• by Todd Wasserman , May 24, 2023

Budgets are a sensitive subject for CMOs, according to Gartner’s 2023 CMO Spend and Strategy Survey.

Most --71% -- don’t believe they have the budget they need to carry out their strategy this year. And 75% feel pressure to do more with less. Eighty-six percent say they must enact changes to achieve sustainable growth.

“Suppressed budgets, increasing costs and lower productivity are squeezing CMOs’ spending power,” Ewan McIntyre, Gartner’s chief of research and vice president,  said in a press release. “As volatility becomes the new normal, many CMOs are pricing disruption into their 2023 plans.”

During this time of economic instability, 22% of respondents expect threats of a recession to negatively impact marketing investment, according to the report. Some 63% of respondents say the top reason for shifting marketing strategy is the increase of costs, followed by reductions in marketing budgets and shifting marketing budgets (49%) and shifting investment areas because of shifted business priorities (48 %).

The survey also revealed that marketing budgets made up 9.1% of company revenue in 2023, compared with the 9.5% reported in 2022.

The annual report is based on responses from 410 CMOs and marketers, with most reporting annual revenue of more than $1 billion.