Renewed optimism across B2B businesses sees increase in budgets, greater call for collaboration, and a willingness to explore fresh frontiers.

According to a recent LinkedIn and IPSOS survey, B2B leaders around the globe are poised for innovation, and with renewed optimism around marketing investments. Between March to May this year, over 1,954 B2B leaders were surveyed across 8 markets – including U.S., U.K. Germany, Brazil, France, India, Singapore and Australia. The report looked at three key areas – B2B Budgets & Outlook, the B2B Marketing Organization and B2B Marketing Strategies.

Green Shoots for the New Role of CMCO

The traditional chief marketing officer is evolving. Marketing leaders we’ve spoken to at CXposè echoed similar sentiments of marketing’s role to connect technology (tools), data and customer knowledge to drive differentiated customer experiences and revenue.

Answering the question around the increased importance of the role of CMO, 2 out of 3 surveyed say it has increased, with APAC leading the way at 74%. CMOs now tasked with commercial goals such as generating new revenue streams, proving ROI, and demonstrating profitability, the CMO role has transitioned to that of a CMCO – Chief Marketing/Commercial Officer.

Extracted from the B2B  Marketing Benchmark report

The CMCO has their tasks cut out for them in the road ahead, as more B2B marketing leaders are discovering new pressures to meet bottom lines, while maintaining visibility of their brand amongst competition. Post Covid, 6 in 10 B2B marketing leaders are regaining confidence in face-to-face connections with prospects and customers, and foresee more investments around brand awareness and connection building. 

However, confidence in executing against new technologies such as generative AI within the marketing sphere remains to be shaky at best, with less than 2 in 10 having an extremely good understanding of how to use AI. 

A Balancing Act for CMCO

 With more marketing leaders now pegged with commercial goals, B2B CMOs are tasked with greater demand generation responsibilities than before. While prospecting activities around lead generation and new business development remain top budgetary allocation, CMOs also need to prioritize branding and demand generation activities to remain top-of-mind for customers. 

Despite initial concerns around shrinking economies and macroeconomic considerations, current and planned B2B are increasing. Over 2 in 3 B2B marketing leaders say that budgets will increase next year, and over 6 in 10 stating increased budgets this year. APAC remains the most optimistic, reporting a higher percentage of increase at 71% compared to the rest of the world at an average of 56%. 

Extracted from the B2B  Marketing Benchmark report

In this study, around 50% of B2B leaders are optimistic about the CMCO and marketing teams’ ability to drive revenue. However, marketing leaders will need to demonstrate their capabilities in managing budgets across the full funnel, and ensuring that people, technologies and processes are set up to achieve commercial goals. 

For the full report, visit: https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-us/amp/marketing-solutions/images/lms-state-of-b2b-marketing/pdf/the-b2b-benchmark-report-2023-final.pdf