Pressure increasing for marketing and creative professionals to show ROI; tools like AI and project management platforms increase agility and help demonstrate value

Today, Smartsheet, the AI-enhanced enterprise-grade work management platform, announced the release of its 2025 Pulse of Marketing Report. This comprehensive study aggregates insights from more than 1,200 marketing and creative professionals across the United States, and crystalizes the increasing need for marketing teams to show measurable business impact and the critical role of technology in showcasing value.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250123481953/en/

Smartsheet Pulse of Marketing Report (Graphic: Business Wire)

"Today’s marketing and creative teams often struggle to provide tangible evidence of their strategic value and business impact,” said John Newall, SVP, Marketing, Smartsheet. “The Pulse of Marketing Report underscores the importance of leveraging the right tools and technologies, such as AI and collaborative work management platforms, to help marketing and creative teams stay aligned regardless of project complexity or workforce distribution. It also emphasizes how critical it is to use these same technologies to provide a richer, more accurate view of these teams’ influence on business outcomes and profitability.”

Key insights from the report include:

1. Marketers and creatives are under pressure to demonstrate business impact

  • Over 80% of professionals surveyed feel increased pressure to prove the business impact of their work, with 60% noting this pressure has intensified over the past year.
  • More than three-quarters (78%) of respondents feel they must prove they add value to their organizations more than peers in other departments or roles.
  • Approximately half (51%) of survey respondents believe marketing teams are viewed as strategic partners within their organizations, underscoring the need for better visibility and reporting.

2. Marketers struggle to demonstrate their personal business impact

  • Nearly all (94%) marketing and creative professionals surveyed face challenges when demonstrating the business impact of their work.
  • Nearly all respondents (95%) face challenges in making business decisions, with over half (53%) lacking visibility into necessary information.
  • The report shows that access to high-quality data significantly boosts team efficacy and reputation. A strong correlation (57%) exists between employees who always have the right information and those who see the marketing team as a strategic partner.

3. Marketing teams want access to better tools

  • The report highlights the need for better tools and standardized processes, with 87% of professionals believing improved technology would enhance efficiency and ability to show impact.
  • Nearly 72% of respondents switch between tools, losing an average of 7.3 hours per week, making it hard to prove their impact.
  • Smartsheet research shows AI can boost productivity, with marketing and creative professionals saving over nine hours per week on average. Most (84%) save about five or more hours weekly using AI, including 30% who save over 10 hours.

“As a career marketer, I can attest to the increasing pressure to show ROI,” said Courtney Finger, Principal, Product Marketing Operations, Conga. “Work management tools like Smartsheet have empowered us to create visibility into the critical results our marketing team drives. The platform has been a game-changer, streamlining our project management processes and enhancing collaboration. By leveraging these tools, we can clearly demonstrate ROI through real-time data and analytics, ensuring every decision is backed by solid evidence and measurable outcomes."

Harnessing Hurdles

The research uncovered several strategies that could help marketers and creatives show their value, including:

  • Proving impact is challenging, but technology can help. Technology, particularly AI and project management tools, offers a solution by streamlining workflows, improving efficiency and enabling teams to demonstrate their strategic value better.
  • Standardized processes and visibility are crucial. Improved processes and visibility into project and campaign data enable better decision-making and make it easier to demonstrate impact.

To learn more about this research and connect with other marketing and creative professionals, Smartsheet will sponsor a webinar with AdWeek on Tuesday, January 28 at 1 p.m. ET. To attend, register here.

To read the Smartsheet 2025 Pulse of Marketing Report, click here.

About Smartsheet

Smartsheet is the modern enterprise work management platform trusted by millions of people at companies across the globe, including over 85% of the 2024 Fortune 500 companies. The category pioneer and market leader, Smartsheet delivers powerful solutions fueling performance and driving the next wave of innovation. Visit www.smartsheet.com to learn more.

Report Methodology

Marketing and creative professionals were invited to participate in an online survey. A total of 1,242 qualified individuals with job responsibilities for marketing, creative or creative operations at companies with more than 200 employees in the United States completed the survey. Participants included a mix of ages, job levels, job functions, company sizes and industries. The survey was fielded in September 2024.

Media Contact Lisa Henthorn pr@smartsheet.com

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