Budgets Rise Faster Than KPIs for B2B Tech Marketers

An uncertain economic climate has not prevented most B2B tech marketers from seeing their budgets rise in 2024, according to a new report from communications and content agency 10Fold.

For The Marketing Spend Strategy: How Marketing Executives are Funding the Future to Hit KPIs, 10Fold enlisted Sapio Research to survey 450 marketing decision makers from tech companies in Canada, the US, the UK, France, Germany and Italy that reported revenue of $1 million (U.S. equivalent) or more.

About two-thirds (65 percent) of the respondents said that their budgets went up this year. Accounting for a large portion of those budget hikes: AI. Over half of the survey respondents (53 percent) said that automation or AI was the primary factor fueling the increases. In addition, nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of respondents who “embraced AI strategies” reported a moderate to significant increase in budget allocations.

However, more budget did not always translate into a stricter KPI framework. Less than half of respondents (49 percent) said their firm adopted more ambitious KPIs this year, and just 20 percent said that those new KPIs were “a lot more ambitious” (i.e. 20 percent or higher).

In general, the number of staffers at respondents’ companies kept pace with budget increases. 54 percent of respondents said they had increased their workforces over the past year, with just 15 percent reporting declines.

The desire for help from outside sources also rose. More than six out of 10 (61 percent) said they have spent more on agency budgets and outside contractors this year than they did last year.

Taking the lead for share of budget as regards lead generation was marketing tools (33 percent), websites (30 percent), and digital ads in national publications (20 percent). When it comes to social media, the most popular spending target is X (57 percent), followed by LinkedIn (41 percent).

From a country perspective, Germany saw lower budget increases and faced more aggressive KPIs than other regions, while US companies continued to secure diverse funding.

For most respondents, the picture remains positive for 2025. While 77 percent of them predict growth when full-year 2024 numbers come in, even more expect to see a rise next year.

“Given the economic conditions, the resilience and optimism among marketing leaders in B2B tech is both surprising and encouraging,” the report’s authors noted.