Lead nurturing has always been around, but it wasn’t always under the term “lead nurturing”.

Lead nurturing embraces the idea of building relationships with potential buyers (prospects) and then guiding them through their buying journey.

In simple terms, lead nurturing has been around well before the internet was even a twinkle in the eye of its creator.

Back in the day, lead nurturing looked like this: “Hey, John. How’s the family?” “Hey Mary. How are the kids doing?” 

Today, lead nurturing is mostly done behind the computer screen, though it’s done in brick-and-mortar stores and among salespeople in the automotive, retail, insurance, financial, and other sectors. 

Today, we are going to discuss lead nurturing statistics as they pertain to the modern marketing realm.

Let’s face it.

It’s just not enough to generate leadings hoping that they will magically be converted into loyal customers.

Your prospects need to be “nurtured”.

This means you need to provide them with valuable and pertinent content and educate them about the product or service you are offering.

Additionally, you need to address their pain points and overcome objections.

What is lead nurturing important to your business?

Because it can help you increase sales, improve customer loyalty, and lower marketing costs.

In this article, we will share the statistics you need to know about lead nurturing in this modern world of marketing.

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Key Statistics

  • Companies that dominate lead nurturing generate 50% more leads that are sales ready.
  • Nurtured leads tend to make 47% larger purchases on average than non-nurtured leads.
  • 96% of those who visit your site aren’t ready to buy.
  • 80% of the leads you generate will never turn into sales.
  • An astounding 65% of B2B marketers have no established lead nurturing agenda.
  • Only 27% of initial leads are ready sales ready.
  • Companies that nurture leads enjoy a 45% boost in lead generation ROI.
  • Leads that are nurtured experience a 23% shorter sales cycle.
  • Personalizing lead nurturing campaigns can result in a 20% boost in conversions.
  • Emails marketing for lead nurturing is preferred by 78% of marketers.

Top Lead Nurturing Statistics in 2024

1. Companies that dominate lead nurturing generate 50% more leads that are sales ready.

Lead Nurturing Statistics

Statistics show that companies who dominate in the lead nurturing realm can generate 50% more leads that are sales ready.

Moreover, they can do this at a 33% lower cost per lead.

Likewise, they make 50% more sales than from non-nurtured leads. 

(Data Axle Genie)

2. Nurtured leads tend to make 47% larger purchases on average than non-nurtured leads.

The truth is that nurtured leads will often make larger purchases than non-nurtured leads.

Sometimes non-nurtured leads will buy something from you, but nurtured leads will make 47% larger purchases on average than leads that aren’t nurtured.

(AOV UP)

3. 96% of those who visit your site aren’t ready to buy.

Don’t expect people to visit your site ready to buy from you, because that’s only happens about 4% of the time.

Honestly, a massive 96% of your website visitors visit your site, but they are not ready to make a purchase.

This is one reason lead nurturing is important.

(Medium)

4. 80% of the leads you generate will never turn into sales.

We know that 96% of site visitors aren’t ready to buy anything, but 80% are the leads that you generate will never buy anything from you.

That a large percentage of leads who will never result in sales.

Lead nurturing is more important today than it’s ever been.

(Invesp)

5. An astounding 65% of B2B marketers have no established lead nurturing agenda.

An astounding 65% of B2B marketers have no established lead nurturing agenda.

A surprising 65% of B2B (business-to-business) marketers aren’t nurturing their leads.

With the data pointing toward the importance of lead nurturing, why are 65% of B2B marketers not engaging in this process?

According to one interview, nurturing isn’t always about selling or closing deals.

It’s about things like building trust and positive relationships.

(MarketingSherpa Blog)

6. Only 27% of initial leads are ready sales ready.

When you first generate your leads, most of them aren’t sales ready.

Only 27% of your first-generated leads are sales ready.

However, with consistent lead nurturing, you can improve your sales while also building trusting relationships with your prospects and customers.

This can result in repeat business and loyal customers.

