TH E STATE OF
L E A D N U RTU RINGA RESEARCH-BASED GUIDE FOR MARKETERS

Research Series Conducted in Partnership with Leading Providersof Marketing Technology and Digital Marketing Agency Services.

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TABL E O F CO N T E N TS
4.

The State of Lead Nurturing

9.

Digital Channel Usage

5.

Current Status

10. Essential Strategic Elements

6.

Top Priorities

11. Importance of Automation

7.

Strategic Success

12. Dedicated Resources8.

Critical Challenges

13. Ascend2 Research Programs

The State of Lead Nurturing
Conducted by Ascend2 and Research Partners
Published May 2021

3M E THO DO LOGYSURVEY R ES PO N D EN TS

Ascend2 benchmarks theperformance of marketingstrategies, tactics and thetechnology that drives themwith a standardized online
questionnaire and a proprietary
3-Minute Survey format.

Primary Marketing Channel

This survey was fielded to a panelof marketing professionals andmarketing research subscribers.

B2B

31%

B2C

47%

B2B and B2C equally22%

Number of Employees
More than 500

19%

50 to 500

23%

Fewer than 50

58%

Primary role in company
Owner / Partner / C-Level

46%

Vice President / Director / Manager

36%

Non-Management Professional18%

4TH E STATE OF LEA D NURT U R IN G
It is a marketer’s job to provide prospective
customers with targeted information in theform of engaging content to help make theirpurchase decision as smooth as possible. But
this process, known as lead nurturing, is often
underemphasized as a strategy of its own.
So we want to know, how are marketers
approaching lead nurturing today?
To help answer this question, Ascend2 andour Research Partners fielded The State ofLead Nurturing Survey. We thank the 325
marketers who responded to this survey
between April 19, 2021 and April 26, 2021.

This Survey Summary Report, titled The Stateof Lead Nurturing, represents the opinionsof all the market segments responding tothe survey. Specific market segments fromthe survey are reported on separately andexclusively by our participating ResearchPartners.
This research has been produced for youruse. Put it to work in your own marketingstrategy. Clip the charts and write about
them in your blog or post them on social
media. Please share this research credited aspublished.

e!

Click her

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR RESEARCH5CURRENT STATUS
Lead nurturing often takes a backseat to generating leads. 26% of marketing professionals do not havea formal strategy in place, nor do they plan on implementing one. Over two-thirds (35%) of marketers
responding to the survey have a working plan to nurture leads in place. Another 39% say they are in theplanning stages of implementation.
WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF YOUR (OR YOUR TYPICAL CLIENT’S) LEAD
NURTURING PROGRAM?

26%

20%
18%

19%

17%

CURRENTLYN O P R O G R A M I N P L A C E ,N O P R O G R A M I N P L A C E ,A LEAD NURTURING
A LEAD NURTURING
BUT HAVE FUTURENO PLANS TO
PROGRAM IS IN PLACE PROGRAM IS IN PLACE, DEVELOPING A LEAD
IMPLEMENTAND MEASURABLE
BUT IS NOT PART OF A NURTURING PROGRAM PLANS TO IMPLEMENTWELL-DESIGNEDSTRATEGYThe State of Lead Nurturing
Conducted by Ascend2 and Research Partners
Published May 2021

6TOP PRI ORI TI ES
It is likely that a major goal of an organization’s lead nurturing program is to generate more conversions
from their leads. So what are other top priorities for implementing a nurturing program? Customerretention, engagement, brand awareness and the customer experience each ranked at the top ofmarketers’ lists for what they aim to improve with their lead nurturing strategy.
BEYOND IMPROVING CONVERSION RATES, WHAT ARE TOP PRIORITIES FOR A
LEAD NURTURING PROGRAM TO ACHIEVE?
IMPROVE CUSTOMER RETENTION

43%

INCREASE ENGAGEMENT

43%

INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS

42%

IMPROVE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

41%
36%

IMPROVE LEAD QUALITY
23%

EDUCATE PROSPECTS

REDUCE LENGTH OF SALES CYCLE

IMPROVE CONTENT DISTRIBUTION

19%
12%

The State of Lead Nurturing
Conducted by Ascend2 and Research Partners
Published May 2021

7STRATEGI C SUCCESS
Developing a relationship with leads as they move down the funnel closer to becoming a customer can
be a process that includes many variables and requires ongoing refinement. Three-quarters (75%) ofmarketing professionals report that their lead nurturing strategy is just somewhat successful at achieving
goals set for it while only 16% rate the success of their program as best-in-class.
WHICH BEST DESCRIBES THE SUCCESS OF YOUR (OR YOUR TYPICAL CLIENT’S)LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY AT ACHIEVING TOP PRIORITIES?
UNSUCCESSFUL
9%

