Despite being one of the most frequently used channels in B2B marketing, email is lagging behind other tactics in terms of perceived effectiveness, according to a new report from Demandbase and eMarketer.
The survey of 233 B2B marketers and agencies, conducted in early 2025, reveals that while 65.4% of respondents say they use email regularly for B2B marketing – second only to social media – only 33.8% believe lead nurturing via email is a tactic that works better in B2B than B2C.
Instead, marketers pointed to relationship-building and networking (52.8%), LinkedIn marketing (47.6%), and long-term CRM strategies (44.6%) as more distinctively effective B2B tools. Educational content and data-driven insights were also considered more valuable than email in this context.
The mixed view on email’s ROI may be tied to the longer and more complex B2B sales cycle, which 37.7% of respondents cited as a major challenge. Still, many marketers continue to rely on email alongside paid search (used by 58.4%) as key parts of their channel mix.
When it comes to measuring success, B2B marketers prioritise engagement metrics (63.6%), lead generation (62.3%), and conversion rates (57.6%), while just over half (52.4%) focus on return on investment.
The report also reveals that a majority of B2B marketers had increased their budgets at the time of the survey, with 33.3% increasing spend by up to 10%, and 27.3% increasing it between 11% and 50%. However, these figures were gathered before recent economic instability, which could alter future spending patterns.
While email remains a staple, it may not always be delivering the standout performance marketers expect – especially as more strategic, relationship-driven tactics gain ground.
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