Only 49% of Leaders Can Explain Marketing ROI
New research finds that only half of marketing and finance leaders measure how marketing is driving business outcomes, and 71% believe AI-powered marketing tools prioritise short-term performance over long-term brand growth.
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Senior leaders overwhelmingly believe marketing drives growth.
But when it comes to explaining how that growth is measured and defending budget decisions in front of the board, that confidence begins to fade. What emerges is a quieter, more structural problem: not a lack of data, but a lack of conviction in what that data actually means.
Dashboards are full, reports are frequent, and AI tools are widely adopted. Yet when the conversation shifts from activity to accountability, many organisations find themselves without clear answers.
This is the gap highlighted in new research from Haus, which released findings from its Decision Confidence Index, revealing that only half (49%) of senior marketing and finance leaders can clearly explain their marketing measurement approach.
The findings suggest that while dashboards, data, and AI tools are abundant, many organisations lack the clarity needed to make confident investment decisions.
The result is a system where activity is visible, but financial accountability remains unclear, making it harder to confidently allocate budgets, defend investments, or commit to long-term growth strategies.
“Only half of leaders can clearly explain how they measure marketing performance to the board,” said Zach Epstein, CEO of Haus.
“Massive marketing budgets are being allocated based on methods that leaders themselves don’t fully trust. That uncertainty not only creates wasted spend, it drives cautious, short-term decisions that can limit long-term growth.”
While 90% of respondents believe marketing drives growth, 35% say more than 20% of their marketing budget is inefficiently allocated.
Many acknowledge they cannot confirm where that waste exists due to incomplete, conflicting, or unreliable measurement systems, creating real consequences for strategic planning and investment allocation.
Confidence Drops as Financial Stakes Rise
Confidence in marketing measurement appeared strong at a surface level, but weakened when tied to financial outcomes.
While many leaders felt assured in day-to-day reporting, fewer could confidently link marketing efforts to revenue impact, justify large-scale investments, or defend long-term spending decisions, exposing a gap between perceived understanding and real accountability at the highest levels.
Half of the respondents (50%) say they are very confident in their current measurement approach. But that confidence erodes in scenarios that most directly impact business outcomes:
- Only half (49%) say they measure what truly drives growth and business outcomes
- 51% admit they measure what is expected by leadership, highly visible, or easy to access
- More than 20% lack confidence when evaluating ROI for large-scale brand investments
These gaps reflect deeper inconsistencies with measurement infrastructure. Thirty-four percent cite reliability concerns as a primary limitation of their measurement approach, and one in three (33%) report conflicting data sources.
Measurement Gaps Are Shaping Strategic Decisions
The consequences extend beyond reporting. Creative experimentation and brand-building initiatives, two of the hardest marketing investments to measure with short-term metrics, are disproportionately exposed to measurement uncertainty.
While 81% say current measurement practices encourage creative risk-taking, nearly 3 in 4 (74%) report abandoning or scaling back a marketing initiative because they lacked confidence in how to measure its impact.
That uncertainty appears to be reinforcing short-term decision-making. Sixty-nine percent say they face pressure to deprioritise brand-building initiatives in favour of immediate performance and revenue targets, and only 40% say their current measurement tools make it much easier to take decisive action.
When measurement systems struggle to capture long-term value, organisations gravitate toward investments that deliver “easier” returns – that may or may not be incremental to the business.
Over time, that dynamic can shift capital away from strategic brand-building and innovation initiatives that generate durable growth.
In practice, measurement uncertainty is influencing not just how performance is reported, but which investments are approved, which ideas advance, and how confidently organisations commit to growth and brand-building strategies.
AI Is Accelerating Execution; But Not Necessarily Accountability
AI-powered tools are now deeply embedded in marketing operations. Most leaders report confidence in using AI, and nearly all believe AI tools drive incremental ROI. Yet confidence drops sharply when financial accountability enters the picture:
- Only half (51%) are very confident explaining AI-driven ROI to the board
- 71% believe current AI tools prioritise short-term performance over long-term brand growth
- 63% feel pressure to deliver more with fewer resources because of AI
While 78% of leaders are being pressured to integrate AI tools to drive performance, the findings suggest that adoption is outpacing clarity. Execution may be accelerating faster than organisations can confidently validate the financial impact.
The Takeaway
The gap exposed here is not about capability, but coherence.
Organisations have more tools, more data, and more automation than ever before, yet less shared confidence in what drives real business outcomes. Until measurement systems can clearly connect marketing activity to financial impact, uncertainty will continue to shape decisions in subtle but significant ways.
That uncertainty doesn’t just affect reporting; it reshapes strategy. It favours what is easy to measure over what matters, and short-term returns over long-term growth. So, closing that gap will require not more data, but better alignment between measurement, decision-making, and business value.
“AI is changing how marketing teams move,” Epstein added.
“But these tools learn from observed data, which creates a structural bias towards short-term, easy-to-measure metrics over what drives business value. Organisations that can’t connect marketing investment to real financial outcomes risk letting AI scale the wrong objectives.”
For organisations managing multimillion-dollar budgets under increased scrutiny, the findings suggest that perceived confidence in measurement may be masking deeper weaknesses — with real implications for capital allocation, strategic risk-taking, and long-term growth.
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