Benchmark Library — Every AAJ Figure and Its Source

98 benchmarks used across AAJ reports and free tools, each with its source document, sample size, field window and last-verified date. Every AAJ page that publishes a figure is listed against it, so a figure and its sourcing can never drift apart.

All reports — Free tools — Resource hub

Analytics, Experiments & Budget

42 figures — Analytics, Experiments & Budget hub.

Figure	Value	Source	Sample & field window	Last verified	Used by
Marketing budgets averaged 7.8% of company revenue in 2026, up from 7.7% in both 2024 and 2025.	7.8%	Gartner, 2026 CMO Spend Survey	401 CMOs across North America, the UK and Europe, most at companies above $1B revenue · fielded January-March 2026	Last verified 15 Sept 2026, next review 15 Dec 2026	/, Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Marketing Budget Calculator, The Marketing Budget Planner
CMOs allocate 15.3% of marketing budget to AI, rising to 21.3% at AI-mature organizations.	15.3%	Gartner, 2026 CMO Spend Survey	401 CMOs across North America, the UK and Europe, most at companies above $1B revenue · fielded January-March 2026	Last verified 15 Sept 2026, next review 15 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Marketing Technology Stack Landscape, Marketing Budget Calculator
56% of CMOs say their budget is insufficient to deliver their strategy, easing from 59% in 2025.	56%	Gartner, 2026 CMO Spend Survey	401 CMOs across North America, the UK and Europe, most at companies above $1B revenue · fielded January-March 2026	Last verified 15 Sept 2026, next review 15 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Marketing Budget Calculator
Paid media accounts for 30.6% of marketing budget, equal to 2.4% of company revenue.	30.6%	Gartner, 2025 CMO Spend Survey	402 CMOs across North America, the UK and Europe · fielded February-March 2025	Last verified 15 Sept 2026, next review 15 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Paid Media Budget Allocator
39% of CMOs plan to cut agency budgets, and 39% seek to reduce spending on labor.	39%	Gartner, 2025 CMO Spend Survey	402 CMOs across North America, the UK and Europe · fielded February-March 2025	Last verified 15 Sept 2026, next review 15 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Paid Media Budget Allocator, How to Choose and Manage a Marketing Agency
22% of CMOs say generative AI has reduced their reliance on external agencies.	22%	Gartner, 2025 CMO Spend Survey	402 CMOs across North America, the UK and Europe · fielded February-March 2025	Last verified 15 Sept 2026, next review 15 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, How to Choose and Manage a Marketing Agency
Median marketing spend at private B2B SaaS companies is 8% of ARR.	8%	SaaS Capital, 2026 Spending Benchmarks for Private B2B SaaS Companies	1,000+ private B2B SaaS companies, fifteenth annual survey · fielded March 2026	Last verified 15 Sept 2026, next review 15 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Unit Economics Calculator, The Marketing Budget Planner
Equity-backed B2B SaaS companies spend roughly 100% more on marketing than bootstrapped ones.	~2x	SaaS Capital, 2026 Spending Benchmarks for Private B2B SaaS Companies	1,000+ private B2B SaaS companies, fifteenth annual survey · fielded March 2026	Last verified 15 Sept 2026, next review 15 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Unit Economics Calculator
AAJ's working range for pre-seed / pre-PMF companies: 30–60% of cash burn spent on marketing, sized against burn because revenue is not yet a meaningful denominator.	30–60%	AAJ's own estimate, not a published benchmark — Built from: AAJ's stated planning view, set against the published anchors in the Marketing Budget Benchmarks 2026 report (Gartner's 2026 CMO Spend Survey, The CMO Survey 2026 and SaaS Capital's 2026 spending benchmarks); expressed of cash burn. — Illustrative arithmetic from this band, not observed data: Illustrative: $50K monthly burn × 30–60% = $15K–$30K a month on marketing	AAJ's stated planning view for B2B SaaS, Pre-Seed to Enterprise; not survey or client data · fielded 2026	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Marketing Budget Calculator
AAJ's working range for Seed companies: 10–20% of the round raised spent on marketing, spread across the round's runway.	10–20%	AAJ's own estimate, not a published benchmark — Built from: AAJ's stated planning view, set against the published anchors in the Marketing Budget Benchmarks 2026 report (Gartner's 2026 CMO Spend Survey, The CMO Survey 2026 and SaaS Capital's 2026 spending benchmarks); expressed of the round raised. — Illustrative arithmetic from this band, not observed data: Illustrative: $3M round × 10–20% = $300K–$600K over an 18-month runway, about $17K–$33K a month	AAJ's stated planning view for B2B SaaS, Pre-Seed to Enterprise; not survey or client data · fielded 2026	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Marketing Budget Calculator
AAJ's working range for Series A companies: 20–30% of ARR spent on marketing.	20–30%	AAJ's own estimate, not a published benchmark — Built from: AAJ's stated planning view, set against the published anchors in the Marketing Budget Benchmarks 2026 report (Gartner's 2026 CMO Spend Survey, The CMO Survey 2026 and SaaS Capital's 2026 spending benchmarks); expressed of ARR. — Illustrative arithmetic from this band, not observed data: Illustrative: $3M ARR × 20–30% = $600K–$900K a year	AAJ's stated planning view for B2B SaaS, Pre-Seed to Enterprise; not survey or client data · fielded 2026	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Marketing Budget Calculator, The Marketing Budget Planner
AAJ's working range for Series B companies: 12–20% of revenue spent on marketing.	12–20%	AAJ's own estimate, not a published benchmark — Built from: AAJ's stated planning view, set against the published anchors in the Marketing Budget Benchmarks 2026 report (Gartner's 2026 CMO Spend Survey, The CMO Survey 2026 and SaaS Capital's 2026 spending benchmarks); expressed of revenue. — Illustrative arithmetic from this band, not observed data: Illustrative: $15M revenue × 12–20% = $1.8M–$3M a year	AAJ's stated planning view for B2B SaaS, Pre-Seed to Enterprise; not survey or client data · fielded 2026	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Marketing Budget Calculator, The Marketing Budget Planner
