{"id":313484,"date":"2025-06-12T05:14:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T12:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/?p=313484"},"modified":"2025-06-10T15:25:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T22:25:21","slug":"cmo-budgets-are-flat-for-3-years-but-99-of-cmos-say-gen-ai-is-a-top-priority","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/cmo-budgets-are-flat-for-3-years-but-99-of-cmos-say-gen-ai-is-a-top-priority\/","title":{"rendered":"CMO Budgets Are Flat for 3+ Years.  But 99% of CMOs Say Gen AI is a Top Priority."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The latest Gartner CMO Spend Survey dropped some sobering news: marketing budgets remain stuck at 7.7% of company revenue for the second year running.<\/p>\n<p><a><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-313486 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flat.png?resize=754%2C469&#038;quality=70&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"754\" height=\"469\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flat.png 754w, https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flat-480x299.png 480w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 754px, 100vw\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 754px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 754\/469;\" \/><noscript><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-313486\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flat.png?resize=754%2C469&#038;quality=70&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"754\" height=\"469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flat.png 754w, https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flat-480x299.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 754px, 100vw\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>And it&#8217;s not just you.\u00a0 Marketing is getting &#8230; harder:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>87% of CMOs experienced campaign performance issues in the last 12 months,<\/strong> with 45% reporting they sometimes, often, or always had to terminate campaigns early due to poor performance<\/li>\n<li><strong>47% of organizations report a large benefit from adopting GenAI<\/strong> for evaluation and reporting in their campaigns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The Great Marketing Budget Squeeze: How CMOs Are Doing More with Less in 2025<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Marketing budgets have flatlined. Again. Here&#8217;s how the smartest CMOs are fighting back.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gartner.com\/en\/newsroom\/press-releases\/2025-05-12-gartner-2025-cmo-spend-survey-reveals-marketing-budgets-have-flatlined-at-seven-percent-of-overall-company-revenue\">For 400+ CMOs surveyed by Gartner<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, this represents a harsh new reality\u2014the days of growing marketing budgets are over, at least for now.<\/p>\n<p>But here&#8217;s what&#8217;s fascinating: while budgets have stagnated, the most successful marketing leaders aren&#8217;t just throwing up their hands. They&#8217;re getting ruthlessly efficient. And the data reveals exactly how they&#8217;re doing it.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-313485 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-cmo-spend-2-scaled.png?resize=1000%2C483&#038;quality=70&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"483\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-cmo-spend-2-scaled.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-cmo-spend-2-980x473.png 980w, https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-cmo-spend-2-480x232.png 480w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1000px, 100vw\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1000px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1000\/483;\" \/><noscript><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-313485\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-cmo-spend-2-scaled.png?resize=1000%2C483&#038;quality=70&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"483\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-cmo-spend-2-scaled.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-cmo-spend-2-980x473.png 980w, https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-cmo-spend-2-480x232.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1000px, 100vw\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<h2>The Productivity Revolution is Here<\/h2>\n<p>The chart tells the story better than any executive summary could. When asked what actions they&#8217;ve taken to boost marketing productivity, CMOs are laser-focused on three key areas:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Data and AI are the new growth engines.<\/strong> Forty-one percent of top-performing CMOs are leveraging data, analytics, and measurement to optimize performance\u2014making this the #1 productivity driver. Close behind, 40% are using technology like AI to automate key tasks.<\/p>\n<p>This isn&#8217;t just about having better dashboards. These CMOs are fundamentally rewiring how marketing operates. They&#8217;re using predictive analytics to identify the highest-converting prospects before they even enter the funnel. They&#8217;re automating creative production at scale. They&#8217;re personalizing customer journeys in real-time based on behavioral triggers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The technology integration game has changed.<\/strong> Thirty-seven percent of leading CMOs are integrating advanced technologies, including AI, to enhance efficiency. This goes beyond point solutions\u2014they&#8217;re building integrated tech stacks that actually talk to each other.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"AI-Powered Demand Gen with Guillaume Cabane, Co-Founder and GP @ HyperGrowth Partners\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5vqXZaLd9pI?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/www.saastr.com\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Where the Money Actually Goes (And Where It&#8217;s Going Next)<\/h2>\n<p>Let&#8217;s talk about the elephant in the room: paid media still dominates marketing spend at 30.6% of budgets. That&#8217;s 2.4% of total company revenue going straight to media buys.