This is the post body content.
B2B marketing activity expanded modestly in Q3 2025 as performance to revenue plans lagged.
Spend is edging up where results are clearest: software tied to AI and data, selective paid channels, and targeted agency support.
Teams are mostly holding or lightly adding headcount. Marketing-sourced pipeline continues to come from human contact, led by in-person events, and high-intent discovery.
The one drag on the composite is performance-to-plan, which sits below 50 as more B2B marketing leaders report missing their goals than hitting them.
Ad budgets are expanding but remain selective, flowing into LinkedIn and high-intent search to scale what’s already working, while broad programs get trimmed or pushed into 2026.
Software is the clearest uptrend: teams add AI licenses, data plumbing, and on-site conversion tools, paid for by consolidating overlapping or legacy platforms. Headcount is steady-positive as 31% plan to add roles, 15% expect cuts, while external help ticks up as more teams lean on agencies and fractionals for specialized work.
The net effect: disciplined expansion. Spend flows to measurable channels and AI-enabled execution, while nonessential tools and campaigns are cut.
Performance finished mixed and slightly soft. About 35% are on plan, ~27% are ahead, and ~38% are behind. That puts the performance sub-index in the mid-40s (≈44), well below the 50 “no-change” line making this the one component that drags on the composite index for Q4.
In short, growth is selective, not broad-based. Teams on plan are funding the few channels and tools that convert; teams behind plan are trimming low-ROI programs and consolidating legacy tools to free budget for AI/data and on-site conversion.
Expect a cautious posture until new-year targets reset.
Headcount plans are stable-positive. 31% expect to add FTEs, 54% hold flat, 15% reduce; an expansionary reading, but targeted.
Our survey data suggests a skew to roles that unlock productivity: AI/data, web conversion, and lifecycle ops. Most teams keep the org lean and flex with specialists via agencies or fractionals when they need surge capacity.
With more marketing teams below plan than above, leaders are cautious about permanent cost and demand clear ROI before opening reqs.
Expect selective hires in Q4 and heading into 2026 alongside stack modernization and agency support. A hiring spree seems unlikely.
Paid budgets tilt positive but stay selective as 44% plan to increase spend this quarter, 31% hold flat, 25% cut.
The money concentrates where intent is measurable: LinkedIn and high-intent search top the “bet” list across performers, with some lift from paid events.
Teams on or above plan are more likely to lean in; those behind plan mostly hold or reallocate, which echoes our notes that better performers also push spend and external help.
Cuts cluster where ROI slipped or seasonality bites. Marketers cite AI Overviews/zero-click compressing search visibility, high LinkedIn CPMs, and low-intent content syndication as the main reasons to throttle back, while events see a seasonal cut now that the main season is over.
Software budgets continue their uptrend, as 33.5% plan to increase, 52.0% hold flat, 14.5% cut. Medium-sized firms (50-199 FTE) are the most likely to lift spend; enterprises are mostly flat; mid-market shows a barbell (more increases and more cuts).
What teams actually buy mirrors that story. Among those increasing, about 49% cite AI/LLM & agents, 39% call out on-site conversion & web, and 21% point to data & analytics/attribution; ABM/intent (16%) and CRM/lifecycle (15%) follow.
Use of agencies, consultants, and fractionals is rising modestly; about a third plan increases while nearly half hold steady, pointing to targeted, specialist use rather than a broad surge.
As noted earlier, the majority of teams are holding headcount flat, so they’re adding external or specialist capacity where it moves the needle.
Looking deeper: VC-backed firms and teams slightly above or slightly below plan are the most likely to add external support; on-plan teams mostly hold steady. Public companies are the most likely to trim agency use.
Smaller companies show the highest propensity to increase (a flexible alternative to adding FTEs); those cutting FTEs are also likelier to trim agencies.
[Q4 priorities] Pipeline & demand generation is the top theme (more than half of marketing leaders mention it), with AI/agents and brand/positioning close behind. By company size, emphasis shifts. Enterprise leans hardest into AI adoption, slightly ahead of pipeline; brand resets, AEO/SEO and website/optimization round out the stack. Mid-Market is the most pipeline-centric, followed by brand/positioning and then ramping AI.
[Ad spend] Companies at/above their revenue plan are investing heavier into LinkedIn Ads and retargeting, while those behind plan are cutting Google Search, Meta Ads and YouTube.
[Software spend] The smaller the company, the more likely they’re increasing spend next quarter, with 42.5% of medium companies reporting increases, 32.8% of mid-market and 27.3% enterprise.
[Software cuts] Platforms and investments getting cut include those seen as low-ROI or redundant, such as account-based marketing and intent platforms, seat-based data and enrichment tools, and under-used or standalone point solutions. Many participants noted AI investments to replace these.
The Wynter Index is a quarterly diffusion gauge of B2B marketing activity, designed to give senior leaders, vendors and other interested parties a clean view of momentum in spend, hiring, and execution across B2B SaaS. Data is gathered using a Wynter survey of 200 B2B marketing leaders.
How the Wynter Index is calculated
The Wynter Index headline number is the equal-weighted average of the five core components: performance to revenue plan, FTE headcount change, paid advertising change, software investment change, and agency/consultant spend change.
The Index and each sub-index is a diffusion score rounded to 1 decimal with 50 representing no change. Note that diffusion measures breadth of change, not size. 52-55 = mild expansion; >55 = solid expansion; <48 = contraction.
Field window and participant composition
This survey was conducted in October 2025 with a participant panel of 200 B2B SaaS marketing leaders based in the United States and Canada.
(n = 200; CMO 52, VP/SVP 107, Sr. Director/Director/Head of 41)
Segment definitions
“Medium” refers to companies with 51-199 employees; “Mid-market” to companies with 200-999 employees; “Enterprise” to 1000+ employees.
Seasonal adjustment
The Wynter Index is not seasonally-adjusted. We will review this after ≥8 waves.
Revisions and adjustments
We correct material errors and may restate prior readings if methods change. Any revisions or changes will be noted first at wynter.com/index and in subsequent Wynter Index reports.
Data access, licensing and citation
Wynter Index snapshot (headline + sub-indices), commentary and data are free for editorial use with attribution. Commercial use requires permission.
You can find current and past Wynter Index data, including all survey questions and participant responses, at wynter.com/index.
Press & analyst contacts
Please reach out by email at [email protected].
About Wynter
Wynter is the fast alternative to traditional B2B market research: an on-demand platform enabling professionals to quickly gather insights from verified target buyers. Wynter’s self-serve platform combines brand tracking, surveys, message testing, preference tests, and more, leveraging a panel of over 80,000 verified B2B decision-makers filterable by role, seniority, industry, location, and company size. Results are typically delivered within 48 hours, summarized into clear, actionable findings. Learn more at wynter.com.
Join the Wynter participant panel
Apply to join Wynter at wynter.com/participants/join.
You can view the entire question set and all 200 responses at Wynter here.
To get the full dataset in CSV or Markdown, tap "Download" at the top right.
.png)
.png)
