In an era of disappearing cookies and strict privacy laws, are you building a database that drives growth or one that is simply decaying? We surveyed marketing and data professionals to uncover the budgets, channels, and tactics that separate top performers from the rest. The 2026 Database Strategies & Contact Acquisition Benchmark Survey provides a clear roadmap to navigate the challenges of modern data management and customer acquisition. 

Download the report to see how your strategy stacks up against the industry and discover what it takes to win in 2026. 

• How 68% of marketers view contact data quality as the biggest barrier to revenue growth and what they are doing about it. 

• Why 42% of databases are decaying faster than they are replenished and the key strategies to reverse this trend. 

• The AI-driven validation methods top performers are using to acquire contacts 3x faster than their peers. 

• Exclusive benchmarks on acquisition of channel spending, team structures, and the tools defining success this year. 

Get Instant Access to the Full Report 

Enter your information to download the complete 2026 Benchmark Survey and start building a more resilient, high-growth database today. 

The post The 2026 Database Strategies & Contact Acquisition Benchmark Survey appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has sparked new possibilities for ABM teams— elevating targeting, personalizing content at scale, and unlocking advanced insights about both known and unknown accounts. Yet, the gap between AI’s potential and its realized impact persists. Many teams are discovering that while AI tools offer genuine advantages, integrating these technologies and building the right expertise remain strategic challenges. 

The 2025 ABM Benchmark Survey provides a clear, data-driven view into how leading organizations are evolving their approach:

• Strategy & Adoption: Discover why 71% of practitioners now utilize an ABM strategy and 40% are integrating it directly with demand generation to create a more efficient revenue engine. 

• AI’s Real Impact: Understand the gap between AI’s potential and current reality, where 45% see its promise for personalization but nearly 70% find its current effectiveness limited. 

• Top Challenges Uncovered: Learn how your peers are tackling the biggest hurdles in ABM, including proving ROI (47%), aligning sales and marketing (43%), and scaling programs (40%). 

• Winning Channels & Content: See which channels deliver results, with email (92%) and in-person events (72%) leading the charge, and which content formats—like case studies and e-books—are most effective. 

Download the full report now to benchmark your strategy and build your roadmap for 2025. 

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There’s a divide in the B2B marketing space surrounding account-based marketing (ABM): While some argue it’s still firmly in its buzzword days, our latest research suggests it’s a critical component of overall marketing strategies. According to the “2024 Account-Based Marketing Benchmark Survey,” 67% of practitioners currently utilize an ABM strategy — and an additional 26% plan to add one, with the bulk of that number hoping to pilot a strategy within the next year.

Notably, the research found that the line between ABM and demand generation is blurrier than ever — while the two used to co-exist in siloes, nearly half of the respondents (47%) noted that they integrated their demand gen and ABM processes to streamline marketing efforts. With that overlap in mind, this survey report will unpack:

• The shift toward a 1:1-focused account model to generate better, more targeted engagement;
• The new content formats and messaging practitioners are leveraging to better engage target accounts and increase relevance;
• How budget and resource constraints are spurring teams to prioritize expanding existing accounts instead of generating net-new contacts; and
• Why more businesses are onboarding new data solutions and third-party data providers to enrich and augment existing account lists.

The post As ABM &Demand Gen Converge, Orgs Focus On Data Enrichment & Retention Plays appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

Across the board, the sentiment toward lead nurturing initiatives was — unfortunately — negative: 51% of survey respondents to the “2024 Lead Nurturing & Acceleration Benchmark Survey” believed their lead nurturing initiatives needed improvement, while just 26% thought they were average. The 2024 findings starkly contrast their 2023 counterparts, where only 40% of practitioners wanted to improve their strategies and nearly one-third considered their initiatives average. This abrupt decline in confidence is evidenced by the 51% of respondents who said their 2024 lead nurturing was very challenging, while 44% admitted it was somewhat challenging.

Throughout this special report, we’ll cut through the weeds of lead nurturing programs to determine the areas where practitioners are struggling and the remedies to fix them, as evidenced by the respondents who saw excellent results with their initiatives. Specific topics of discussion will include:

• The new strategies marketers are deploying to refine their lead nurturing approaches and tactics, with insights into the content pieces that find the most success;
• How organizations are measuring the success of their lead nurturing programs;
• The new average duration of a nurture campaign, as well as the number of touches and cadences practitioners are leveraging; and
• A glimpse into how marketers plan to innovate their lead strategies in the future.

The post Amidst Lack Of Confidence, Practitioners Increasing Data Collection To Enhance Lead Nurturing & Acceleration appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

Given the near-constant economic volatility over the past few years and the ongoing tech explosion, it’s nearly impossible to find an aspect of business that’s remained unscathed. Due to a conglomerate of external and internal factors, the trajectory of modern buying experiences has evolved with the times. According to the “2024 B2B Buyer Behavior Benchmark Survey,” the two biggest impacts of the market landscape on B2B research and buying habits include:

• Purchase delays due to budget freezes 34%
• Fostering an environment that requires more hands-on attention and engagement from solution providers 26%

With the lens clearly tightening on spending across the board, this survey report will analyze the current habits of B2B buyers, with a focus on the steps needed to advocate for solutions and prove their value. Specifically, this report will:

• Provide a generalized overview of the average B2B buying timeline;
• Uncover where and how buyers are researching purchases, with a focus on the role of social media and growing influence of online advertisements;
• Share buyers’ tactical, step-by-step approaches to engaging with vendors once they decide what solution they’d like to purchase; and
• Break the third wall with insights from B2B buyers into how vendors and solution providers can enhance their processes and create a more seamless experience.

