Although B2B Advertising Budgets Are Growing, Marketers Still Struggle with Efficiency

The survey was conducted by EMARKETER and Demandbase. At the beginning of 2025, they approached more than 230 B2B marketers and agencies from around the world to find out where B2B advertising is breaking down today. What works, what misses the mark, and where are the biggest blind spots? The results provide insight into how companies actually think about budgets, channels, and technologies.

In 2025, nearly 65% of marketers report an increase in their advertising budget, with B2B advertising expenditure in the US exceeding $44.35 billion. Nevertheless, 58% admit that a significant portion of investments is spent ineffectively – often between 16% and 45% of the budget. Globally, this amounts to billions in losses.

The main problem? The B2B buying journey is no longer linear. Customers gather information across various digital touchpoints even before they contact a salesperson – the classic marketing funnel is no longer sufficient.

Precise Targeting Remains a Weakness

Half of the respondents consider reaching the right buying groups to be the biggest obstacle to achieving ROI. Although 47% of marketers use group targeting, only 28% are satisfied with its effectiveness. Mapping the customer journey has a similarly low score – only 17.3% of marketers have precisely mapped the individual phases of the purchasing process.

First-party data is playing an increasingly important role. In connection with tightening privacy rules and the gradual end of cookies, 40% of American advertisers are now using it. Meanwhile, 62% of marketers worldwide expect the importance of first-party data to grow even further.

New Rules for B2B Marketing

Sales cycles in B2B are longer and much more dependent on relationship building. More than 52% of marketers consider networking and relationships to be more effective than in B2C. However, it’s important to remember that the modern B2B customer comes prepared – 75% prefer their own research and more than half made purchases in the past year without even communicating with a salesperson.

Therefore, it’s good to bet on:

• Account-based marketing and working with buying groups
• Educational content and building expertise
• CRM systems and long-term nurturing
• Industry-specific SEO and trustworthy case studies

Artificial intelligence brings another change. The most common uses of AI are in content creation (48.5%) and data analysis (44.6%). Thanks to predictive analytics and dynamic segmentation, marketers can target more precisely, personalise communication, and respond to changes in behaviour. AI also helps with geographical localisation of campaigns – in situations where messaging or channels differ by region.

Where B2B Advertising Budgets Are Heading

Although LinkedIn remains the main platform for B2B marketing (65.4% of respondents identified it as their primary channel), marketers are increasingly expanding their activity to other platforms. Social networks and email remain strong channels.

Social advertising expenditure in the US will increase by 13.6% to $9.66 billion, representing nearly half of all B2B digital expenditure.

Mobile and video are also on the rise – mobile advertising will reach $11.42 billion, which will be more than half of the entire digital B2B budget.

5 Tips for More Effective B2B Marketing

1. Invest in quality data and its management Unified, updated data is the foundation of personalisation and measurability.
2. Focus on accounts and buying groups Groups of decision-makers in target companies are more effective than individuals.
3. Build relationships, not just leads Longer sales cycles require trust, content, and community engagement.
4. Use AI for automation and personalisation From chatbots to content generation – properly configured AI can save time and increase relevance.
5. Measure and optimise continuously Regular A/B testing, KPI reporting, and analytical tools are essential for maintaining performance.

B2B marketing in 2025 doesn’t just need bigger budgets but especially a smarter approach. Those who master working with data, buying groups, and AI tools will be among the first to convert expenditure into real business results.