The 2023 State of Pipeline Generation

Raise your hand if you have a fool-proof way to predict and generate pipeline. In a perfect marketing world, we would know exactly what levers to pull to drive growth. But in reality, many of us are still having a hard time coming up with the perfect marketing mix required to hit our targets while keeping costs of acquisition low. And in the current climate, there is little room for error.

52% of sales and marketing teams have experienced layoffs in the past two years, according to the marketing executives surveyed. So how are marketers maximizing engagement and increasing impact on pipeline creation and revenue actualization in a scalable, efficient way? The answer sounds simple enough. Marketers need access to actionable, quality data across the end-to-end funnel. But this is easier said than done. In fact, three-quarters (75%) of all marketers surveyed report that they spend too much time in "fire drill mode" answering questions from leadership regarding revenue projections and pipeline forecasts. The reason is limited insight into their pipeline.

When marketers have insight into the channels, campaigns, and activities that contribute to pipeline generation and closed-won deals, they can identify the details that make up the largest percentage of revenue. They can pinpoint where leads are leaking in the funnel and where conversion bottlenecks occur. And when marketers can accurately predict how much revenue they are set to generate quarter-over-quarter, prioritizing budget and resources and shifting to a welcomed quality-over-quantity approach makes hitting targets far more achievable. Fewer fire drills. Greater efficiency. In The 2023 State of Pipeline Generation Report, 424 marketing professionals weigh in on the state of their pipeline, their approach to pipeline generation, and how they plan to hit their revenue targets in the year ahead.

Key Takeaways

• 95% of marketers surveyed feel that having the ability to predict pipeline outcomes is important to the overall success of marketing programs.
• Three-quarters (75%) of all marketers surveyed report that they spend too much time in "fire drill mode" answering questions from leadership regarding revenue projections and pipeline forecasts.
• 50% of those who can fully predict pipeline contributions saw a significant increase in revenue last year, compared to just 16% of those who cannot fully predict pipeline contributions.
• Over two-thirds (68%) of marketers don't know where there is funnel leakage and conversion bottlenecks.
• There is a general lack of confidence in marketers' ability to convert throughout the entirety of the marketing funnel.
• Only 29% of marketers surveyed say they can fully predict pipeline contributions and outcomes. In light of this, many said they plan to prioritize how to gain better insight into the pipeline in the year ahead.

The Reality of Pipeline Generation

What are marketers up against? Generating pipeline comes with substantial challenges for marketers, the most significant barriers to success being lack of adequate data, scalability issues, and allocating budget. Each of these challenges feeds into the other, creating a cycle of barriers to success that marketers struggle to overcome without the right data.

When asked about the most significant challenges of successfully generating pipeline, marketers reported the following:

• Lack of adequate data to make effective decisions (38%)
• Inability to scale demand programs efficiently to meet growth targets (33%)
• Budget allocation challenges (33%)
• Misunderstanding around Ideal Customer Profiles and buyer personas (29%)
• Inability to convert buyers across channels and campaigns (28%)
• Misalignment of sales and marketing teams (27%)
• Poor lead quality (25%)
• Lack of an effective go-to-market strategy (25%)

Outlook on business success. 44% of marketers surveyed feel extremely positive about the success of their organization in the year ahead. Throughout this report, you will see references to this group and what can contribute to a better outlook on success in the coming year.

Executive insight. Executives are significantly more positive about their outlook on their organization's success than others. 65% of executives feel extremely positive compared to 35% of non-executives.

Marketers lack confidence in their ability to convert throughout the funnel

Our research indicates that most marketers are not highly confident in their ability to convert prospects throughout the entirety of their funnel. This lack of confidence is most apparent in the middle and bottom of the funnel, with just 37% of marketers reporting being extremely confident through the middle of the funnel and one in ten marketers feeling not at all confident in their bottom-of-the-funnel conversions.