AAJ's working range for scaling / post-Series B companies: 15–25% of revenue spent on marketing.	15–25%	AAJ's own estimate, not a published benchmark — Built from: AAJ's stated planning view, set against the published anchors in the Marketing Budget Benchmarks 2026 report (Gartner's 2026 CMO Spend Survey, The CMO Survey 2026 and SaaS Capital's 2026 spending benchmarks); expressed of revenue. — Illustrative arithmetic from this band, not observed data: Illustrative: $40M revenue × 15–25% = $6M–$10M a year	AAJ's stated planning view for B2B SaaS, Pre-Seed to Enterprise; not survey or client data · fielded 2026	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Marketing Budget Calculator, The Marketing Budget Planner
AAJ's working range for mature and enterprise B2B SaaS companies: 5–7% of revenue spent on marketing, marketing only.	5–7%	AAJ's own estimate, not a published benchmark — Built from: AAJ's stated planning view, set against the published anchors in the Marketing Budget Benchmarks 2026 report (Gartner's 2026 CMO Spend Survey, The CMO Survey 2026 and SaaS Capital's 2026 spending benchmarks); expressed of revenue. — Illustrative arithmetic from this band, not observed data: Illustrative: $200M revenue × 5–7% = $10M–$14M a year	AAJ's stated planning view for B2B SaaS, Pre-Seed to Enterprise; not survey or client data · fielded 2026	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Marketing Budget Calculator, The Marketing Budget Planner
The average B2B firm invests 8% of annual revenue in marketing (Forrester's 2024 B2B Marketing Budget Benchmarks, nearly 500 organizations).	8%	Forrester, The Average B2B Firm Invests 8% Of Revenue In Marketing (blog summary of the 2024 B2B Marketing Budget Benchmarks) — The full report is paid; Forrester states the 8% headline publicly on its blog. The European figure previously quoted could not be traced and was removed.	Nearly 500 organizations · fielded 2024	Last verified 28 Sept 2026, next review 28 Mar 2027	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
At Google and Bing, only about 10-20% of experiments produce positive results.	10-20%	Harvard Business Review, Kohavi, R. and Thomke, S., "The Surprising Power of Online Experiments", Harvard Business Review, September-October 2017	experiment programs at Google and Bing, as reported by the authors · fielded 2017	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	A/B Testing: The Complete Guide for Startups (Purpose, Methodology, Best Practices)
A Bing ad-headline experiment produced a 12% revenue lift, worth more than $100 million annually in the US.	12%	Harvard Business Review, Kohavi, R. and Thomke, S., "The Surprising Power of Online Experiments", Harvard Business Review, September-October 2017	single controlled experiment on Bing search advertising · fielded 2017	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	A/B Testing: The Complete Guide for Startups (Purpose, Methodology, Best Practices)
Roughly a third of ideas tested at Microsoft improved the metric, a third made no difference, and a third made things worse.	one third	Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery, Kohavi, R., Longbotham, R., Sommerfield, D. and Henne, R., "Controlled experiments on the web: survey and practical guide", Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery, 18(1), 2009	online controlled experiments run at Microsoft, as reported by the authors · fielded 2009	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	A/B Testing: The Complete Guide for Startups (Purpose, Methodology, Best Practices)
Marketing budgets were flat at 7.7% of overall company revenue in 2025, the same share as 2024.	7.7%	Gartner, 2025 CMO Spend Survey	402 CMOs and marketing leaders in North America, the UK and Europe, the vast majority at companies above $1B annual revenue · fielded February-March 2025	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	How Much Should a Startup Spend on Marketing? Budget Ranges by Stage, Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026, Your First Marketing Hire
The best SaaS businesses have an LTV to CAC ratio higher than 3, sometimes as high as 7 or 8.	3:1	For Entrepreneurs (David Skok), SaaS Metrics 2.0 - A Guide to Measuring and Improving What Matters	Practitioner guidance from a SaaS venture investor; not a survey · fielded Not a survey	Last verified 26 Sept 2026, next review 26 Mar 2027	Unit Economics Calculator, The Marketing KPI Board Report, Paid Media Budget Allocator
Profitability becomes anemic once the time to recover CAC extends beyond 12 months; many of the best SaaS businesses recover CAC in 5-7 months.	12 months	For Entrepreneurs (David Skok), SaaS Metrics 2.0 - A Guide to Measuring and Improving What Matters	Practitioner guidance from a SaaS venture investor; not a survey · fielded Not a survey	Last verified 26 Sept 2026, next review 26 Mar 2027	Unit Economics Calculator, The Marketing KPI Board Report, Paid Media Budget Allocator
Target CAC payback under 12 months for SMB-focused cloud companies, under 18 months for mid-market and under 24 months for enterprise.	<12 / <18 / <24 months	Bessemer Venture Partners, Scaling to $100 Million	Investor guidance for cloud companies, drawing on Bessemer data; not a survey · fielded Not a survey	Last verified 26 Sept 2026, next review 26 Mar 2027	Unit Economics Calculator, The Marketing KPI Board Report, Paid Media Budget Allocator, Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Cloud companies should aim for 65-70% gross margins over time; the middle 50% of cloud businesses sit within roughly 60-80%.	65–70%	Bessemer Venture Partners, Scaling to $100 Million	Investor guidance for cloud companies, drawing on Bessemer data; not a survey · fielded Not a survey	Last verified 26 Sept 2026, next review 26 Mar 2027	Unit Economics Calculator, The Retention & NRR Workbook
Marketing expenses as a percent of company revenues, means by economic sector: B2B product 6.36% (63 companies), B2B services 9.02% (42), B2C product 15.47% (47), B2C services 6.04% (23); all sectors 9.35% (176).	6.4% B2B product · 9.0% B2B services · 15.5% B2C product · 6.0% B2C services	The CMO Survey (Duke Fuqua / Deloitte / AMA), The CMO Survey, 34th edition — Firm and Industry Breakout Report, 2025 — Sector cells are small and the standard deviations are large (11 to 15 points), so the size of the B2C/B2B gap moves between waves.	281 of 2,047 U.S. marketing leaders responded (34th edition); 176 answered the revenue-share question · fielded January 21 – February 12, 2025	Last verified 28 Sept 2026, next review 28 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Marketing expenses as a percent of company revenues, means by industry sector for sectors with at least 15 responses: insurance 14.35% (22), professional services 9.04% (28), consumer services 7.56% (18), tech/software/platform 5.50% (19), banking/finance 4.99% (19), energy 2.46% (16). Sectors with fewer than 15 responses (consumer packaged goods, communications/media, healthcare, real estate, manufacturing, education) are not used.	2.5%–14.4%	The CMO Survey (Duke Fuqua / Deloitte / AMA), The CMO Survey, 34th edition — Firm and Industry Breakout Report, 2025 — Industry cells range from 3 to 28 companies, so figures move by several points between waves; used as a rough check, never as a target.	281 of 2,047 U.S. marketing leaders responded (34th edition); 176 answered the revenue-share question · fielded January 21 – February 12, 2025	Last verified 28 Sept 2026, next review 28 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Marketing budgets rose to 9.5% of company revenue in 2022, from 6.4% in 2021.	9.5%	Gartner, 2022 CMO Spend Survey	405 CMOs and marketing leaders · fielded February-March 2022	Last verified 28 Sept 2026, next review 28 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
