Last fall 2022, we conducted a survey with global research and advisory firm Demand Metric to understand how B2B marketers were planning for 2023 amidst looming economic uncertainty. The report found that nearly 60% of B2B marketers report current budgets for marketing plans are being cut or staying flat and two-thirds of marketers are expected to accomplish the same or more with fewer resources. However, despite marketing budget challenges, 80% of B2B marketers surveyed report having a neutral to optimistic outlook for 2023.
Fast forward six months later to Q1 2023 and recessionary signals have only further deepened. Today’s B2B marketers have experienced a veritable maelstrom of challenges that have affected their priorities, performance, and outlook, including economic recession, including inflation, rising interest rates, bank failures, layoffs, and other signals.
We wanted to understand whether the headwinds that buffeted marketing last year eased or persisted. The answer? It’s both.
We found that marketers are facing the challenges of “defending the spend” while dealing with burnout. Yet, despite the burnout and current stresses marketers are experiencing, 72% of study participants expect to meet or exceed their goals for 2023. And 84% of marketers have a neutral to optimistic outlook for the remainder of 2023.
Check out a recap of the key findings in our infographic below. To learn more about the state of marketing spend and budgets, read the full report here.