When asked to rank the confidence they have in their ability to convert prospects within each part of the funnel, marketers responded:

• Top of the funnel: extremely confident (44%), somewhat confident (51%), not confident (5%)
• Middle of the funnel: extremely confident (37%), somewhat confident (58%), not confident (5%)
• Bottom of the funnel: extremely confident (39%), somewhat confident (50%), not confident (11%)

The ability to convert prospects, and to predict that conversion, at the middle and bottom of the funnel is extremely important. Here is why:

Timing. Middle and bottom funnel prospects are considering a purchase but simply haven't made a purchasing decision. If you see prospects stop engaging, they might not be ready to buy, but if engagement is accelerating they likely need a little nudge over the goal line.

Investment. The bottom of your funnel is the key to your bottom line. A great deal of budget and resources is often dedicated to filling the top of the funnel, but if you don't spend equal, if not more, time optimizing the middle and bottom of the funnel, then you will not hit pipeline and revenue targets.

Velocity of the sale. As you move down the pipeline, the time to close decreases, and that improves your ability to have an immediate impact on your monthly and quarterly sales goals.

Why a lack of confidence?

This general lack of confidence could be due to the fact that only 29% of marketers surveyed say they can fully predict pipeline contributions and outcomes. In fact, marketers who have full capabilities to predict pipeline contribution are significantly more confident in their end-to-end marketing funnel.

Ability to predict pipeline outcomes. 29% of marketers surveyed report being able to fully predict pipeline contributions and outcomes. This group gives us an opportunity to identify what access to data and the ability to forecast can help enable marketing teams to accomplish. Look for this "Pipeline Predictors" perspective throughout the report.

Prioritizing Pipeline Insight

A major red flag: 68% of marketers don't know where there is funnel leakage and conversion bottlenecks. When marketers have insight into why MQLs are not converting to opportunities, or why accounts are stuck in the sales process, they can make more effective decisions on the where and why of funnel leakage and move forward with a solution to fix it.

Pipeline Predictors. Those who have the ability to predict pipeline outcomes have a significantly greater ability to identify funnel leakage and conversion bottlenecks. 68% of those who have the ability to fully predict pipeline outcomes say they can fully identify where funnel leakage and bottlenecks occur, compared to just 18% of all others.

Marketers are making pipeline insight a priority

The top three priorities for improving conversion rates in the year ahead are improving lead quality and nurturing, improving pipeline analysis, and understanding which leads and accounts convert. All three of the top priorities share a focus on improving conversion by uncovering exactly what is generating pipeline and revenue, and how to do more of it. The right data takes the guesswork out of understanding what is leaking versus what is converting at every stage of the marketing funnel.

When asked about the top priorities to improve lead-to-opportunity conversion rates in the year ahead, marketers reported:

• Improving lead quality and nurturing (43%)
• Improving pipeline analysis (39%)
• Understanding which leads and accounts are converting into pipeline (34%)
• Improving marketing and sales handoff or routing processes (33%)
• Aligning marketing and sales (28%)
• Reworking content strategy (23%)
• Enabling the buyer to self-serve (19%)
• Changing the tech stack (18%)
• Moving to an account-based structure (17%)

Analyzing pipeline quality

Currently, over half of marketers report that they analyze the quality of their marketing pipeline with forecast to actual comparisons (55%) and percentage of pipeline that closes (51%). When asked which ways they are currently analyzing the quality of their marketing pipeline, marketers reported:

• Forecast to actual comparisons (55%)
• Percentage of pipeline that closes (51%)
• Sales velocity (48%)
• Opportunities within their ideal customer profile (45%)
• Average deal size (45%)

Metrics to measure success

Nearly half (48%) of marketers surveyed report that they are measuring campaign success based on Return On Investment (ROI) or Customer Acquisition Cost. Other commonly reported metrics include Revenue Contribution (47%) and Win/Loss Rate (37%). It is encouraging news that ROI and revenue contribution top the list of metrics that marketers are using to measure success. It signals a shift in focus that organizations are making away from vanity metrics to supporting revenue generation.

