Observed Signal · Aug 21, 2026 · Research Report · Source: https://martech.org/feed/ · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
B2B Marketers Lack Trust in Measurement Data
A new 10Fold study of 400 marketing and communications professionals across the U.S., U.K., France and Germany finds less than half (49%) are very confident in the accuracy and completeness of the data that informs B2B marketing budgets. Measurement still heavily influences budgeting across channels (e.g., paid social, paid media, owned content), but teams struggle to integrate data: only 35% have fully integrated reporting and 37% still use manual spreadsheets. The study also finds growing executive attention to downstream business outcomes and emerging AI-related metrics such as AI visibility and LLM citation tracking, though connecting those signals to revenue remains difficult.
Study highlights widespread measurement gaps, limited data integration, and the rise of AI-related metrics — issues that affect MarTech tool demand, attribution practices, and budget allocation decisions across B2B marketing.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Only 49% of respondents are very confident in the accuracy and completeness of their measurement data.
- The study surveyed 400 people responsible for marketing and communications in the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany.
- Measurement influences strategy or budgets for 88% of respondents in paid social, 87% in paid media and digital, and 85% in owned content.
- Only 35% of respondents have fully integrated reporting across earned media, paid social, content, and digital channels; 37% still use manual spreadsheets.
- 54% measure AI search visibility or brand citations in AI-generated content; 42% track the number of LLM prompts citing their brand’s media coverage.
Connected Companies & Entities
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Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Marketers Lose Trust in Measurement Amid Conflicting Signals
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Report: Marketing Measurement Fails Amid Fragmentation
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AI Deepens Marketing's Measurement Paradox, Kantar Finds
At The Drum Live, measurement experts discussed a paradox: marketers have more data than ever, yet confidence in using it is declining. Kantar previewed research showing declining confidence among 800 senior marketers globally, accelerating over the past year. AI is both a contributor and potential solution, but panelists warned that AI only works as well as the data it's fed. Fragmentation and self-serving platform metrics exacerbate distrust. The consensus favors incrementality and outcome-based measurement over last-touch attribution and surface metrics. Organizational alignment on success definitions is critical. The shift also highlights the short-term vs. long-term balance, with confidence in this balance dropped from 60% to 50% in a year. Preparing measurement systems with proper data taxonomy and C-suite ownership is essential for AI readiness.
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