Most B2B leaders say their firm is increasing its marketing investment despite the current uncertain economic environment, according to recent research from LinkedIn and Ipsos.
The B2B Marketing Benchmark report was based on data from a survey conducted between March 24 and May 5, 2023, among 1,954 B2B leaders (CMOs, senior marketers, and CFOs) from around the world.
Some 59% of respondents say their firm has increased its marketing budget over the past year and 67% say their firm plans to increase its marketing budget over the next year.
Only 19% of respondents say their firm has decreased its marketing budget over the past year. However, 26% of respondents in the tech sector say their firm has decreased its marketing budget over the past year.
When asked what the largest share of their firm's marketing budget is going towards, some 36% of B2B leaders say lead generation, 30% say brand building and awareness, and 20% say demand generation.
B2B leaders say the top ways the role of the chief marketing officer has changed over the past two years are that CMOs are increasingly expected to demonstrate the impact of marketing on the bottom line and that they have a more direct role in driving revenue and growth.
B2B CMOs say the challenges they are most concerned about over the next one to two years are finding and acquiring new customers (46% say they are concerned about) and incorporating new technologies such as AI into the marketing mix (40%).
Among B2B leaders who use different marketing channels and tactics, generative AI has the highest predicted increase in usage over the next year.
About the research: The B2B Marketing Benchmark report was based on data from a survey conducted between March 24 and May 5, 2023, among 1,954 B2B leaders (CMOs, senior marketers, and CFOs) from around the world.