In the four years before the pandemic, average marketing budgets were 11% of company revenue; in 2024 they fell to 7.7%, from 9.1% in 2023.	~11%	Gartner, 2024 CMO Spend Survey	395 CMOs and marketing leaders · fielded February-March 2024	Last verified 28 Sept 2026, next review 28 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Only 30% of CMOs report mature or fully developed AI-readiness capabilities.	30%	Gartner, 2026 CMO Spend Survey	401 CMOs across North America, the UK and Europe, most at companies above $1B revenue · fielded January-March 2026	Last verified 28 Sept 2026, next review 28 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
UK companies revised total marketing budgets up by a net balance of +1.9% in Q4 2024, led by events (+12.3%) and PR (+6.8%).	+12.3%	IPA, IPA Bellwether Report, Q4 2024 — Net balances: the share of firms revising budgets up minus the share revising down, not growth rates.	Panel of UK marketing budget holders, compiled by S&P Global for the IPA · fielded Q4 2024	Last verified 28 Sept 2026, next review 28 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Paid media investments grew to 27.9% of marketing budget in 2024.	27.9%	Gartner, 2024 CMO Spend Survey	395 CMOs and marketing leaders, North America and Northern and Western Europe · fielded February-March 2024	Last verified 28 Sept 2026, next review 28 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Marketing organizations used 33% of their martech stack's capabilities on average in 2023.	33%	Gartner, 2023 Marketing Technology Survey	405 marketing leaders · fielded May-June 2023	Last verified 28 Sept 2026, next review 28 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Marketing budgets fell from 11.2% of company revenue in 2018 to 10.5% in 2019.	10.5%	Gartner, CMO Spend Survey 2019–2020	More than 340 marketing executives in North America and the UK · fielded 2019	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Marketing budgets fell to 6.4% of company revenue in 2021, from 11% in 2020.	6.4%	Gartner, CMO Spend Survey 2021	400 CMOs and marketing leaders in North America, the UK, France and Germany · fielded March-May 2021	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
CMOs report GenAI investments delivering ROI through improved time efficiency (49%), cost efficiency (40%) and capacity (27%).	49%	Gartner, 2025 CMO Spend Survey	402 CMOs across North America, the UK and Europe · fielded February-March 2025	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Marketing expenses were 9.0% of company revenues in 2026, down from 9.4% in 2025; as a share of company budgets they fell to 9.6%, the lowest since 2021.	9.0%	The CMO Survey (Duke Fuqua / Deloitte / AMA), The CMO Survey, 35th edition — Highlights and Insights Report, 2026	308 of 2,111 marketing leaders at U.S. for-profit companies responded (14.6%) · fielded January 7–29, 2026	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Marketing expenses as a percent of company revenues by economic sector, 2026: B2B product 7.0%, B2B services 10.1%, B2C product 12.0%, B2C services 7.2%.	7.0% B2B product · 10.1% B2B services · 12.0% B2C product · 7.2% B2C services	The CMO Survey (Duke Fuqua / Deloitte / AMA), The CMO Survey, 35th edition — Highlights and Insights Report, 2026 — Per-sector respondent counts are not published in the Highlights report (p. 52–53).	308 of 2,111 marketing leaders at U.S. for-profit companies responded (14.6%) · fielded January 7–29, 2026	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Companies used generative AI in 22.4% of marketing activities in 2026, up from 15.1% in 2025 and 7.0% in 2024.	22.4%	The CMO Survey (Duke Fuqua / Deloitte / AMA), The CMO Survey, 35th edition — Highlights and Insights Report, 2026 — p. 23.	308 of 2,111 marketing leaders at U.S. for-profit companies responded (14.6%) · fielded January 7–29, 2026	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Social media accounted for 14.3% of marketing budgets in 2026; marketers expect 17.1% in the next 12 months.	14.3%	The CMO Survey (Duke Fuqua / Deloitte / AMA), The CMO Survey, 35th edition — Highlights and Insights Report, 2026 — p. 58.	308 of 2,111 marketing leaders at U.S. for-profit companies responded (14.6%) · fielded January 7–29, 2026	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Marketers expect brand-building spending to grow 5.9% over the next 12 months (2026), against 6.6% expected in the 2025 edition.	5.9%	The CMO Survey (Duke Fuqua / Deloitte / AMA), The CMO Survey, 35th edition — Highlights and Insights Report, 2026 — p. 56. An expected rate of change in spending, not a share of revenue.	308 of 2,111 marketing leaders at U.S. for-profit companies responded (14.6%) · fielded January 7–29, 2026	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Marketing organizations grew 2.5% over the past year (2026), down from 5.4% in 2025.	2.5%	The CMO Survey (Duke Fuqua / Deloitte / AMA), The CMO Survey, 35th edition — Highlights and Insights Report, 2026 — p. 64.	308 of 2,111 marketing leaders at U.S. for-profit companies responded (14.6%) · fielded January 7–29, 2026	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
Bessemer recommends investing in customer acquisition when LTV/CAC is 3x or more.	3x+	Bessemer Venture Partners, Scaling to $100 Million	Investor guidance for cloud companies, drawing on Bessemer data; not a survey · fielded Not a survey	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026
An average marketing budget can be highly misleading for planning purposes.	—	MIT Sloan Management Review, Tavassoli, N. and Moorman, C., "The End of Averages for Marketing Budgets" — Cited for the argument only; no figures from this article are used.	Commentary drawing on The CMO Survey · fielded Not a survey	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Dec 2026	Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026