(PropelGrowth)

7. Companies that nurture leads enjoy a 45% boost in lead generation ROI.

Data shows that on average, businesses that nurture their leads enjoy a 45% boost in their lead generation return on investment (ROI) compared to companies that don’t nurture their leads.

Moreover, nurtured leads commonly generate more sales than non-nurtured leads.

(OMI)

8. Leads that are nurtured experience a 23% shorter sales cycle.

According to our sources, nurtured leads usually experience a 23% shorter sales cycle compared to non-nurtured leads.

This same source revealed that lead scoring is transforming the marketing world as we know it.

(Marketo)

9. Personalizing lead nurturing campaigns can result in a 20% boost in conversions.

Conversions aren’t always just about the sale.

In fact, they can be about increasing more sales opportunities.

Research revealed that nurtured leads can result in a 20% rise in sales opportunities (or sales).

Also, with lead scoring in use, companies have seen a rise of 30% on average in closed deals rates.

(S2W Media)

10. Emails marketing for lead nurturing is preferred by 78% of marketers.

Emails marketing for lead nurturing is preferred by 78% of marketers.

Email marketing is the number one choice of marketers for lead nurturing.

Lead nurturing via email is the preference of 78% of marketers.

The reasoning behind this is that it’s the most professional and direct method for building viable connections with your target audience.

(Salesmate)

11. 56% of B2B companies pass properly nurtured leads to the sales department.

Data shows that 56% of B2B companies pass nurtured leads to their sales departments.

This accounts for properly nurtured leads, which means they are likely to be more open to making a purchase in a shorter amount of time than unnurtured leads or cold calling

(EnterpriseAppsToday)

12. Blogging more times per month generates more nurtured leads.

If you are going to be successful in this business world, you need a blog on your business website.

Blogging at least 11 times per month can generate four times the leads than blogging under 5 times per month.

That said, it’s important to provide quality content that is relevant and insightful.

(TechJury)

13. Personalized emails enjoy a 14% conversion rate.

If you’re ever asked if personalized emails matter in marketing, say yes.

Tell them yes because it’s the truth.

In fact, personalized emails can achieve a 14% conversion rate compared to email blasts or standardized emails.

People like personalized content and that’s a fact.

(Digital Marketing Institute)

14. 76% of consumers say they are more apt to buy from brands that personalize their content.

A rousing 76% of consumers claim they are more likely to buy from a brand that personalizes their content.

Personalized content matters.

Another 71% say they expect content to be personalized and 76% say they get frustrated when it’s not personalized.

It’s believed that the global pandemic made personalized even more important.

(McKinsey & Company)

15. 66% of customers think brands should know what they want or need.

Speaking of personalization, 66% of customers think brands should understand what they need and want.

Likewise, another 66% said they feel that brands treat consumers like numbers.

This tells us that customers simply want a brand with which they engage to understand them. 

(Exploding Topics)

16. Nurtured leads experience an 8% higher CTR compared to non-nurtured leads.

Nurtured leads experience an 8% higher CTR compared to non-nurtured leads.

According to research and data analytics, nurtured leads get an 8% higher click-through-rate than unnurtured leads across content, which includes emails.

If you take away nothing else from this article, take away the importance of lead nurturing.

(Data Axle Genie)

17. 48% of businesses say that most leads demand long-cycle nurturing.

Almost half of businesses say that most leads demand a long cycle of nurturing across many touchpoints.

There are studies hat also reveal that targeting consumers with relevant content to their status and needs can result in 72% higher conversions.

(AOV UP, Foundry)

18. Lead nurturing emails experience between 4 and 10 times the response rate compared to “email blasts”.

An “email blast” is like a standardized form letter emailed out to multiple email addresses.

These are used sometimes to a full mailing list as opposed to one-on-one communication between one sender and one receiver.

Therefore, it makes sense that the response rate is between 4 and 10 times higher in personalized nurturing emails.

(Invesp)

19. 83% of white papers used for lead nurturing are effective.

Different types of content are used in lead nurturing.

This includes white papers, EBooks, webinars, infographics, and videos.

Of these content types, white papers are 83% effective making this the most effective content type for lead nurturing.