The post Discerning B2B Buyers Rely On Vendor Knowledge, In-Depth Research & Peer Reviews To Guide Buying Decisions appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

Throughout this special report, we’ll discuss the current landscape of marketing measurement and attribution, with a focus on:

• The key channels and metrics businesses are tracking, with a focus on how sales and marketing are being measured;
• Where ABM fits into overall strategies and how practitioners monitor it;
• The ongoing battle in prioritizing brand or demand, with insights into maximizing both strategies;
• How to track and connect activities across all stages of the buyer’s journey; and
• A look into the future of measurement and attribution.

The post Increased Tech Adoption & Data Reliance Re-Shaping 2024 Marketing Measurement & Attribution Processes appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

Independent, collaborative and communicative are the three primary adjectives attributed to B2B prospects and buyers, as the “2024 Content Preferences Benchmark Survey” revealed that content preferences are shifting away from long-winded, gated pieces into shareable, social-friendly assets. When asked about how they used content to inform their research/decision-making over the past 12 months:

• 89% of survey respondents downloaded and consumed assets they found themselves;
• 72% shared content with relevant team members and, of the colleagues who received content, 57% downloaded and consumed those assets; and
• 46% reviewed more content on social media.

Interestingly, despite buyers’ marked preference for self-service journeys, it appears that B2B practitioners backslid into old (read: bad) habits. For example, 51% of buyers said content was too generic and irrelevant to their needs in 2024, while just 38% had the same grievance in 2023. Similarly, another 51% indicated there were too many steps involved to access content, which only 30% griped about in 2023. When asked to dive deeper into their content consumption peeves, respondents pointed to:

• An overwhelming amount of available content 56%
• Content is not objective/too much of a sales pitch 54%
• Uninformative or boring content 39%

In other words? Ouch!

But here’s the good news: Practitioners who might have missed the mark in 2023 are primed to hit the bullseye by adapting their content structure to better align with prospect and customer demands. Throughout this report, we’ll discuss the evolution of content preferences over the past 12 months, with a focus on:

• Buyers’ preference for shorter content formats that concisely convey relevant information;
• Why buyers value content that can be easily shared with colleagues and across social media platforms;
• How the increasing reliance on mobile devices for consuming content requires optimizing content for mobile viewing and sharing;
• The role of visual elements such as infographics and videos and images to enhance the digestibility of content; and
• The role of actionable insights or valuable takeaways in a condensed format to help buyers quickly grasp content.

The Shift Toward Shorter, Digestible Content

Perhaps one of the most unique nuances of the self-service buyer is the speed they consume content — as prospects and buyers put the bulk of the research and decision-making processes on themselves, they’re opting for quick content that’s easier to digest. Specifically, when asked about the content formats that they found most valuable in their decision-making process, the top two answers were short-form content (67%) and webinars/digital events (65%). Webinars, in particular, experienced significant growth over the past year, as only 52% of buyers found them valuable in 2023.

Keeping Pace With Accelerating Buyers’ Journeys

Further reflecting buyers’ haste in their journeys is the drop in interactive content’s appeal, as just 38% found it to be a draw — compared to 49% in 2023.

Of course, buying journeys are never one size fits all — but one size does fit most. While the needs of individual prospects and buyers will (obviously) vary, there are some guidelines in place that marketers can follow.

Understanding & Implementing Feedback

While it’s always nice to know the content preferences of buyers in a general sense, it’s also important to determine what’s resonating with them and what’s not. When we handed the survey respondents the microphone to share advice with our readers, the first area they tackled was organization. Solution/product 48%

The post Navigating The Attention Economy Via Snack-able & Shareable Content appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

While there’s still an undercurrent of economic uncertainty, channel ecosystem professionals are somewhat confident that significant gains in revenue attributed to partners are possible. Specifically, 71% of respondents to the “2024 Channel Partner Marketing Benchmark Survey” anticipated that partner-generated revenue will climb more than 10% this year, while one-quarter anticipated more modest increases between 1% and 10%.

As companies strive to better engage current customers and prospects at every step of the buyer’s journey, this report will review data that suggests a more disciplined approach to channel program planning and operations in 2024. This includes:

• Maintaining more manageable rosters to partners;
• Adjusting programs to include and support non-transacting partners such as referrers and influencers, and
• Aligning channel partner marketing support activities with the digital, self-service B2B buyers’ journeys.

The post Channel/Partner Marketing Benchmark Survey appeared first on Demand Gen Report.

• How companies are approaching their brand building and demand generation efforts, with a focus on the top tools and strategies;
• The prioritization of lead acquisition over the retention-based strategies of years past;
• How organizations are leveraging intent data to inform their campaigns and inform their online advertisements;
• The top priorities and emerging trends for B2B practitioners; and
• An inside look at budgetary trends and allotment distributions.

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