The primary metrics marketers analyze to measure campaign success:

• Return On Investment or Customer Acquisition Cost (48%)
• Revenue Contribution (47%)
• Win/Loss Rate (37%)
• Total Pipeline Value by Stage (34%)
• Leads (33%)
• SQLs (20%)
• MQLs (19%)
• MQL to SQL % (17%)

Using attribution

Multi-touch and custom attribution models are the most commonly reported by marketers. Multi-touch attribution models allow marketers to pinpoint all of the channels that contribute to a conversion and which of those channels have the most impact. Notably, 57% of those who could identify an attribution model chose more than one model that they use. Having the ability to easily switch between first, last, and multi-touch attribution models helps marketers analyze how marketing tactics and touchpoints contribute to sales.

The attribution models marketers currently use:

• Multi-touch (44%)
• Custom model (42%)
• First touch (36%)
• Last touch (28%)
• Unsure (10%)
• No attribution model (10%)

Which channels are making an impact?

Email marketing is making the most impact for marketers, according to 42% of those surveyed, but social media, content marketing, and organic search are close behind, with 38%, 35%, and 34% of marketers reporting these as channels that have the most impact on pipeline generation, respectively. Many marketers are experiencing shrinking budgets and are being forced to work with fewer resources. With this comes a drop in marketing spend, so it is no surprise that more organic channels are being favored as avenues making the most impact on pipeline generation.

The channels with the greatest impact on pipeline generation:

• Email marketing (42%)
• Social media (38%)
• Content marketing (35%)
• Organic search (34%)
• Paid media (34%)
• Events and webinars (34%)
• Community and partnerships (28%)
• Chatbot (4%)
• Other (4%)
• Unsure (2%)

The Competitive Advantage: Predicting Pipeline

95% of marketers surveyed feel that having the ability to predict pipeline outcomes is important to the overall success of marketing programs. Successfully predicting or forecasting pipeline gives marketers the ability to use resources more efficiently, improves confidence to hit revenue contribution goals, meet targets, and pivot their strategies. When leadership and boards have confidence in the numbers and the go-to-market strategy aligned to them, marketers are much less likely to be in fire drill mode and are able to be much more strategic.

The greatest benefits of successfully predicting or forecasting pipeline:

• More efficient use of resources (43%)
• Improved confidence to hit revenue contribution goals (43%)
• Improved ability to meet targets quarter-over-quarter (40%)
• Improved ability to quickly adjust to market and economic events (40%)
• More efficient marketing and sales processes and workflows (38%)
• Improved trust of the executive team (24%)
• Improved morale and work environment (22%)
• Improved employee retention (22%)

Pipeline Predictors. Those who can fully predict pipeline outcomes are significantly more likely to have a positive outlook on the success of their business compared to those who cannot. 76% of those who can fully predict say they have an extremely positive outlook, versus 31% of all others.

Resource allocation

Gaining valuable insight into pipeline outcomes doesn't have to mean adding additional resources. Those who can fully predict pipeline outcomes and those who cannot have similar resources dedicated to supporting these insights as a part of their job.

Pipeline Predictors. 50% of those who can fully predict pipeline contributions saw a significant increase in revenue last year, compared to just 16% of those who cannot fully predict pipeline contributions.

How are marketers predicting pipeline?

Most organizations that can predict pipeline contributions are doing so manually to some extent. 60% of those surveyed report forecasting pipeline using either entirely manual or mostly manual processes. Even so, 78% of those who can predict pipeline to any extent describe this process as somewhat or extremely easy.

How marketers predict or forecast pipeline:

• Entirely automated processes (8%)
• Mostly automation with some manual processes (32%)
• Mostly manual processes with some automation (45%)
• Entirely manual processes (15%)

As confidence in pipeline predictions increases, so does revenue

32% of those who can predict pipeline outcomes to any extent feel extremely confident in these predictions. This highly confident group also has significantly more confidence in their ability to convert prospects in every stage of the funnel, and they are over 3x more likely than those with less confidence to know where funnel leakage and conversion bottlenecks are. 70% versus 20% are able to fully identify where funnel leakage and conversion bottlenecks occur.

