Madison Logic/Harris Poll: Half of Marketers Are Guessing on What Drives Purchasing Decisions Today

Key Takeaways

• Nearly half of marketers (48%) admit they’re guessing which activities actually drive purchasing decisions, even as proving ROI tops their list of concerns.
• The industry is pivoting from creativity-first campaigns to performance-driven strategies, with 90% of marketers agreeing that anyone who can’t show business impact will struggle to defend their budget.

As artificial intelligence (AI) disruption, economic pressure, and audience fragmentation continue to reshape the B2B advertising industry, a new survey from Madison Logic finds uncertainty for nearly half of marketing professionals, who admit they often feel they are ‘guessing’ which marketing activities are driving consumer purchasing decisions.

The survey, released today and conducted by The Harris Poll of more than 300 U.S. marketing, advertising, communications, and social media decision-makers, finds that 84% say modern marketing is no longer just about creative assets. Their top concern is the ability to prove ROI— yet 48% admit they often feel they are “guessing” which marketing activities are driving consumer purchasing decisions.

As AI accelerates content saturation and marketers face mounting pressure to do more with less, the findings point to a broader shift away from traditional creativity-first marketing and toward more measurable, performance-driven strategies.

Why B2B Marketers Are Rethinking What Drives Results

Keith Turco, CEO of Madison Logic, states that as AI has accelerated the pace of change, it is making marketers rethink what’s actually driving results. Turco’s answer isn’t to guess faster; it’s to use data, intent, and conversion insights to build smarter programs.

“Our industry is going through a significant reset…. The teams that win will be the ones that take the guesswork out of decision-making,” said Turco in an interview with DemandGenReport.com. “The brands and agencies that win will be the ones that can connect data, intent, and pipeline impact in real time. The truth is, marketers are guessing more than they want to admit.

“When ROI is the standard everyone is being held to, guessing on channel mix and performance is a real problem. That’s why access to data and visibility matters more than ever.”

The Shift From Creativity-First to Performance Marketing

The poll found that nearly eight in 10 marketers said modern marketing is moving away from a focus on consumer-style creativity toward an era of driven by performance-first strategies. Additionally, 90% believe marketers who cannot clearly demonstrate business impact will struggle to justify budgets in the future.

“The market is telling us that performance and accountability now have to lead the conversation,” said Turco. “Everything has to be measured now, because marketers are being asked to do more with less every single quarter. You can’t afford to rely on assumptions when budgets are under pressure and every dollar has to show impact. Performance starts with understanding what’s working, what’s not, and where to optimize.”

The poll comes as research from Deloitte has similarly found that organizations are rapidly shifting from AI experimentation toward measurable business execution as pressure mounts to prove ROI and operational impact. Still, marketers are not abandoning creativity altogether. More than nine in 10 (91%) said modern marketing success requires treating data precision and human storytelling as equally essential to the strategy, signaling that the future of advertising will require both creative instinct and measurable execution.

Data-Driven Marketing and Visibility Into Fragmented Buying Journeys

The Madison Logic/Harris Poll revealed that gaining visibility into increasingly fragmented buying journeys has become a major business priority, with 84% saying getting better visibility into how buying groups interact across multiple channels will be a key business priority over the next 12 months. Social media (87%), display advertising (50%), and audio (31%) emerged as leading investment channels for driving pipeline conversion as well.

“Buying groups are not one size fits all,” stressed Turco. “The researcher, the influencer, and the decision-maker all engage differently, consume different content, and respond to different channels. If you treat them the same, you’re going to miss the opportunity to move the full group toward a decision.”

Turco noted that the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) has similarly highlighted how advertisers are increasingly prioritizing measurable performance, cost efficiency, and accountability as AI rapidly reshapes the advertising industry.

“Today, being “geeky” about intent data is the only way to be effective and stand out to buyers,” added Turco. “The future belongs to marketers who understand performance, data, attribution, and how to turn insights into action. Data is no longer sitting in the background of marketing strategy. It is the strategy.”