<\/p>\n<p>But here&#8217;s the kicker\u2014media price inflation means CMOs are getting less bang for every buck. So how are they responding?<\/p>\n<p><strong>They&#8217;re cutting the fat, not the muscle.<\/strong> The data shows 39% of CMOs are reducing agency budgets and another 39% are cutting labor costs. But this isn&#8217;t indiscriminate slashing. They&#8217;re:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Eliminating unproductive agency relationships<\/li>\n<li>Streamlining agency rosters<\/li>\n<li>Renegotiating contracts and scopes of work<\/li>\n<li>Simplifying overlapping roles<\/li>\n<li>Reducing total headcount strategically<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Twenty-two percent say GenAI has already enabled them to reduce reliance on external agencies for creativity and strategy. That&#8217;s not a future prediction\u2014that&#8217;s happening right now.<\/p>\n<h2>The Resource Reallocation Revolution<\/h2>\n<p>What&#8217;s really interesting is how CMOs are shifting resources from low-ROI to high-ROI activities. Thirty-three percent are moving budget from low-ROI to high-ROI activities\u2014but what does that actually mean?<\/p>\n<p>Looking at the productivity actions, it&#8217;s clear they&#8217;re:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Investing heavily in measurement and analytics<\/strong> (41% of top performers)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Doubling down on marketing automation<\/strong> (40% using AI for key tasks)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Streamlining operations<\/strong> (31% improving processes)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Building internal capabilities<\/strong> rather than relying on external partners<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>These all open up opportunities for budget for next-gen AI B2B marketing apps.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h2>The GenAI Reality Check<\/h2>\n<p>Here&#8217;s where it gets really interesting. GenAI investments are already delivering measurable ROI:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>49% report improved time efficiency<\/li>\n<li>40% see improved cost efficiency<\/li>\n<li>27% can produce more content and handle more business<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Just 1% of CMOs said GenAI isn&#8217;t currently a priority. Let that sink in\u201499% of marketing leaders are actively investing in generative AI.<\/p>\n<h2>The Collaboration Imperative<\/h2>\n<p>Thirty-two percent of productive CMOs are improving processes and collaboration with agencies and partners. This isn&#8217;t just about project management\u2014it&#8217;s about fundamentally restructuring how marketing teams work together.<\/p>\n<p>The most successful CMOs are breaking down silos between internal teams, agencies, and technology partners. They&#8217;re creating shared dashboards, unified reporting, and integrated workflows that eliminate duplication and improve speed to market.<\/p>\n<h2>What This Means for Marketing Strategy<\/h2>\n<p>The implications here are massive. We&#8217;re witnessing the biggest shift in marketing operations since the rise of digital advertising. CMOs who adapt will thrive. Those who don&#8217;t will get left behind.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The winners are doing three things really well:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>They&#8217;re data-obsessed.<\/strong> Not just collecting data, but using it to drive every marketing decision from budget allocation to creative strategy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>They&#8217;re automation-first.<\/strong> They&#8217;re asking &#8220;what can we automate?&#8221; before &#8220;who should we hire?&#8221; for every new initiative.<\/li>\n<li><strong>They&#8217;re brutally efficient.<\/strong> They&#8217;re cutting anything that doesn&#8217;t directly contribute to growth and doubling down on what works.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>The Bottom Line<\/h2>\n<p>Marketing budgets may have flatlined, but marketing impact doesn&#8217;t have to. The CMOs who are winning in this new environment aren&#8217;t waiting for bigger budgets\u2014they&#8217;re building better operations.<\/p>\n<p>The productivity revolution in marketing is here. The question isn&#8217;t whether your budget will grow next year (it probably won&#8217;t). The question is whether you&#8217;ll join the 41% of top-performing CMOs who are using data and AI to squeeze exponentially more value from every dollar spent.<\/p>\n<p>Because while budgets have stagnated, customer expectations haven&#8217;t. The bar keeps rising, and the most productive marketing teams will be the ones still standing when the music stops.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"SaaS + AI: It\u2019s Time to Move Much Faster with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4IV9luOb-Xs?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/www.saastr.com\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The latest Gartner CMO Spend Survey dropped some sobering news: marketing budgets remain stuck at 7.7% of company revenue for the second year running. And it&#8217;s not just you.\u00a0 Marketing is getting &#8230; harder: 87% of CMOs experienced campaign performance issues in the last 12 months, with 45% reporting they sometimes, often, or always had&#8230; <br \/><a class=\"more-link fade\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/cmo-budgets-are-flat-for-3-years-but-99-of-cmos-say-gen-ai-is-a-top-priority\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":313485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[]},"categories":[24898,31,24987],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-313484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai","category-blog-posts","category-saastr-ai"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2025-cmo-spend-2-scaled.png?fit=1000%2C483&quality=70&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5oib2-1jyc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/flat.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313484"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":313488,"href":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313484\/revisions\/313488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saastr.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}