McKinsey Report Reveals CMOs Struggle to Demonstrate Martech Investment Returns
NEW YORK – October 22, 2025 – A new study from McKinsey & Company has revealed a critical challenge facing Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs): the inability to definitively measure the return on investment (ROI) of their marketing technology (martech) stacks. The report, published today, indicates that a critically important portion of martech spending isn’t linked to quantifiable business outcomes, raising concerns about wasted resources and hindering strategic decision-making.
The findings arrive at a pivotal moment as companies continue to aggressively invest in martech solutions – tools designed to automate and optimize marketing efforts. While intended to drive efficiency and growth, these complex systems often lack clear attribution models, making it difficult for CMOs to justify expenditures to executive leadership and demonstrate concrete value. This lack of accountability impacts budgets, perhaps slowing innovation and hindering marketing’s contribution to overall revenue.
According to the McKinsey research, a primary obstacle is the proliferation of disparate martech tools, frequently enough operating in silos. This fragmentation complicates data integration and analysis, making it challenging to establish a holistic view of marketing performance. The study highlights that many organizations possess an overwhelming number of martech solutions-averaging over 80-yet struggle to effectively utilize them due to integration issues and a lack of skilled personnel.
The report emphasizes the need for CMOs to prioritize a more strategic approach to martech investment, focusing on solutions that directly align with key business objectives and can be demonstrably linked to revenue generation. This includes implementing robust data governance frameworks, investing in analytics capabilities, and fostering collaboration between marketing, IT, and finance teams. Failure to address these challenges, McKinsey warns, could result in continued inefficiencies and a diminished role for marketing within the association.
