When it comes to the impact of martech on company performance, the study evaluates it at 4.7 on a 7-point scale (where 1 is the minimum impact and 7, the maximum). This assessment could be explained by the fact that marketing leaders report that actual martech benefits are 34% lower than their expectations. When evaluating the effectiveness of martech systems, leaders most commonly use metrics such as lead generation (76% of companies), sales (68%) and lead conversion (65%). Customer metrics such as lifetime value (28%), loyalty (27%) and pipeline acceleration (23%) lag in use.

“Marketing professionals have been using numerous technologies for years, from data analytics and automation tools to customer relationship management systems and social media platforms and, more recently, Gen AI. Each of these solutions generates value, either by driving engagement, by nurturing leads or by boosting conversions, but their outcomes can be significantly higher if they are strategically combined to manage their most engaged customers,” said Ruxandra Bandila, Chief Marketing Officer, Deloitte Central Europe.

The study emphasizes that technologies have the capability of generating a positive impact for organizations even if they have been used for a short time. An example is Gen AI, which is being used only 7% of the time spent on marketing activities. When it comes to improvements due to AI, marketers mention areas such as sales productivity (5% increase), customer satisfaction (6% increase) and marketing overhead costs, which have decreased by an average of 7%. Nevertheless, integrating Gen AI into marketing activities raises various challenges. Respondents indicate that minimizing bias and ensuring fairness, as well as investing in necessary hardware for Gen AI to work, are serious challenges.

The findings of the report also indicate that the marketing budget as a percentage of company budget continued its downward trend in 2024, reaching 10% from a high of 14% in 2022. In contrast, marketing budget as a percent of company revenues increased to 10% in the spring of 2024, from 9% in the fall of 2023.

In terms of overall marketing spending, it is expected to grow by 5% in the next 12 months. Digital marketing spending growth is expected to cool down to 8% in the next year (from 9% in 2024). As for social media spending, marketers anticipate it will increase from 11% of the overall marketing budget in 2024 to 12% in the next 12 months and will climb to 16% in five years.

The latest edition of the CMO Survey is based on the responses of almost 300 marketing leaders, active in 15 industry sectors in the US.