Marketers' level of confidence in the accuracy of their pipeline predictions:

• Somewhat confident (62%)
• Extremely confident (32%)
• Somewhat unconfident (6%)

So what could potentially contribute to this confidence in pipeline predictions?

• Automation. Those with the most confidence in their pipeline predictions are more likely to have entirely automated processes to predict (14% versus 6% of all others).
• Real-time visibility. Nine out of ten (90%) marketers who have the most confidence in their pipeline predictions have real-time visibility into the data to determine when it is time to pivot marketing strategies and tactics.
• Transparency with leadership. Those with the most confidence in their pipeline predictions are significantly more likely to have leadership teams with full visibility into their pipeline (87% versus 44% of those with less confidence).

Driving Results

Know when to pivot. 55% of marketers say they have real-time visibility into when to pivot marketing strategies and tactics, and another 29% say they have some visibility but have to manually monitor. This kind of insight allows marketers to proactively adjust their strategies to specific conditions, and according to our research, it pays off. Those with the insight to know when to pivot their marketing strategies are not only seeing more significant increases in revenue, but they are also more likely to feel positive about the overall success of their business than those who lack this real-time data.

Do marketers have the visibility to know when it is time to pivot marketing strategies and tactics?

• Yes, I have real-time visibility (55%)
• To some extent, I have to manually monitor (29%)
• No, I don't know until it is too late (16%)

Positive business outlook. 60% of those who report having real-time visibility into data that allows them to pivot their marketing strategies and tactics report feeling extremely positive about the success of their organization in the year ahead, compared to just 24% of those who do not have real-time visibility.

Revenue growth. Over one-third (34%) of those who report having real-time visibility into data that allows them to pivot their marketing strategies and tactics saw a significant increase in revenue last year, compared to just 15% of those who do not have this insight.

Know the big picture

Full-funnel visibility is critical for marketing teams as they aim to hit targets. This full-funnel view of data gives leadership the ability to make better strategic decisions and allows marketing and sales teams to align on what is generating pipeline and, ultimately, revenue. Over half (54%) of marketers surveyed report that their leadership team has full visibility into their pipeline. These organizations that have leadership teams in the know are more likely to have seen a significant increase in revenue last year (35% versus 15% of all others) and are more confident in their ability to convert throughout the funnel.

Executive insight. 81% of the executives from the group who say leadership has full visibility into their pipeline have an extremely positive outlook on the success of their business in the coming year.

Does leadership have visibility into the pipeline?

• Fully (54%)
• Somewhat (43%)
• Unsure (2%)
• Not at all (1%)

Why is full-funnel visibility so important? When sales teams can assess the health and quality of their pipeline, issues can be identified and decisions can be made proactively to keep confidence up each quarter. An added benefit is marketing and sales alignment. When both teams have visibility into the end-to-end funnel, they can get aligned on the go-to-market strategy, how to fix problems, and how to optimize conversions. Visibility into your pipeline helps remove subjectivity that can separate teams, and instead teams can develop shared goals to overcome specific challenges.

Know where and how to spend

One-third (33%) of marketers report budget allocation as a top challenge as they try to achieve pipeline generation success. When marketers don't have access to the right data, it is a guessing game of where to allocate marketing dollars. 43% of those surveyed say that one of the greatest benefits of successfully predicting or forecasting pipeline is a more efficient use of resources.

Executive insight. Nearly half (46%) of executives surveyed say they are "always fighting fires" when it comes to answering questions on revenue projections and pipelines.

Know how to sustain growth

One-third (33%) of marketers report that a top challenge of successfully generating pipeline is their inability to scale demand programs efficiently to meet growth targets. This is no surprise, as one in five (20%) of those surveyed report not having access to the data required to build a scalable strategy to predictably hit pipeline and revenue targets. Another 26% say they rely mostly on guesswork and hope for the best.

Have marketers determined a scalable strategy to predictably hit pipeline and revenue targets?

