The pioneer of B2B Precision Demand Marketing (PDM), Integrate, recently released a study titled “The State of B2B Marketing Budgets 2023” that examines how marketing spending, priorities, and attitudes have evolved over the previous six months. An increasing requirement for marketers to “defend the spend” to finance departments and C-level executives is suggested by the report’s finding that nearly 50% of B2B marketers regard the difficulties of using data to influence choices and monitor performance as the largest obstacle. As a result, almost 90% of marketers who responded to the poll say that their organisation places a high focus on data compliance and accuracy. This study was undertaken in conjunction with the international research and advisory firm Demand Metric as a follow-up to “The State of B2B Marketing Budgets 2022”.
“Today’s B2B marketers are in the unenviable position of making the unpredictable predictable in an uncertain market, and that means recalibrating everything from their goals to their focus,” stated Colby Cavanaugh, SVP, Marketing at Integrate. “This research indicates that today’s marketers are incredibly resilient, and they’re adapting by being flexible and leveraging both what they already know work and investing in creative new solutions to drive pipeline,” says the author.
Many B2B businesses are hedging their bets and trimming their budgets as a result of the looming effects of rising interest rates, bank failures, and other economic headwinds, which is forcing marketers to get more done with less. In reality, the poll discovered that budget cuts (38%), increased growth expectations (39%), and headcount reductions (40%), are the following three most obstacles.
Furthermore, according to 66% of respondents, additional economic stressors are causing them to feel burned out.
Surprisingly, despite these difficulties, 72% of respondents believe their marketing team will achieve or surpass goals in 2023. Meanwhile, up slightly from 80% six months ago, 84% of marketers surveyed say they have a neutral to optimistic outlook for the rest of 2023.
According to “The State of B2B Marketing Budgets 2023” survey, 57% of B2B marketers are leveraging customer marketing (upsell/cross-sell) to optimise for growth in 2023; 42% are developing team skills and adding new competencies; and 36% are investing in current verticals or markets.
Budgets for travel are being reduced (46%), and teams and job responsibilities are being combined (41%) as well.
According to the poll findings, 67% of marketers are happy with their current marketing strategy, and 64% are happy with their martech stack. Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement as 77% of respondents and 80% of respondents, respectively, report redundancies in their martech stacks.
According to John Follett, co-founder, CXO, and head of research at Demand Metric, “These survey results show that B2B marketers are moving forward and making due with the resources they have with a focus on their customer, despite economic challenges.” They have the greatest need for reliable and connected data to better understand their buyer, guide their decisions, and defend their spend in challenging times. They are hardworking but hopeful.
