96% of respondents find marketing automation efforts successful
Act-On Software, a marketing automation leader, in partnership with Ascend2, releases “The State of B2B Marketing Automation 2025.” This survey report provides critical insights into the evolving landscape of B2B marketing automation, highlighting significant budget increases, utilization gaps, and the growing influence of AI. The report, based on a survey of B2B marketing professionals, reveals a strong consensus on the importance of marketing automation, with 96% of respondents reporting success. However, it also uncovers challenges in data quality, strategy implementation, and the full utilization of available features.
Key Findings from the Report Include
- High Success Rates: 96% of respondents find their marketing automation efforts at least somewhat successful, with 34% considering their efforts “very successful” or “best-in-class.”
- Data Quality Challenges: 44% of marketers cite improving data quality as a top priority in 2025, highlighting the need for better integrations and advanced analytics.
- Strategy Implementation: 51% of marketers find creating an overall marketing automation strategy to be the most significant challenge.
- AI Opportunities: Most marketers are using AI, and the most utilized AI feature is AI Audience Identification (43%). AI-driven reporting comes next (41%), and AI personalization is 3rd. (36%).
- Core Feature Utilization: Email marketing (57%) is the most utilized feature, while other important features lag behind.
- Increased Budgets: 75% of B2B marketers plan to increase their marketing automation budgets in 2025, reflecting a growing understanding of its competitive advantage.
“This report serves as a roadmap for B2B marketers to leverage the power of marketing automation more effectively,” said Jeff Day, CMO at Act-On Software. “While budgets are increasing and success rates are high, there are clear opportunities to optimize strategies, improve data quality, and fully utilize available features, including AI. Act-On is committed to providing the tools and insights necessary to help marketers get the most out of their marketing automation software.”