Go-to-Market & Growth Planning

9 figures — Go-to-Market & Growth Planning hub.

Figure	Value	Source	Sample & field window	Last verified	Used by
Poor product-market fit was the most-cited underlying cause (43%) among VC-backed startups that shut down since 2023 with an identifiable cause; 70% ran out of capital, which CB Insights treats as the final cause of death rather than the root problem.	43%	CB Insights, The top 9 reasons startups fail	431 VC-backed startups that shut down since 2023; 385 with identifiable causes (companies could cite more than one) · fielded 2023-2026	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Mar 2027	How to Build a B2B Go-to-Market Strategy from Scratch: A Founder's Playbook, Marketing Strategy for Startups: A Four-Layer Framework for Founders
68% of B2B buyers have a front-runner vendor in mind at the very start of a purchase, and that front-runner wins 80% of the time.	68%	Forrester, Building Preference Is The Key To Winning B2B Buyers	Forrester's 2025 Buyers' Journey Survey; sample not stated in the post · fielded 2025	Last verified 29 Sept 2026, next review 29 Mar 2027	How to Build a B2B Go-to-Market Strategy from Scratch: A Founder's Playbook, Marketing Strategy for Startups: A Four-Layer Framework for Founders
67% of B2B buyers said they prefer a rep-free buying experience.	67%	Gartner, Gartner Sales Survey Finds 67% of B2B Buyers Prefer a Rep-Free Experience	646 B2B buyers · fielded August-September 2025	Last verified 30 Sept 2026, next review 30 Mar 2027	Which marketing channels should a startup start with?, Competitive Analysis for Startups: Research That Changes Decisions
B2B buyers used an average of seven information sources in a recent purchase.	7	Gartner, Gartner Survey Finds 69% of B2B Buyers Turn to Sales Reps to Validate AI-Generated Insights	645 B2B buyers · fielded August-September 2025	Last verified 30 Sept 2026, next review 30 Mar 2027	Which marketing channels should a startup start with?
45% of B2B buyers used generative AI in a recent purchase, mainly to gather information on vendors and products.	45%	Gartner, Gartner Survey Finds 69% of B2B Buyers Turn to Sales Reps to Validate AI-Generated Insights	645 B2B buyers · fielded August-September 2025	Last verified 30 Sept 2026, next review 30 Mar 2027	Which marketing channels should a startup start with?
More than 60% of business buyers purchased some form of trial.	More than 60%	Forrester, The State of Business Buying, 2026	Buyers' Journey Survey of nearly 18,000 business buyers · fielded 2025	Last verified 30 Sept 2026, next review 30 Mar 2027	Which marketing channels should a startup start with?, How to Market an AI Product, Marketing AI Products Playbook
B2B buyers use an average of ten channels across a purchase, and generative AI has moved into the top five for finding and evaluating suppliers.	10	McKinsey & Company, The surprising economics of B2B growth: The new survival threshold and what it takes to thrive	2026 Global B2B Pulse Survey of nearly 4,000 decision makers in 13 countries · fielded 2026	Last verified 30 Sept 2026, next review 30 Mar 2027	Which marketing channels should a startup start with?
B2B marketing efficiency peaked at around 46% of budget on brand and 54% on activation.	46% brand / 54% activation	LinkedIn B2B Institute and IPA, The 5 Principles of Growth in B2B Marketing (Binet and Field) — The Institute's summary page rounds the split to 50/50. Describes established advertisers, not seed-stage startups.	Fewer than 50 B2B cases · fielded before 2019	Last verified 30 Sept 2026, next review 30 Mar 2027	Which marketing channels should a startup start with?, LinkedIn Ads for B2B Startups
Only about 5% of business buyers are in the market in any quarter, because companies change providers only every few years.	About 5%	Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, Advertising effectiveness and the 95-5 rule: most B2B buyers are not in the market right now (John Dawes) — A derived rule of thumb, not a survey result.	Derived estimate from typical B2B provider-switching cycles, not a survey · fielded not applicable (derived rule of thumb)	Last verified 30 Sept 2026, next review 30 Mar 2027	Which marketing channels should a startup start with?, LinkedIn Ads for B2B Startups, Retargeting for Startups

