B2B SaaS Sales & Marketing Benchmarks: The Ultimate Guide

Navigating B2B SaaS sales and marketing can sometimes feel like a labyrinth of numbers and statistics, no matter how many years you’ve been in the game.

With so many different metrics and benchmarks to keep track of, it's easy to feel like you're drowning in a sea of data.

As a driver of your company, you need to know where you're going and how fast you're getting there.

In this guide, we'll explore the metrics and benchmarks that are essential for your B2B SaaS sales and marketing success. Think of it as your own personal GPS, guiding you towards success in the world of B2B SaaS sales and marketing.

We've scoured the internet, dug deep into industry reports, and interviewed experts to bring you the most up-to-date and comprehensive benchmarks out there.

From annual recurring revenue growth to pipeline velocity, we've got it all covered.

So buckle up, put the pedal to the metal, and let’s get started! 

B2B SaaS Marketing Metrics to Track in 2023

 With the right metrics, you can steer your B2B SaaS marketing efforts toward success in 2023. We’ve gathered insights from industry leaders on the top marketing metrics to track in the year ahead:

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

B2B Brand and Content Marketing Strategist Jillian Wood says, “Cost of Acquisition is still one of the best joint sales and marketing metrics to keep an eye on (even in the early days when you expect to spend more to acquire customers). Yes, leads and revenue matter—but CAC tells you if you're off base in what you're spending to hit those numbers (or/or how sustainable it is).”

Kate Wojewoda-Celinska, Content Manager at Spacelift, adds:

“Knowing your CAC helps you determine how much you are spending on marketing or sales activities, giving you insight into where to increase or scale back in order to improve overall efficiency and cost savings. Plus, CAC gives you valuable information regarding what works best in terms of customer acquisition strategies. By comparing each approach and looking at their CAC per user ratio, SaaS businesses can determine what tactics should be used going forward.”

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV or LTV)

Will Yang, Head of Growth at Instrumentl (YC16), shares:

“Revenue per visitor and lifetime value (LTV) are the two most important metrics for B2B SaaS companies. LTV is the amount of money each customer will spend over their entire lifetime with your company, which might be 3 years or more! So rather than focusing on your conversion rate, which is not likely to increase revenue much, focus on increasing revenue per visitor and LTV. You can do this by improving your sales funnel, creating better user onboarding, refining your marketing messages, and more.”

Rebecca Hey, founder & CEO of Strategically, goes into more detail on this:

“My reasoning for this is that many SaaS products are intended to be used recurringly, so your average customer lifetime value is also a measure of your product’s value. A high customer lifetime value tells you that your products give your customers a reason to stick around. On the other end, if your CLV is low, it suggests that your customers are dissatisfied with your product or service or that the product isn’t worth the long-term or recurring investment.” 

Customer Churn Rate

Matthew Ramirez, serial entrepreneur & investor, and founder of Rephrasely, explains why you should track churn rate:  

“In my opinion, churn rates are just as important. Losing customers can lead to revenue losses and low customer lifetime value, but it also means lost opportunities to acquire new customers. Evaluating churn rates can help you pinpoint problem areas in your sales or marketing strategy and improve your processes to retain more customers. This will increase your revenue and help you grow your business. So while looking at your conversion rate may reveal issues, it might not pinpoint specific problems that you can address. With churn rates, you can get a more detailed look at the reasons your customers are leaving and find ways to retain more of them.”

Lead Score

 Shanique Brophy, Marketing Executive at Rocketseed, shows us why lead scoring is important:

“As a B2B SaaS business offering a corporate email signature management software solution, the most important metric to us is lead score. Gathered through website and landing page form completions and calculated based on our own set criteria (including company size and type of enquiry), lead score shows us the level of lead quality, validity, and intent. It places quality over quantity and is valuable to marketing for measuring and optimizing campaigns, and to sales for prioritizing higher-intent prospects and preparing product demos accordingly to secure conversions.”

LTV-CAC Ratio

“If it's costing a company far more to close a customer than their lifetime value, there's likely a serious flaw with the marketing and/or sales efforts. Luckily, attribution tools can help a ton with this as they let you identify which touchpoints played the biggest role in contributing to the conversion.”
- Afnan Rehan, marketing consultant for Factors.ai and Wizeo

A few other metrics worth considering are Net Promoter Score (NPS), Net Revenue Retention (NRR), and Lead Velocity Rate (LVR). 

