Key takeaways:
- Most B2B leaders say they understand what mature marketing looks like, but 95% still believe their current approach must evolve to keep pace with top brands.
- The report points to GTM misalignment, disconnected systems and weak measurement as key barriers to linking marketing activity to pipeline and revenue.
New research from Walker Sands released Aug. 25 finds while nearly all B2B leaders say their organization clearly understands what modern B2B marketing looks like, 95% still say their current marketing approach needs significant evolution to compete with the most advanced B2B and B2C brands, revealing a substantial divide between growth ambition and execution.
The substantial divide between growth ambition and execution is at the center of The 2026 B2B Growth Maturity Assessment, based on a survey of 200 U.S.-based senior marketing, sales, growth and business leaders working at B2B organizations generating more than $100 million in annual revenue. The report dives into the barriers preventing mid-market and enterprise brands from turning go-to-market (GTM) strategy into predictable business growth.
One of the topline findings is a limited ability to orchestrate marketing and sales efforts across the full buyer journey (29%) and difficulty aligning marketing, sales and business teams (28%) as the two most common internal challenges limiting organizational growth.
What Makes B2B Growth Barriers Hard to Spot?
The biggest barriers to B2B growth aren’t always obvious in isolation, said Erin Spanski, SVP, Strategy at Walker Sands.
“But when organizations look to align brand, demand and revenue, existing gaps start to reinforce fragmented decision-making, competing business goals and conflicting priorities across teams,” said Spanski in a statement. “Over time these disconnects make it harder for leaders to execute against a shared growth strategy, and easier for short-term revenue pressures to pull focus from opportunities that can drive sustainable growth and real business outcomes.”
How Does Short-Term Revenue Pressure Affect Long-Term Growth?
Among the most prevalent issues the report outlines includes disconnected systems, measurement gaps and limited cross-functional alignment between marketing, sales and business leadership.
These challenges carry greater stakes as expectations for immediate business results rise— 92% of B2B leaders agree they face increased pressure to deliver short-term revenue. Meanwhile, 89% say misalignment between marketing, sales and business leadership makes it harder to balance those short-term demands with long-term growth priorities.
When asked where they expect to increase investment most over the next year, B2B leaders ranked artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled marketing operations and automation first, and measurement frameworks that connect marketing activity to pipeline and revenue second. Additional highlights from The 2026 B2B Growth Maturity Assessment include:
- 48% of B2B leaders rate their organization’s level of growth maturity as high performing
- 53% strongly agree their marketing organization has reached a level of maturity that allows it to operate effectively at scale across an increasingly complex set of channels and touchpoints
- 56% are very confident their organization’s marketing approach is keeping pace with modern B2B buyer expectations
- 51% strongly agree their organization’s marketing measurement accurately reflects revenue impact
Why Is Marketing Held Accountable for Outcomes It Can’t Control?
The research reveals a disconnect between the business outcomes marketing is expected to deliver and the influence the function has over factors that determine those outcomes. Nearly nine out of 10 B2B leaders say marketing is expected to drive revenue outcomes without having full control over the levers that influence them, and 45% say executive leadership views marketing as a core driver of the company’s growth strategy.
This issue comes as 67% of marketing leaders surveyed struggle to understand which business outcomes their C-suite/executive team expect marketing to influence in the first place— 79% struggle to demonstrate the impact of their marketing activities on business success to company leaders.
“When marketing teams struggle to understand and demonstrate the impact of their work, it’s easy to focus on measurement as the problem. But our research suggests these challenges are symptoms of something bigger,” said Spanski. “B2B leaders across marketing, sales and executive teams must align GTM strategy and the systems that support it.”
How Can B2B Organizations Close the Growth Maturity Gap?
The authors of the report note these findings point to a broader B2B growth maturity issue: GTM strategy and the systems required to activate and improve it are too often disconnected. That makes it harder to coordinate execution, measure performance, and connect brand and demand activity to revenue.
Closing this gap requires B2B organizations to advance GTM strategy and systems as parts of the same GTM engine. As a result, organizations will see stronger alignment across teams, shared accountability, clearer coordination toward business outcomes and an increased ability to use performance insights to inform future growth decisions.
“Strategy without the right systems is difficult to scale and measure; systems without shared strategic direction generate activity without a clear connection to business outcomes,” said Spanski. “Sustainable growth requires both pieces to work as one with operationalization across the full buyer lifecycle.”