Industry Playbooks

23 figures — Industry Playbooks hub.

Figure	Value	Source	Sample & field window	Last verified	Used by
54% of districts ranked budget shortfalls among their top three concerns in spring 2026, up from 33% in 2025.	54%, up from 33%	RAND, Clinton, C., Master, B., Rainey, L. and Keskin, S., "Shrinking Budgets, Fewer Students", RAND RR-A4737-4	481 districts (of 11,967 invited; 4% response rate) · fielded March 18 to May 4, 2026	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	EdTech Marketing Playbook, The EdTech Marketing Calendar, How to Sell EdTech to School Districts
Federal funds were 11.7% of public elementary and secondary school revenues in fiscal year 2024 ($121.2 billion); state and local governments provided the other 88.3%.	11.7%	NCES, Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2023-24 (Fiscal Year 2024), NCES 2026-008	US public elementary and secondary school finance data · fielded Fiscal year 2024	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	EdTech Marketing Playbook
46% of district and school leaders said curriculum purchases are decided mostly at district level with some school involvement, 22% at district level alone and 21% with equal involvement.	46%	EdWeek Research Center, Strategic Resourcing for K-12 Education: A Work in Progress — Small sample and a study whose coverage was supported in part by a Gates Foundation grant; RAND's 2026 study of math curriculum adoption found the same pattern.	270 educators (118 district leaders and 152 school leaders); weighting not specified · fielded June 28 to August 2, 2024	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	EdTech Marketing Playbook
67% of respondents named curriculum and instruction leaders a major influence on curriculum purchases, ahead of teachers (56%), school leaders (52%), the superintendent (32%) and operations, business or finance leaders (28%).	67%	EdWeek Research Center, Strategic Resourcing for K-12 Education: A Work in Progress — Small sample and a study whose coverage was supported in part by a Gates Foundation grant.	270 educators (118 district leaders and 152 school leaders); weighting not specified · fielded June 28 to August 2, 2024	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	EdTech Marketing Playbook
66% of district and school leaders say teachers evaluate products, and 55% say teachers pilot them.	66%	EdWeek Research Center, Strategic Resourcing for K-12 Education: A Work in Progress — Small sample, weighting not specified.	270 educators (118 district leaders and 152 school leaders); weighting not specified · fielded June 28 to August 2, 2024	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	How to Sell EdTech to School Districts
Leaders judged product fit by test scores (48%), teacher surveys or focus groups (41%) and usage data (38%).	48%	EdWeek Research Center, Strategic Resourcing for K-12 Education: A Work in Progress — Small sample, weighting not specified.	270 educators (118 district leaders and 152 school leaders); weighting not specified · fielded June 28 to August 2, 2024	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	How to Sell EdTech to School Districts
45% of the tools in Instructure's annual EdTech Top 40 report had published ESSA research, up from 32% in the previous year's list.	45%	Instructure, EdTech Top 40 report press release — Vendor research on a short list that changes each year; read it as a signal, not a trend.	The 40 tools on LearnPlatform by Instructure's eighth annual EdTech Top 40 list (64 billion interactions, 3.7 million students, 546,000 educators) · fielded 2024-25 school year	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	EdTech Marketing Playbook
86% of districts have a procedure to vet tools before they are used, 61% keep an approved-app list and 56% require vendors to supply product safety information.	86%	CoSN, U.S. State of EdTech 2026 — Produced by CoSN with support from vendor and association partners.	607 district education technology leaders; margin of error 4% at 95% confidence · fielded January 14 to March 1, 2026	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	EdTech Marketing Playbook, How to Sell EdTech to School Districts
79% of districts had AI guidelines in 2026, up from 57% in 2025.	79%	CoSN, U.S. State of EdTech 2026 — Produced by CoSN with support from vendor and association partners.	607 district education technology leaders; margin of error 4% at 95% confidence · fielded January 14 to March 1, 2026	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	EdTech Marketing Playbook
56% of districts require vendors to provide product safety information and 29% require accessibility information; 52% name someone to review interoperability during purchasing.	56%	CoSN, U.S. State of EdTech 2026 — Produced by CoSN with support from vendor and association partners.	607 district education technology leaders; margin of error 4% at 95% confidence · fielded January 14 to March 1, 2026	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	How to Sell EdTech to School Districts
