Now that we’re well into the second half of the year, I wanted to share some insights into how B2B marketing leaders are feeling about the state of their businesses and the profession. After Q2, we polled senior decision-makers in our B2B marketing online community, and their responses tell a nuanced story. Business performance has remained more or less resilient through the first half of 2026, but confidence has softened, budgets have tightened, teams are undergoing a lot of change, and economic uncertainty persists. At the same time, marketing leaders see some encouraging signs that their strategic influence may be growing.

Business Performance Is Holding Up, But Marketing Resources Are Under Pressure

Year to date, community members reported their companies exceeded top-line revenue goals by an average of 3%. Even so, their outlook for the full year became more cautious with average annual growth expectations declining from 5% after Q1 to 3% after Q2. This suggests that current revenue performance remains relatively resilient, even as confidence about the future softens.

Marketing budgets are also showing more downside than upside at midyear. By the end of Q2, 21% of B2B marketing decision-makers shared that their budgets had decreased from the levels originally set at the start of the year, compared with only 10% who reported an increase. The remaining 69% said their budgets had stayed about the same. While stability was most common, it’s important to note reductions were twice as prevalent as increases.

The workforce findings point to even greater instability. Thirty-four percent reported that marketing headcount decreased in Q2, including 16% who experienced a major round of layoffs. Beyond job reductions, 43% said their marketing department had been significantly restructured, and 21% reported that their company had appointed a new marketing leader. Taken together, these changes suggest that many marketing organizations are being reshaped at the same time as they are being asked to navigate an uncertain business environment.

Economic Uncertainty Is Baseline

Views of the economy changed little from earlier in the year. At the end of Q2, a slight majority of respondents, 54%, described the global economic environment as poor, while 31% said conditions were specifically poor in their industry. Their outlook for Q3 offers little expectation of relief, though, with 34% anticipating global economic conditions will actually worsen, 51% expecting them to stay the same, and only 15% expecting an improvement.

Marketing’s Influence Is Growing But Recognition Lags

Sentiment about the marketing profession was more encouraging. Only 25% said it was a bad time to work in marketing, down from 35% earlier in the year. Respondents also saw marketing gaining more strategic influence. Forty-eight percent of community members said marketing’s contribution to their company’s strategic direction had increased, while just 10% said it had decreased. Yet greater influence has not fully translated into recognition, with 51% still saying that marketing’s contribution to the business is underestimated.

To conclude, B2B marketing leaders may be gaining a stronger voice, but they are being asked to deliver amid tighter resources and persistent uncertainty. The opportunity is to turn growing influence into stronger outcomes that will enable greater recognition of marketing’s contribution. And that will require connecting priorities and investments more directly to the business outcomes that matter most, not only for the rest of 2026 but in the plans for 2027.

 

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