The Ultimate List Of B2B Marketing Statistics For Manufacturers & Industrials Like macaroni and cheese or a song and a dance, some things work better together — even marketing and sales. Without alignment, it hurts your business across the board, and it doesn't just hit one of your departments. A study from Forrester found that 43% of CEOs believed that misalignment had cost them sales. Furthermore, according to Forrester Research, companies that take the time to properly engage and nurture leads improve their sales outreach at a rate of 50% while spending 33% less. The key is to meet your buyers' needs, but they're not the same buyers from a few years ago. Today's B2B buyers are digital natives and expect content to be available on-demand, optimized for any device, interactive, and highly visual. They have higher expectations and are more informed, so their research is self-directed — which is expected when millennials are the largest workforce. And did you know that 73% of millennials are involved in B2B purchasing decisions?