42% of district technology leaders named refresh and modernization of classroom technology as the area most at risk.	42%	CoSN, U.S. State of EdTech 2026 — Produced by CoSN with support from vendor and association partners.	607 district education technology leaders; margin of error 4% at 95% confidence · fielded January 14 to March 1, 2026	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	How to Sell EdTech to School Districts
54% of students and 53% of English, math and science teachers said they used AI for school in 2025.	54% of students, 53% of teachers	RAND, Doss, C., Bozick, R., Schwartz, H. L. and others, "AI Use in Schools Is Quickly Increasing but Guidance Lags Behind", RAND RR-A4180-1	American Youth Panel: 1,261 students (January-February 2025) and 852 students (February-March 2025); American Teacher Panel: 8,601 English, math and science teachers (April-June 2025) · fielded January to June 2025	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	EdTech Marketing Playbook
About 5.2% of school-age children received academic instruction at home in 2022-23, up from 3.7% in 2018-19, including 3.4% who were homeschooled; the count includes full-time virtual school.	5.2%	NCES, Higher percentage of K-12 students are receiving academic instruction at home (National Household Education Surveys 2023)	National Household Education Surveys Program 2023 (parent reports for children aged 5 to 17) · fielded 2022-23 school year	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	EdTech Marketing Playbook
37% of respondents attribute at least some EBIT (profit) impact to AI use, and about 6% qualify as AI high performers.	37%	McKinsey & Company, The state of AI in 2026: On the road to ROI	1,719 respondents in 97 nations · fielded May 4 to June 8, 2026	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	Marketing AI Products Playbook
32% of respondents say their organization decided against buying one or more software products or features because they could be built internally with agentic coding tools.	32%	McKinsey & Company, The state of AI in 2026: On the road to ROI	1,719 respondents in 97 nations · fielded May 4 to June 8, 2026	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	How to Market an AI Product, Marketing AI Products Playbook
46% of people globally are willing to trust AI systems, although 66% use AI regularly.	46%	The University of Melbourne and KPMG, Trust, attitudes and use of artificial intelligence: A global study 2025	48,340 people in 47 countries · fielded November 2024 to mid-January 2025	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	Marketing AI Products Playbook
The buying group doubles, from seven to 14 people, when a purchase includes generative AI features.	7 to 14	Forrester, The State of Business Buying, 2026	Buyers' Journey Survey of nearly 18,000 business buyers · fielded 2025	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	Marketing AI Products Playbook
94% of business buyers use AI during their buying process.	94%	Forrester, The State of Business Buying, 2026	Buyers' Journey Survey of nearly 18,000 business buyers · fielded 2025	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	How to Market an AI Product
69% of B2B buyers prefer to validate AI-generated insights with sales reps.	69%	Gartner, Gartner Survey Finds 69% of B2B Buyers Turn to Sales Reps to Validate AI-Generated Insights	645 B2B buyers · fielded August-September 2025	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	How to Market an AI Product, Marketing AI Products Playbook, Free Trial, Freemium or Demo?
About four in five vendors introducing AI pricing chose capacity models, in which customers commit to a fixed amount of capacity (for example prepaid credits or entitlements); among AI-native and seat-based SaaS companies introducing a hybrid AI meter, only about 10% rely on outcome-based meters.	About four in five	Bain & Company, AI Pricing: A Reality Check on Effort, Usage, and Outcomes	Publicly available pricing pages of about 200 B2B SaaS companies · fielded June 2026	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	How to Market an AI Product, Marketing AI Products Playbook
50% of US adults are more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI in daily life, up from 37% in 2021.	50%	Pew Research Center, How Americans View AI and Its Impact on People and Society	5,023 US adults · fielded June 9 to 15, 2025	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	How to Market an AI Product, Marketing AI Products Playbook
The cost of querying a model at GPT-3.5 level (64.8 on MMLU) fell more than 280-fold, from $20.00 to $0.07 per million tokens, between November 2022 and October 2024.	More than 280-fold	Stanford HAI, Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2025	Annual index report · fielded November 2022 to October 2024	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	How to Market an AI Product
The FTC's complaint said independent testing found 53% accuracy on general-purpose content for an AI-content detector Workado had marketed as 98% accurate.	53%	Federal Trade Commission, FTC Order Requires Workado to Back Up Artificial Intelligence Detection Claims — An allegation in the FTC's complaint, later settled by order; not an independent finding.	Single enforcement action · fielded 2025	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	How to Market an AI Product

Marketing Ops, AI & Team

2 figures — Marketing Ops, AI & Team hub.