B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks

B2B content marketing is on the rise, with 71% of marketers saying it has become more important to their organization over the last year. So it's no surprise that 47% of B2B marketers expect to hire or contract content producers in 2023.

Research from Semrush says that 70% of companies that succeed the most in content marketing measure content marketing ROI.

The success of content marketing is also linked to:

·   Content audits, with 61% of successful companies running them 2+ times a year

·   Incorporating video into content, which increases traffic by 70%

Content Marketing Channels

When it comes to content promotion, 63% of respondents use paid channels, with 43% planning to increase their spending on paid content promotion.

The most popular distribution channels are:

·   Organic social (73%)

·   Email (53%)

·   Paid social (51%) 

Organic Content Industry Benchmarks

To generate organic success, your content should be based on:

·   Original research and data

·   Customer research

·   Collaboration with customer-facing teams

·   Topic and keyword research.

The most successful article types include "Everything You Need to Know" and Comparison articles for organic traffic, and "Mistakes to Avoid" titles and Guides for shares. How-to and Comparison articles are also effective in attracting backlinks.

With these benchmarks in mind, you can create engaging and effective content that wows prospective customers. 

Also, find out what is marketing enablement

B2B Email Marketing Benchmarks

Email marketing can be a fickle game, but we've got the industry averages to help guide you through the chaos. 

Open Rates

According to GetResponse, the average email open rate comes in at 19.66%, but don't get too caught up in this number – it varies widely by industry.

For example, the lowest open rate belonged to Internet Marketing at 17.62%, while Restaurants & Food had the highest at 32.04%. 

Click-Through Rates (CTR)

The average is 2.02% – but again, it's all relative to the industry and campaign type. For example, Financial Services had the highest CTR at 4.29%, while Travel had the lowest at 1.63%. 

Email Content Strategy

‍Gartner found that campaigns with the highest open rates merged product discovery and loyalty archetypes. Additionally, consumers tend to like personalized emails that:

·   Mention their birthday or anniversary (54%)

·   Share local or regional events and offers (53%)

·   Recommend products similar to the ones viewed on a brand's site or app (47%)

Timing Matters

But before you send those emails, take note of CampaignMonitor’s research on the best and worst days to send them.

·   Monday has the highest email open rate at 22.0%

·   Tuesday has the highest click-through rate at 2.4%

·   Wednesday and Tuesday have the highest click-to-open rates at 10.8%.

·   Sunday has the lowest email open rate at 20.3%

·   Saturday and Sunday have the lowest click-through rates at 2.1%

·   Friday, Saturday, and Sunday have the lowest click-to-open rates at 10.1%.

There’s a catch – Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), a new feature from Apple, disables open rate tracking. This might artificially inflate open rates for users who have opted in.

However, 44% of CMOs still believe email marketing is essential and allocate almost 8% of their digital marketing budget to it.

So, while these benchmarks are informative, it's important to consider your own audience and run email tests before finalizing your campaign calendar. 

B2B Website Benchmarks

Let's talk about B2B website benchmarks - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

On average, visitors to B2B sites stick around for 2-3 minutes, but that can vary depending on your industry. According to Databox, the average time on page for B2B companies is a mere 1 minute and 34 seconds.

‍Bounce rates for B2B sites are generally between 45-55%, but they can range from a stellar 20% to a terrifying 70%. Yikes! 

As for website traffic, HubSpot discovered that 31% of websites receive over 50,000 unique visitors per month, while 15% get over 100,000.

Mobile devices are responsible for 41% of web traffic, making it crucial to optimize your website for mobile devices.

Optimizing content for search intent is another effective marketing strategy used by over 50% of web analysts.

While some of these metrics may seem like vanity metrics, they can help you determine the effectiveness of your sales and marketing strategies.

It's not enough to have high web traffic or qualified leads. You need to convert them into sales, and nurturing them through follow-ups is crucial. 

B2B Social Media Benchmarks

Are you tired of feeling like you're blindly posting on social media without any idea of what's considered "normal" for your industry?

Enter social media benchmarks, your new best friend.

According to Sprout Social, the average brand posts 10 times per day, with 87 inbound engagements and only 2 outbound engagements.

That's right, folks, it's all about that inbound engagement.

Influencer Marketing Benchmarks

And if you're looking to dip your toes into influencer marketing, you're not alone - 23% of respondents plan to spend more than 40% of their entire marketing budget on influencer campaigns.