E-books are second at 71% effective and webinars are third with 63% efficiency.

Infographics and videos are each 22% effective.

(Salesmate)

20. It can take 10 lead-nurturing steps to convert a lead into a customer.

It can take 10 lead-nurturing steps to convert a lead into a customer

We’ve read how business claim that lead nurturing involves a long cycle more than half the time.

That said, it can take an average of 10 lead nurturing steps to convert a lead into a customer.

A customer is a person who is buying your products or services in this instance.

(TechJury)

FAQs

What is lead nurturing?

Lead nurturing is the process of building good relationships with prospects that can become loyal customers.

It involves providing your leads with valuable information and support across the buyer’s journey. 

The goal of lead nurturing is to take leads from awareness to consideration to purchase by informing them about your products or services and by helping them overcome their objections (if any).

Why is lead nurturing so important?

Lead nurturing is important because it helps you convert more leads (prospects) into customers.

Nurtured leads are 70% more apt to convert than those not nurtured according to MarketingSherpa.

Lead nurturing is also for building trust and loyalty with your potential customers, which can result in referrals and repeat business.

What are some effective lead nurturing statistics?

We discovered several lead nurturing strategies to help you be more effective:

1. Email marketing: Email allows you to regularly send out blog posts, case studies, newsletters, and other forms of content to keep your leads in the know. Your leads will come to expect them when they are sent on specific days and times.
2. Content marketing: Content marketing is used to educate and engage your leads about your products or services while building trust and addressing their pain points.
3. Social media marketing: Social media is an effective and impactful way to connect with and build relationships with your prospects. You can also use social media to post and share products, product updates, your backstory, relevant articles, and to interact with your audience. 
4. Lead scoring: This is the process of assigning a value to each lead based on their level of interest and engagement in your services or products. It helps you prioritize your lead nurturing efforts and focus on leads that are the most apt to convert into customers.

How often should I nurture my leads?

How often you need to nurture your leads depends on several factors including but not limited to:

1. Your industry
2. Length of sales cycle
3. Type of content

How can I measure the success of my lead nurturing efforts?

We found several ways to measure your success in lead nurturing:

1. Lead conversion rate: This is your percentage of leads who convert into customers.
2. SALs – Sales accepted leads: These are leads that have been qualified by marketing as being interested in your product or service and are ready to be contacted.
3. MQLs – Marketing qualified leads: These leads have been qualified for buying readiness.
4. CLV – Customer lifetime value: This is the total amount of revenue you expect to generate from a customer over their average lifetime.

What are some common lead nurturing mistakes to avoid?

We did some research and found some common mistakes for lead nurturing that you should avoid:

1. Not segmenting your leads: Different leads have different interests and needs. It’s vital to segment them and send more targeted and personalized content.
2. Not consistently nurturing your leads: It’s crucial to your success to regularly nurture your leads. Consistent nurturing keeps them engaged and drives them closer to making a purchase.
3. Not tracking your performance: Tracking your performance and results is an essential element that must be regularly done. It’s how you can see what works and what doesn’t.

Conclusion

These statistics show us how important lead nurturing is in today’s marketing realm.

Before the internet, people interacted more in person, which is the most natural and organic way to nurture a lead.

However, we live in the digital age now and we must work harder to nurture leads and to compete with those in our niche or industry.

It takes effort and multiple lead-nurturing steps to convert a single lead into a paying customer. 

Now that you know more about how important it is to nurture your leads and not just generate them and go, will you make changes to your marketing strategy? 

More businesses today are leaning toward personalizing lead nurturing content, especially emails to encourage loyalty, instill trust, build relationships, and get new paying customers. 

We hope you learned a lot from these lead nurturing statistics and the importance of the process to encourage trust that results in sales.

Sources

Data Axle GenieAOV UPMedium
MarketingSherpa BlogPropelGrowthOMI
S2W MediaSalesmateEnterpriseAppsToday
Digital Marketing InstituteMcKinsey & CompanyExploding Topics
InvespMarketoTechJury
Foundry