Discover how to double lead generation with a credible ROI
Analysis on lead generation and ROI for the ICT sector based on the MarTech 2024 Observatory (Omnitel & BPS) and the Computing report (in Spanish) (https://www.computing.es/inteligencia-artificial/observatorio-martech-2025-que-nos-depara-el-mundo-del-marketing-b2b/).
(Figures reproduced for purposes of commentary and analysis).
Lead generation and ROI management are essential to the health of your business.
If you are a CEO, Sales or Marketing Director or a partner in a Information Technology (IT) of between 50 and 250 professionals, you know this feeling well: the sales funnel is tightening every quarter, costs are rising and the board wants proof that marketing investment is converting into revenue. The MarTech Observatory 2024 heard from more than a hundred marketing managers business-to-business (B2B) Spanish and confirms what we had already sensed: the absolute priority is to generating quality leads and the second, almost glued, demonstrating a credible Return on Investment (ROI). In fact, 63 % of respondents admit that the lack of well-qualified registrations is their first barrier, and 60 % put customer acquisition at the top of the list of immediate challenges.
The study offers a snapshot that is as raw as it is useful, let's look at how and why you should adjust your strategy right now.
Pain No. 1: lead generation that doesn't feed the real pipeline
Volume doesn't make the party
Participating companies are already allocating between 25 % and 50 % of the budget to content marketing - as reported by 29.2 % of the panel - and another 43,3 % adds between 10 % and 25 % extra to tactics of inbound. In other words: almost three out of four euros are spent on creating and promoting content. However, only 35 % are satisfied with the conversion of these efforts. The message is clear: production alone is not enough; without precision in the targeting and a solid nutrition process, the volume is devalued.
Rusty databases
That quality is the first stumbling block is not surprising when we look at the following data: six out of ten marketers confesses that his CRM is still fed by purchased listings or contacts captured more than two years ago. In a market where turnover is around 20 % per year, these records are ageing at a relentless pace. The result is doubly costly: bounces that drive up the cost per paid lead - which the study puts at around €300 for complex B2B accounts - and frustrated prospecting teams who see unopened emails sent.
The short-term bias
Pressured by immediate objectives, the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) tech cut brand visibility: 74.2 % invests less than 10 % in offline brand awareness and a 55,8 % does the same in digital outreach channels. The report warns that this imbalance makes it more expensive to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) in the medium term, because every lead that enters an oversaturated market does so without the lubricant of prior trust.
What works according to the data
Even with limited resources, some companies are making a difference. What are they doing differently? Two clues backed up by the Observatory's figures:
- High-context content. Companies that publish verifiable use cases-with improvement or saving figures-generate a 67 % more than leads than those who limit their blog to generic articles. You don't need an army of copywritersIt is enough to tell three well-told stories that resolve the doubts of your Ideal Client Profiles (ICPs).
- Proximity events. The 84 % of respondents give executive breakfasts and boutique webinars the best cost/opportunity ratio. It's not about filling an auditorium: the value comes when you bring twenty decision-makers together and filter the speech towards their specific pain.
Pain no. 2: an ROI no one believes in
Sales as judge and party
Asked about the metric that ultimately decides success, 72,5 % points to the turnover or the closed pipeline. So far, so logical. The problem comes when Marketing needs more than six months to demonstrate traction and, in the meantime, the financial management asks for monthly adjustments. In fact, a 49,2 % reports the return on campaigns on quarterly or even shorter cycles, knowing that the average sales cycle in IT services is over nine months.
The black box of attribution
Only half of practitioners report systematically cross-checking volume and quality dataMarketing Qualified Lead (MQL), Qualified Sales Lead (SQL) y CAC-. Much less - barely 39 % - tracks the engagement social preceding the conversion. Thus, the budget is negotiated on perceptions and not on multi-touch models. It is not surprising that the 34 % of forthcoming expenditure is earmarked for reporting y dashboardsindustry recognises that without clear evidence, marketing becomes a cost centre.
The paradox of the forgotten brand
The obsession with instant ROI has relegated brand building to a tiny drawer in the budget. The irony is that the organisations that maintain at least a 15 % stable investment in brand awareness report, after one year, an increase of cost of acquisition up to 22 % lower than their tactical competitors. The report sounds the warning: cutting brand presence can be as self-defeating as failing to pay the hosting of the website.
Four levers to turn the numbers around and increase qualified lead generation
Rebuild your first database
It starts with a radical audit: clean up stale records, enrich key contacts and deploy progressive forms to capture fresh data. The Observatory notes that companies that did this 'reset' saw bounce rates drop by 35 % and doubled the response to prospecting emails in one semester.
Less frequent, more focused content
Publishing for the sake of publishing is wasteful. The report highlights that companies with a well-positioned "pillar page" calendar generated a 50 % more relevant organic traffic than those that launch single articles. Translate that traffic into leads with targeted calls-to-action: automate ebooksThe following are some of the most common, demos or diagnoses that are tied to the story you have just told.
Create one micro-event per month
You don't need trade shows; you need high-value conversation. Data from the study shows that a monthly cycle of closed sessions - face-to-face or virtual - feeds the pipeline consistently. Companies that apply it get opportunities with a 30 % probability of closing, compared to 18 % for cold form leads.
A metric to mark the north, a mixed committee
Define an indicator that everyone understands: pipeline generated per euro invested o ratio MQL→SQL. Then create a Marketing-Sales committee to review that number every four weeks. Organisations that have implemented this ritual have seen a reduction of 18 % budget approval cycles and gain agility to redirect unsuccessful campaigns.
Action plan to increase lead generation in 90 days
- Day 0-30 - Data audit, selection of three customer stories and definition of north metrics.
- Day 31-60 - Launch of the first pillar page and design of the pilot micro-event.
- Day 61-90 - Activation of scoring predictive and dashboard shared with Sales and Finance.
The Observatory shows that those who integrate these three milestones in a quarter improve lead-to-opportunity conversion by a 25 % and they sustain visibility without triggering costs.
Conclusion
The MarTech Observatory 2024 leaves no room for excuses: the numbers confirm that IT SME CEOs who want to grow have to balance science and perseverance. Science to clean data, automate scoring and measure what matters; consistency to sustain a brand narrative that avoids fighting every opportunity with a knife. With a healthy base of records, sharp content, proximity events and shared metrics, leads are no longer a chronic pain and ROI becomes as tangible a conversation as turnover.
The next step? Choose the lever with the biggest gap in your business and execute it without delay: the market won't wait for your funnel to sort itself out. Turning intent into opportunity depends on your ability to act now, measure always and adjust fast. Go for it!
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