• Yes, I know the exact marketing activities to hit targets (54%)
• To some extent, we still lean on guesswork and hope for the best (26%)
• No, I don't have access to the data required to build a scalable strategy (20%)

Marketers who do have a scalable strategy to predictably hit pipeline and revenue targets have a few things in common:

• They have a more positive outlook on the success of their business in the coming year. 60% of those who know the exact marketing activities to execute in order to hit targets feel extremely positive going into this year, compared to 25% of those who do not have this insight.
• They have seen more increase in revenue in the last year. 39% of those who know the exact marketing activities to execute in order to hit targets saw a significant increase in revenue last year, compared to just 10% of all others.
• They are more likely to have the ability to generate and predict their contribution to pipeline. Nearly half (49%) of those who know the exact marketing activities to execute in order to hit targets have the ability to fully predict pipeline contributions, compared to just 4% of all others.

Which data do you need to be successful?

When you think of the health of your pipeline, here are two metrics you should focus on:

• MQL to SQL % helps to determine the quality of your MQLs. This metric is a leading indicator of the pipeline that will be created perhaps months down the line. When your MQL conversions drop, you can expect your pipeline volume will take a hit shortly.
• Win/Loss rate indicates the ratio of opportunities you close versus create. It is helpful to dissect the win rates by segments: regions, reps, titles, channels, campaigns, and more.

Conclusion

Gaining visibility into your pipeline and funnel can be a monumental win when it comes to hitting revenue targets. Insight into which leads and opportunities are converting into revenue allows you to focus on driving and closing winnable deals.

The research in this study shows that when you have a better understanding of the data in your pipeline and funnel, you will reduce your fire drills, and that is a welcome outcome for all marketing professionals. In a year that may bring challenges of tighter budgets and higher expectations, unlocking the insights of your pipeline to make better decisions is a necessity. Use this research to take the next steps to greater efficiency on pipeline generation and to create a plan to hit your revenue goals in the year ahead.

Participants and Methodology

N = 424 B2B marketing professionals. With a custom online questionnaire, we surveyed 424 marketing professionals who represent North American companies operating in the Business-to-Business (B2B) space with more than 250 employees. These survey participants represent a variety of roles and industries. The survey was fielded during the month of January 2023.

Primary role:

• CEO / Partner / Executive (32%)
• Manager (30%)
• Director (24%)
• VP / SVP (14%)

Number of employees:

• 250 to 500 employees (14%)
• 500 to 1,000 employees (27%)
• 1,001 to 5,000 employees (33%)
• 5,001 to 10,000 employees (10%)
• 10,000+ employees (16%)

Approximate annual revenue:

• Less than $25M (12%)
• $25M to $100M (18%)
• $100M to $250M (15%)
• $250M to $500M (17%)
• $500M to $1B (17%)
• More than $1B (21%)

About the Research Partners

RevSure fills a gap left wide open by years of RevOps development: pipeline generation. It is the missing piece between you and a unified sales and marketing funnel. We call it Sales Pipeline Readiness, and it could revolutionize how you plan, manage, and analyze marketing activity.

Through Sales Pipeline Readiness, RevSure shines a light on those murky mid-pipe stages, offering you confident pipeline generation, improved conversion rates, and optimized campaign performance. And it is all powered by advanced AI predictions that help you capitalize on what converts and adjust what doesn't. We know what has been holding marketing teams back, and we are confident that our platform could help you and your business scale the trickiest obstacles you face in 2023. From planning to analysis, Sales Pipeline Readiness creates dependability and predictability when you need it most. Learn more at RevSure.AI.

Companies partner with Ascend2 to create original research, from survey conceptualization through report and content creation to media outreach. Ascend2 helps companies fuel marketing content, generate leads, and engage prospects to drive demand through the middle of the funnel. We find the right audience, ask the right questions, and gather insightful data to create useful and affordable research that will help you generate demand and increase engagement. Join the industry powerhouses that use Ascend2 to create compelling research content that speaks to their audience. Learn more at Ascend2.com.