Marketing Financial Planning: 2023 Benchmark Report
Facing a variety of economic uncertainties, and heading into a potential recession, marketers are under pressure to adapt their financial plans and adjust to changing business priorities.
Many plan to increase their budget throughout 2023, investing in new technology and content, but some are concerned about budget cuts. How does your marketing financial planning strategy for 2023 hold up against peers?
One minute insights:
Ad spend is ranked as a top area marketers plan to both increase and decrease spend
Most marketers anticipate their marketing budgets to increase in 2023 compared to 2022
Increased costs associated with advertising is the top influence in marketing budget planning for 2023
Over half of marketers are looking to peer guidance when planning their 2023 budget
Overall, marketers are feeling optimistic about 2023, but recession worries loom
Most marketers expect an increase to their marketing budget in 2023, and many plan to increase investments in new marketing tools and content creation
Marketing respondents report their marketing spend will primarily increase in three key areas: new marketing tools (44%), ad spend (44%) and content marketing (41%) in 2023.
In which of the following areas do you plan to increase spend in 2023?
n = 100
Headcount 36% | Hiring freelancers 29% | Social media marketing 27% | Email marketing 26% | Customer relationship management (i.e. acquisition/retention) 22% | Event marketing 20% | Digital assessment 15% | Database security 15% | Database updates (i.e. cleaning, reducing silos, etc.) 14% | None of these 3% | Other (fill in) 0%
Note: May not add up to 100% due to rounding
Meanwhile, the top three selected areas marketers plan to decrease spend in 2023 are ad spend (38%), hiring freelancers (35%) and headcount (24%). Interestingly, ad spend was identified as both a key area for budget increases and decreases.
From the same list, in what areas are you planning to decrease spend in 2023? Select all that apply.
Event marketing 20% | Current marketing tools (i.e., maintenance/subscriptions) 19% | Social media marketing 13% | Database updates (i.e. cleaning, reducing silos, etc.) 12% | New content creation 11% | Database security 11% | Content marketing 9% | Customer relationship management (i.e. acquisition/retention) 8% | Digital assessment 8% | None of these 7% | Other 0%
n = 100
Overall, the vast majority of marketers (81%) report their 2023 marketing budget will increase compared to their 2022 budget. Just 11% of marketers expect their marketing budget to decrease.
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Question: Do you have any final thoughts to share on your financial planning for 2023?
It's critical to take a data-driven and scenario-based approach to forecasting and budgeting. This means leveraging historical data, market trends and key performance indicators to develop a range of possible outcomes and plan accordingly. It's also important to regularly monitor and adjust the plan as new information becomes available and market conditions change. Finally, building in flexibility and contingencies can help ensure resilience and agility in the face of unexpected events or disruptions.
Budget is always a difficult discussion, especially when investment in technology and new headcount will take time to show a positive impact.
Pressured by increasing ad costs and leadership concerns, marketers are leaning on peers and their CFOs for budget guidance
Nearly a quarter (24%) of respondents report their marketing budget is an even blend of strategic and tactical projects. However, more marketers lean toward a tactical prioritization (52%) overall.
Is your budget focused more on tactical or strategic projects?
n = 100
Content marketing is the function marketers are prioritizing highest in 2023. Product marketing and customer relationship were ranked the second and third most important budget priority respectively.
Rank the following based on budget priority, with the top being the function that gets first priority on budget decisions, and the bottom being the function that gets last priority:
n = 100
Marketing technology | Team management (i.e. hiring freelancers team growth, etc. | Digital presence assessment | Other (fill-in)
What factor is most influential to your financial planning for 2023?
Meanwhile, the top three selected influences on marketing financial planning for 2023 were increased advertising costs (19%), investor pressure (13%) and executive pressure (12%).
Board pressure 10% | The need to scale services 7% | Changes to consumer advertising laws (i.e. CCRA, CDPA, CPA, etc.) 7% | Changes to email marketing laws (i.e. CCPA, GDPR, etc.) 5% | Cybersecurity concerns 1% | None of these 3% | Sales Goals 1%
n = 100
What are your preferred resources for navigating financial planning? Select up to three.
As for preferred resources, the most frequently selected options among marketers are peer guidance (58%), their CFOs (44%) and research/advisory firms (33%).
None of these 5% | Other 2%*
*Other: Economy and shift in buyer spending, marketing and sales misalignment
n = 100
Question: Do you have any final thoughts to share on your financial planning for 2023?
Despite the potential recession, we have aggressive growth goals to achieve, so our financial planning is trying to support this.
Measuring ROI on spends will be critical for 2023.
Most marketers are feeling optimistic overall about their budget planning, but many are concerned about a recession
Overall, marketers are feeling somewhat or very optimistic about their budget planning. 61% are optimistic about overall ROI, 60% are optimistic about approval and 37% are optimistic about alignment with other departments. Most pessimism was directed towards ROI with 21% of marketers feeling somewhat or very pessimistic about it.
How optimistic or pessimistic are you regarding the following aspects of budget planning for 2023:
n=100
Key concerns among respondents, when financial planning for 2023, were a potential recession (55%), pressure to cut costs (49%) and inflation (46%).
What are your biggest concerns with financial planning for 2023? Select up to three.
Merger or acquisition 22% | Unforeseen disasters (e.g., pandemic, natural disaster, war etc.) 18% | None of these 1% | Other 3%
n=100
Question: Do you have any final thoughts to share on your financial planning for 2023?
Our financial plan for 2023 will be based on reliable data, sound assumptions and best practices. It will also be flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances and responsive enough to provide timely feedback and adjustments. Our plan will be communicated clearly and effectively to all stakeholders, employees, customers, suppliers, creditors, regulators, etc., and will be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure its relevance and accuracy.
Financial planning will be very challenging in 2023. With [a potential] recession, the focus will be on client retention and digital channels.
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Respondent Breakdown