Figure	Value	Source	Sample & field window	Last verified	Used by
Martech accounted for 19.4% of the average marketing budget in 2026, a five-year low.	19.4%	Gartner, 2026 CMO Spend Survey — Gartner's own press release does not publish the category split; this is trade coverage of the same survey. Replace with the Gartner source if we obtain the full report.	401 CMOs, North America / UK / Europe · fielded January-March 2026	Last verified 15 Sept 2026, next review 15 Dec 2026	/, Marketing Technology Stack Landscape
Paid media reached 31.4% of the average marketing budget in 2026, funded by cuts to agencies.	31.4%	Gartner, CMO Spend 2026	401 CMOs, North America / UK / Europe · fielded January-March 2026	Last verified 15 Sept 2026, next review 15 Dec 2026	Marketing Technology Stack Landscape, Marketing Budget Benchmarks by Stage 2026

Pricing & Monetization

7 figures — Pricing & Monetization hub.

Figure	Value	Source	Sample & field window	Last verified	Used by
About 85% of SaaS leaders now use some form of usage-based pricing.	85%	Metronome & Greyhound Capital, State of Usage-Based Pricing 2025	100 SaaS companies · fielded 2025-01	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	SaaS Pricing Models in 2026: Seat-Based vs. Usage-Based vs. Hybrid
Roughly 78% of companies using usage-based pricing adopted it within the last five years, and nearly half within the last two.	78%	Metronome & Greyhound Capital, State of Usage-Based Pricing 2025	100 SaaS companies · fielded 2025-01	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	SaaS Pricing Models in 2026: Seat-Based vs. Usage-Based vs. Hybrid
57% of SaaS companies use per-user pricing as their primary model, down from 64% in 2024.	57%	Monetizely, SaaS Pricing Benchmark Study 2025	103 companies' public pricing, anonymised enterprise contract data, and 47 pricing leaders surveyed · fielded 2025	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	SaaS Pricing Models in 2026: Seat-Based vs. Usage-Based vs. Hybrid
61% of SaaS companies now employ some form of hybrid pricing, up from 49% in 2024.	61%	Monetizely, SaaS Pricing Benchmark Study 2025	103 companies' public pricing, anonymised enterprise contract data, and 47 pricing leaders surveyed · fielded 2025	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	SaaS Pricing Models in 2026: Seat-Based vs. Usage-Based vs. Hybrid
44% of SaaS companies charge for AI-powered features.	44%	Maxio (survey by Benchmarkit), 2025 SaaS Pricing Trends Report — Maxio publishes the report; the underlying survey is Benchmarkit's. The report page does not disclose an exact sample size.	hundreds of SaaS companies (report states "hundreds"; no exact n published) · fielded 2025	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	SaaS Pricing Models in 2026: Seat-Based vs. Usage-Based vs. Hybrid
Companies using hybrid models (subscription plus usage) report the highest median growth rate, at 21%.	21%	Maxio (survey by Benchmarkit), 2025 SaaS Pricing Trends Report — Maxio publishes the report; the underlying survey is Benchmarkit's. The report page does not disclose an exact sample size.	hundreds of SaaS companies (report states "hundreds"; no exact n published) · fielded 2025	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	SaaS Pricing Models in 2026: Seat-Based vs. Usage-Based vs. Hybrid
Credit-based pricing more than doubled among the top 500 SaaS companies: 79 now sell credits, against 35 at the end of 2024 — a 126% increase.	126%	Rob Litterst, Growth Unhinged, 2025 state of SaaS pricing changes	PricingSaaS 500 Index — the 500 largest SaaS and AI companies with public pricing pages · fielded Index snapshot at the end of 2025, compared against the end-of-2024 snapshot; published 7 January 2026	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	SaaS Pricing Models in 2026: Seat-Based vs. Usage-Based vs. Hybrid

Retention, Expansion & Advocacy

4 figures — Retention, Expansion & Advocacy hub.

Figure	Value	Source	Sample & field window	Last verified	Used by
Median net revenue retention for bootstrapped private B2B SaaS companies between $3M and $20M ARR is 103%.	103%	SaaS Capital, Benchmarking Metrics for Bootstrapped SaaS Companies	1,000+ private B2B SaaS companies; figures cited are for bootstrapped companies between $3M and $20M ARR · fielded 2026	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	Your NRR is 100% and you are losing a quarter of your customers, The Retention & NRR Workbook, Churn & Retention Calculator
Median gross revenue retention for bootstrapped private B2B SaaS companies between $3M and $20M ARR is 91%.	91%	SaaS Capital, Benchmarking Metrics for Bootstrapped SaaS Companies	1,000+ private B2B SaaS companies; figures cited are for bootstrapped companies between $3M and $20M ARR · fielded 2026	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	Your NRR is 100% and you are losing a quarter of your customers, The Retention & NRR Workbook, Churn & Retention Calculator
Median revenue growth for bootstrapped private B2B SaaS companies between $3M and $20M ARR fell to 15%, from 20% a year earlier.	15%	SaaS Capital, Benchmarking Metrics for Bootstrapped SaaS Companies	1,000+ private B2B SaaS companies; figures cited are for bootstrapped companies between $3M and $20M ARR · fielded 2026	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	Your NRR is 100% and you are losing a quarter of your customers
For a typical Series B or C enterprise software company, Bessemer sets net revenue retention of 100% as good, 110% as better and 120% or more as best.	100% / 110% / 120%	Bessemer Venture Partners, State of the Cloud 2023 — Bessemer notes the bands vary by stage and by SMB, mid-market or enterprise segment.	Investor guidance for Series B and C enterprise software companies; not a survey · fielded Not a survey	Last verified 28 Sept 2026, next review 28 Dec 2026	Churn & Retention Calculator

Sales & Pipeline

1 figure — Sales & Pipeline hub.