VERY SUCCESSFUL(BEST-IN-CLASS)
16%

SOMEWHAT
SUCCESSFUL
75%

The State of Lead Nurturing
Conducted by Ascend2 and Research Partners
Published May 2021

8CRI TI CAL CHA LLENG ES
Creating engaging content is often a grueling and time-consuming endeavor with 43% of marketers
ranking this at the top of the list of challenges they face with a lead nurturing strategy. Aligning marketingand sales efforts to turn leads into conversions as well as allocating enough resources to get the job done
also rank high according to 36% and 32% of marketers, respectively.
WHAT ARE THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECTS OF A
LEAD NURTURING PROGRAM?
CREATING TARGETED/ENGAGING CONTENT43%

ALIGNING MARKETING AND SALES EFFORTS

36%
32%

ALLOCATING ADEQUATE RESOURCES
IMPLEMENTING A MULTI-CHANNEL PROGRAM

24%

OPTIMIZING EMAIL SERIES

22%

MEASURING KPIS

19%

CREATING CUSTOMER PROFILES

19%

LEAD SEGMENTATION AND SCORING
DETERMINING OPTIMAL CADENCE

18%
16%

The State of Lead Nurturing
Conducted by Ascend2 and Research PartnersPublished May 2021

9DIGI TAL CHA NNEL US AG E
During the lead nurturing process, marketers have a choice from a wide range of tactics and channels toconnect with potential customers. Finding the right mix of these channels is essential. Over two-thirds ofmarketers report that email (69%) and social media (67%) are the most frequently used digital channels intheir lead nurturing programs.
WHICH DIGITAL CHANNELS ARE MOST FREQUENTLY USED DURING THE LEAD
NURTURING PROCESS?

EMAIL

69%

SOCIAL MEDIA67%

WEBSITE PERSONALIZATION

38%

PAID ADVERTISING/RETARGETING

MOBILE AUTOMATION

34%14%The State of Lead Nurturing
Conducted by Ascend2 and Research Partners
Published May 2021

10ESSENTI AL STRATEGI C ELEM EN TS
Which strategic elements make up a successful lead nurturing strategy? 56% of marketing professionals
say targeted content. About one-half (49%) of those responding to the survey place a great amountof importance on timely follow-up and personalization. Only one in ten (10%) marketers say that list
segmentation is important during this process.
WHAT ARE THE MOST ESSENTIAL STRATEGIC ELEMENTS OF A SUCCESSFULLEAD NURTURING PROGRAM?
TARGETED CONTENT

56%

TIMELY FOLLOW-UP49%

PERSONALIZATION

49%

MULTI-CHANNEL NURTURING

26%
21%

CUSTOMER JOURNEY MAPPING20%

AUTOMATIONLEAD SCORING

LIST SEGMENTATION

16%
10%

The State of Lead Nurturing
Conducted by Ascend2 and Research Partners
Published May 2021

11IMPO RTA NCE OF AUTOMAT IO N
When used correctly, automation software can help marketers build strategic customer experiences thatdrive leads down the funnel more efficiently. An 80% majority of marketing professionals surveyed saythat having automation software is an important part of improving lead nurturing performance. Abouthalf of this group go so far as to say it is very important to improving success.
HOW IMPORTANT IS AUTOMATION SOFTWARE TO IMPROVING LEAD
NURTURING PERFORMANCE?

39%

41%

13%
7%

VERY IMPORTANT

SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT

SOMEWHAT UNIMPORTANT

NOT AT ALL IMPORTANT

The State of Lead Nurturing
Conducted by Ascend2 and Research Partners
Published May 2021

12DEDI CATED RESOURC E S
From this research, we discovered that lead nurturing is typically not as much of a priority as leadgeneration in the minds of marketers. But would allocating more time and resources to lead nurturing
efforts improve conversion rates? 84% of marketers say yes. In fact, 37% of those surveyed strongly agree
that more resources dedicated to lead nurturing would lead to more conversions.
ALLOCATING MORE TIME/RESOURCES TO LEAD NURTURING EFFORTS WOULD
IMPROVE MY CONVERSION RATES.
47%

37%

8%

7%
1%
STRONGLY AGREESOMEWHAT AGREESOMEWHAT DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

The State of Lead Nurturing
Conducted by Ascend2 and Research PartnersPublished May 2021

NEITHER AGREE NORDISAGREE

13PERSONALIZED B2B RESEARCHTO GROW YOUR BUSINESS

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