at the ready.