Marketing automation is now firmly established as a core component of B2B strategy, but many businesses are still struggling to unlock its full potential, according to a new report from Act-On and Ascend2.
The 2025 State of B2B Marketing Automation report, based on a survey of more than 100 B2B marketing professionals, reveals widespread adoption and satisfaction with marketing automation tools. An overwhelming 96% of respondents consider their automation efforts at least somewhat successful, with over a third describing their programmes as “very successful” or “best-in-class”.
Yet this confidence masks an underuse of more advanced capabilities, with most teams relying on basic features such as email marketing and landing page creation, while underutilising higher-impact areas like customer journey orchestration and AI-driven personalisation.
Budgets rise as pressure to prove ROI intensifies
Against a backdrop of tighter budgets and increased demand for measurable impact, three-quarters of marketers say they plan to increase their marketing automation spend in the year ahead. Nearly one in five expect significant budget increases.
But the report also identifies cost as a top concern, with 61% citing overall martech expense as a major challenge. This has led to growing interest in platforms that offer better integration, scalability and transparent pricing, as marketers look to consolidate tools and improve efficiency across the funnel.
Four channels deliver the majority of pipeline
The report also offers insight into which tactics are driving performance. SEO, paid search, paid social and events now account for 70% of marketing-sourced pipeline, regardless of company size or growth stage. Despite this, half of the companies surveyed are still using between 11 and 15 channels – raising questions about how many of these are delivering measurable value.
The same inefficiency is evident in content strategies, with 46% of companies producing six to ten content types. Yet content that demonstrates clear ROI – such as case studies and third-party research – continues to perform best, and 72% of marketers admit they don’t have enough case studies to support effective demand generation.
Strategic planning and data quality remain key challenges
While most marketers now use automation in some form, many admit they are struggling to build a clear strategy. More than half of respondents say creating a coherent marketing automation strategy is their biggest challenge, followed closely by issues around data quality and integration.
Many teams report difficulty unifying customer data across systems, with outdated records and inconsistent CRM connections undermining efforts to deliver personalised experiences. The report highlights improving data quality, identifying ideal customers and increasing personalisation as the top three priorities for 2025.
AI adoption growing, but maturity remains limited
The research also highlights growing interest in AI, particularly for audience targeting. Forty-three percent of marketers say this is the most valuable AI use case, followed by analytics (41%) and personalisation (36%). However, applications such as campaign optimisation are less commonly used, suggesting that many platforms – and their users – are still at an early stage of AI maturity.
Marketing automation is now business-critical
With 88% of respondents saying their platform helps build more effective customer journeys, automation clearly plays a pivotal role in driving B2B performance. But just 11% report having fully automated their customer journeys, with most relying on partially automated workflows.
The report concludes that while marketing automation is no longer a luxury, B2B marketers must focus on building better strategies, consolidating their technology stack, and prioritising data-driven decision-making.
Those who do so will be best positioned to meet the rising demands of the year ahead – delivering personalised, scalable marketing that supports long-term growth.
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