While it is distributed as ‘restricted distribution’, I had a chance to look over the shoulder to get key highlights.  This is what I am seeing they identified – with my critique of their ideas at the end.

 

Major Trends & Challenges according to Gartner:

  • 84% of leaders say their company’s identity must significantly change
  • Only 14% of CMOs are seen as effective market shapers
  • Over half of consumers don’t feel understood by brands (this feels B2C response)
  • Most marketing campaigns fail to justify their investment
  • High levels of disruption and budget constraints persist

3 Key Strategic Priorities according to Gartner for 2025:

1. Bridge Marketing Strategy and Operations

  • Dedicate specific resources to strategy management
  • Align planning across multiple time horizons (3-5 years, 12-36 months, 3-12 months)
  • Build capabilities through staff, methods, tools and support systems

 

2. Lead Marketing to Deliver Differentiation

  • Focus on identifying and fulfilling unmet customer needs
  • Build market-shaping capabilities in data-based decisions, strategy and market knowledge
  • Take accountability for improving products, sales channels and customer experience

 

3. Prioritize Customer Journey Investments

  • Audit existing customer touchpoints
  • Work cross-functionally to deliver catalytic value
  • Balance technology transformation with operational needs
  • Make strategic decisions about AI implementation

 

Ok, now for my commentary and critique.  

 

Um, very little mention in the overall report about pipeline, sales, or SDRs – it could be the types of companies they surveyed (not mentioned or difficult to find) are very large enterprise or B2C companies vs scale ups or other sized organizations.  If pipeline isn’t the number one priority of driving new business through new markets, new routes to those new markets, new routes to existing markets, etc. – why have Marketing?

 

Very good call out on budget constraints – there could be a bit more context there.  Let’s make this real according to David Spitz:  Public SaaS now SPENDS $2.00 on GTM for every $1 in Net New ARR, up from $1.24 a few years ago.  So yes, every C suite executive is faced with ‘do more with less’ or ‘grow 20% on a 1-2% budget increase’ because our costs are out of line.  This is why we felt layoffs in 2022/23, why prices are increasing and why MarTech/SalesTech is under scrutiny.  

 

I feel for my Marketing sisters and brothers in operating roles – AI has the promise of improved efficiency and it’s begun chipping away at that, but a very long way to go.  AI models your internal data and your internal processes – and magnifies those.  But I do think more attention in this report should have been more prescriptive on how companies are saving money with AI or should be thinking about it given the context above.  Perhaps there was a start here with automating touch points of the customer journey.

 

The report doesn’t really call out the change of buying groups or persona changes – although it does mention the perception that buyers don’t feel they are heard or their needs are being met.  Perhaps with some level of depth that could explore how the B2B buying committee is and has expanded would be helpful here for C-suite to wrap their minds around – this increase is slowing down sales cycles and thus driving up the cost of acquisition to levels we’ve not seen before.  A good set of data is from Kerry Cunningham of 6sense, who found that roughly 75% of buying group members — all roles — have prior experience with the vendors they’ll be evaluating. They aren’t new to this in most cases.  So how does that change the selling model?  That should be discussed here.

 

I’d give this report a ‘C’ – good effort, too Marketing centric for my liking, not prescriptive enough as to what the heck to do in this unique selling environment – but it’s easy to be the one throwing spears from the outside, what key points resonated most with you when you reviewed it?