Figure	Value	Source	Sample & field window	Last verified	Used by
AAJ's planning assumption: if a team wins 15–25% of qualified deals, it needs 4–7x coverage — 4–7x is 1 divided by that win rate, not a borrowed benchmark. Enter your own win rate for your own multiple.	4–7x	AAJ's own estimate, not a published benchmark — Built from: An assumed 15–25% win rate for early-stage B2B; the coverage multiple is arithmetic on that assumption. Not client data.	AAJ's stated view for B2B SaaS, Pre-Seed to Series B; not client or survey data · fielded 2026	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	Pipeline Coverage & Forecasting Playbook, Pipeline Forecast & Coverage Calculator

Strategy & Positioning

8 figures — Strategy & Positioning hub.

Figure	Value	Source	Sample & field window	Last verified	Used by
74% of B2B buying teams showed unhealthy conflict during the decision, and groups that reached consensus were 2.5 times more likely to report a high-quality deal.	74%	Gartner, Gartner Sales Survey Finds 74% of B2B Buyer Teams Demonstrate 'Unhealthy Conflict' During the Decision Process	632 B2B buyers · fielded August-September 2024	Last verified 30 Sept 2026, next review 30 Mar 2027	Customer Segmentation Playbook, Lead Management Playbook
On average, 13 internal and 9 external people influence a business purchase.	13 internal, 9 external	Forrester, The State of Business Buying, 2026	Buyers' Journey Survey of nearly 18,000 business buyers · fielded 2025	Last verified 30 Sept 2026, next review 30 Mar 2027	Customer Segmentation Playbook, Which marketing channels should a startup start with?
Of 172 studies on algorithmic customer segmentation, only 4.1% had subject-matter experts judge whether the segments made sense.	4.1%	Journal of Marketing Analytics, Salminen, J., Mustak, M., Sufyan, M. and Jansen, B. J., "How can algorithms help in segmenting users and customers?", Journal of Marketing Analytics, 11(4), 677-692	Systematic review of 172 studies · fielded studies published from 2000 onward	Last verified 30 Sept 2026, next review 30 Mar 2027	Customer Segmentation Playbook
81% of business buyers were dissatisfied with the provider they had chosen.	81%	Forrester, The State of Business Buying, 2024	More than 16,000 business buyers · fielded 2024	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	Competitive Analysis for Startups: Research That Changes Decisions
40% to 60% of deals are lost to buyers who say they intend to buy but never act.	40% to 60%	Harvard Business Review (Dixon and McKenna), Stop Losing Sales to Customer Indecision	More than 2.5 million recorded sales conversations · fielded not stated in the article	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	Competitive Analysis for Startups: Research That Changes Decisions
Poor product-market fit was a cause in 43% of 385 VC-backed startup shutdowns with identified reasons (running out of money was the final cause for 70%, bad timing 29%, unsustainable unit economics 19%).	43%	CB Insights, The top 9 reasons startups fail — Across all sectors.	431 VC-backed startups that shut down since 2023, reasons identified for 385 · fielded shutdowns since 2023	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	Product-Market Fit: How to Tell If You Have It
Slack's Net Dollar Retention Rate was 143% as of January 31, 2019.	143%	Slack Technologies, Registration statement on Form S-1	Company-reported · fielded as of January 31, 2019	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	Product-Market Fit: How to Tell If You Have It
55% of Zoom's 344 customers contributing more than $100,000 of revenue started with at least one free host prior to subscribing (fiscal year ended January 31, 2019).	55% of 344	Zoom Video Communications, Registration statement on Form S-1	344 customers above $100,000 of revenue · fielded fiscal year ended January 31, 2019	Last verified 1 Oct 2026, next review 1 Apr 2027	Product-Market Fit: How to Tell If You Have It

Unassigned

1 figure.

Figure	Value	Source	Sample & field window	Last verified	Used by
35% of failed startups cited no market need, in CB Insights' 2021 analysis of 110+ startup post-mortems.	35%	CB Insights, The Top 12 Reasons Startups Fail — Point-in-time 2021 edition. CB Insights' research page now serves a newer edition with different figures; every citation on this site names the 2021 edition explicitly.	110+ startup post-mortems · fielded 2021	Last verified 15 Sept 2026, next review 15 Sept 2027	/

Website & Conversion

1 figure — Website & Conversion hub.

Figure	Value	Source	Sample & field window	Last verified	Used by
AAJ's planning bands for landing-page conversion: cold paid traffic 1–3%, warm email or referral traffic 5–10%, low-friction opt-ins 15–30%, with 3–5% a realistic target for a B2B demo or trial page.	3–5%	AAJ's own estimate, not a published benchmark — Built from: AAJ's judgement of what is realistic for each traffic temperature and offer friction. Not client data and not a published benchmark.	AAJ's stated view for B2B SaaS, Pre-Seed to Series B; not client or survey data · fielded 2026	Last verified 16 Sept 2026, next review 16 Mar 2027	Why Your Landing Page Converts at 1% (and How to Increase That to 3-5%)

More in Analytics, Experiments & Budget

Part of the Analytics, Experiments & Budget hub - see all 26 resources on this topic.

Also useful in Paid Media, Go-to-Market & Growth Planning.