Marketing Analytics in the Digitized B2B Landscape: Insights into Lead Generation in Software-as-a-Service Firms

Abstract

B2B lead generation is increasingly shaped by digitalization, with Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) customer acquisition in particular relying on digital marketing (DM) touchpoints to create awareness, capture intent, and drive pipeline generation. Using 24 months of marketing and sales analytics from a dataset of 17,548 companies, this study evaluates firm and market-initiated touchpoints in a B2B SaaS firm through a first click attribution model to assess short and long-term effectiveness. We do not find a statistically significant difference in the actual sales value (short-term) of leads generated through firm-initiated versus market-initiated DM touchpoints. We find a statistically significant difference in the forecasted sales value (long-term) of leads, with firm-initiated DM touchpoints outperforming market-initiated ones. Firm-initiated DM touchpoints have a higher first click to customer ratio than market-initiated. We frame the analysis through absorptive capacity theory to underscore how firms can leverage marketing analytics to enhance lead generation and create data-driven marketing strategies.