But don't break the bank on a macro-influencer or celebrity just yet - small and micro-influencers reign supreme, with 42% of brands now paying influencers for their services.

As for which platform to focus on, TikTok is now the most popular influencer marketing channel, beating out Instagram for the first time.

Facebook v/s Instagram

When it comes to interactions per 1K impressions, Instagram still takes the cake with an average of 28.48, compared to Facebook's 4.88.

While Facebook receives an average of 28 comments and 7 direct messages per day, Instagram is where the real engagement happens.

Brands may only post once a day on average, but fans are more active than ever, tagging them in 5 photos and 4 captions daily.

Consumers also prefer using Instagram Direct Messages to contact their favorite brands, with brands receiving an average of 27 DMs per day.

So, if you're not active on Instagram, it might be time to reconsider.

And let's not forget about Twitter - the average brand sends 3 posts per day and receives 14 Retweets, 3 Quote Tweets, 26 @mentions, and 2 DMs daily.

So, armed with these benchmarks, go forth and conquer the world of B2B social media like the social media maven you were meant to be!

B2B Paid Advertising Benchmarks

B2B paid advertising benchmarks are a crucial aspect of marketing, and the numbers show just how valuable they can be.

Money Matters

According to Wordstream, search ads in 2022 had an average cost per click between $2 to $4, with click-through rates ranging from 6% to 7%.

Paid search is the top-performing marketing channel, with Pay-Per-Click (PPC) typically returning $2 for every $1 spent. 

Search & Display Advertising

‍Storegrowers has found that the average CTR for search ads is 3.17%, while Google Display Ads have an average CTR of 0.46%, with B2B and technology being the industries with the lowest CTR. 

The average e-commerce conversion rate for search ads is 2.81%, while the average conversion rate for display ads is 0.59%.

Facebook Paid Advertising

Research from Databox shows that the average CTR for Facebook ads across all industries is 0.90%. 

Facebook ads are considered more effective than boosting posts, with 80% of the budget being spent on ads and 20% on post boosts.

The most common Facebook ad objectives for agencies are:

·   Conversions

·   Traffic

·   Lead generation

·   Brand awareness

LinkedIn Ads

The CTR for LinkedIn ads is 0.52%. 

Instagram Paid Advertising

‍Instagram feed ads have an average Cost-Per-Mille benchmark of $7.68, while Stories ads have a lower benchmark of $6.25 per 1,000 impressions.

Twitter Paid Advertising

‍Twitter ads have an average CTR of 0.86%, a CPC of $0.58, and a CPM of $5.

B2B paid advertising benchmarks have proven to be an effective marketing strategy, with search ads and Facebook ads being the most popular choices.

With careful targeting, these advertising channels can yield impressive results for businesses across various industries. 

B2B Marketing ROI Benchmarks

B2B marketing ROI benchmarks vary by channel and tracking methods. According to Semrush, only 54% of respondents track ROI, and only 21% of those are highly effective at it.

Revenue is a good indicator of ROI, with 67% of respondents using it to calculate their returns. Google Analytics is the most popular tool for tracking ROI, with 64% of respondents using it.

The top metrics to track include:

·   Search ranking & organic traffic

·   Email marketing engagement

·   Social media engagement

Email Marketing ROI

Email marketing drives an ROI of $36 for every dollar spent, which is higher than any other channel.

For email campaigns, the average conversion rate for 2021 was 15.22%, with the highest conversion rate coming from cart abandonment emails at 18.54%. 

Paid Social Media ROI

When it comes to paid social media, retargeting is a popular strategy, with 86.4% of respondents using it.

Paid social media retargeting has been effective for many agencies, with 54% reporting increased revenue and 42% seeing higher conversion rates.

A good ROAS for advertising campaigns is about 4:1, but it can vary by industry and company size.

With all these metrics in mind, it's important to track ROI to make informed decisions and get the most out of your B2B marketing efforts.

B2B SaaS Sales Metrics to Track in 2023

As B2B SaaS sales become increasingly complex, tracking the right metrics has never been more crucial. Here are some insights from industry leaders on the top sales metrics to track in the year ahead: 

• Meetings Booked and Deals Closed

Dan Gower, marketing & sales consultant for B2B SaaS says it's different for sales reps and account executives: 

“At the end of the day, the most important sales metrics are probably meetings booked for SDRs/BDRs and deals closed for AEs. It all comes down to how many deals you win, how much it costs to acquire a new customer, and how much revenue you're producing. The number one question to ask when comparing two sequences is ‘which one helps my team close more deals?’”

