We just wrapped the production of our 2012 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report. The overwhelming theme in this study of 1,745 B2B marketers is that the B2B marketing environment is becoming increasingly more challenging over time. In year-over-year (YoY) comparisons of the research, the perceived effectiveness of tactics has seen severe declines. MarketingSherpa wanted to get to the bottom of what's really happening.

Marketers are all aware of the changes that have taken place in the market. Buyers research their purchasing decisions online, not by calling Sales. Marketers get that. But what are they really doing about it?

In our recent study, we uncovered some pretty shocking statistics that indicate marketers resist the adoption of new, critical best practices in funnel optimization, inhibiting their success to win over the modern B2B buyer. For example:

• 68% of study participants have not identified their Sales and Marketing funnel
• 61% send all leads directly to Sales; however, only 27% of those leads will be qualified
• 79% have not established lead scoring
• 65% have not established lead nurturing

(Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark Survey; Methodology: Fielded June 2011, N=1,745)

If we want to succeed in our evolving marketplace, we must embrace change. After all, we cannot anticipate better results if we continue to market our businesses the same way over and over again.

Organizations stand to receive great benefits by embracing change and adopting funnel optimization techniques. In fact, organizations practicing formal processes for funnel optimizations strategies achieve a 56% lift in lead generation ROI over organizations without any funnel optimization process (Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa B2B Marketing Benchmark Survey).

Embarking on a funnel optimization campaign can be daunting; there is so much to be done. You need to:

Jen Doyle will next be speaking at Related Resources: 2012 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report B2B Summit 2011 in San Francisco, October 24-25, in a tactical training session about lead scoring.

It's far better to get started with some optimization than pay no regard to it at all. First, define the criteria of a qualified lead and begin to screen leads from Sales, then offer basic nurturing using repurposed content. You can build and optimize campaigns over time but the key is to get started.