• Sales/Pipeline Velocity

‍Will Yang, Head of Growth at Instrumentl (YC16), explains:

“In my experience, I've found that one of the most important sales metrics to consider is pipeline velocity. Pipeline velocity is defined as the number of deals in the pipeline divided by the number of days since the last deal was closed. In other words, it's how many deals you close per day.

In a B2B environment, it's important to understand this number because it gives you insight into how quickly you'll be able to reach your goals. If your pipeline velocity is low, it means that you have fewer opportunities for closing deals each day than if your pipeline velocity were high.”

‍Yulia Olennikova, Head of Marketing at N.Rich, goes into further detail:

“Our perception of ideal customers changed dramatically since we started relying on Sales Velocity as a core metric. The beauty of this metric is that it's combined and takes into account several variables: the overall number of opportunities, average deal value, win rate, and sales cycle length. This combination allows you to see how quickly the deals move through your pipeline and generate revenue. 

Also, it helps you evaluate the compound effect of working with several variables at once. Sales velocity helps understand how long it takes to win a customer and how many potential customers you'd have in the market - and, ultimately, what would be the revenue generated in the given timeframe in each case. Finally, it's a perfect metric to unite marketing and sales in their efforts to generate more revenue in less time.”

• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)

 Kate Wojewoda-Celinska, Content Manager at Spacelift, emphasizes the importance of ARPU:

“Relatively few people take into consideration how much revenue each user actually generates. Businesses celebrating thousands of total users may appear to be doing well, but it's impossible to accurately measure success without understanding each user’s financial value. Looking at the profitability per customer, or Average Revenue per User (ARPU), is a much more precise indication of how well a business is doing.”

Other metrics worth keeping an eye on for improved sales performance are monthly recurring revenue, monthly active users, product-qualified leads, and conversion rates.

Make sure you’re using the right sales intelligence tools to nail your sales strategy! 

Alen-Jelco Todorov, Head of Marketing at SEOmonitor, tells us his top sales metrics to track:

“If it's a complex with longer sales cycles, definitely the number of demos and meetings. They usually predict both product usage and closed won rates.  If it's PLG, then my number one is PQL, product-qualified leads, and conversion rates”. 

B2B Sales Benchmarks

B2B sales can be a tricky game, but knowing the right benchmarks can give your sales team an edge.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), CAC, and LTV

According to SaaS Capital, B2B companies with under $1 million in revenue are seeing a whopping 68% annual recurring revenue growth, while those over $1 million are still holding strong at 45%.

But what about the cost of acquiring those customers?

The average customer acquisition cost is $728, but with an impressive LTV to CAC ratio of 6:1, it's worth the investment.

Sales Model Success

Now, let's talk about some key findings in B2B sales.

According to Ebsta, companies with high-quality relationships are seeing a 633% increase in sales velocity, and using sales methodologies like MEDDPICC (Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identify pain, Champion, Competition) can increase sales win rates by 311%. 

B2B Sales Cycle Length & Average Deal Size 

It varies greatly based on a number of factors, such as product/service, industry, and pricing.

Databox has reported that, on average, it takes over a month to close a deal, with the largest share of over 30% taking between one and three months.

And the bigger the deal, the longer the sales cycle tends to be.

For deals valued at less than $200,000, the expectation is to sign within 1-2 months of the first conversation.

It's not just about relationships and methodology, though.

The number of stakeholders involved in B2B sales processes has increased by 25%, making it even more important to stay on top of your game.

But don't worry; with a lead-to-win rate of 5.2%, you've got this. 

Wrapping Up

With these benchmarks, you now have a clear understanding of what success looks like in the world of B2B SaaS. But don't let these numbers intimidate you! Remember, these benchmarks are just that - benchmarks. They're not meant to be hard and fast rules that dictate your every move.

Instead, use these benchmarks as a starting point for setting your own goals and expectations. Whether it's increasing your ARR growth, improving your lead-to-win rate, or shortening your sales cycle, there's always room for improvement.

So get out there and start experimenting. Try new strategies, test different messaging, and track your results. And most importantly, don't be afraid to fail. Failure is just an opportunity to learn and grow.

By taking a data-driven approach to sales and marketing and by using these benchmarks as a guide, you'll be well on your way to building a successful and profitable B2B SaaS business. Good luck!