UK B2B Marketers Face Critical Sales-Marketing Disconnect as Late-Funnel Friction Hits New High

UK B2B marketers are facing a pivotal moment as new data reveals a widening gap between growing budgets and declining pipeline performance. According to the 2025 State of B2B Pipeline Growth Report, released today by Pipeline360, late-funnel friction is emerging as a critical weak spot. The research warns that unless marketing and sales functions realign around today’s buyer behaviour, UK teams risk falling behind global competitors.

Despite 42% of UK and European marketers reporting increased marketing budgets in 2025, only 12% consider their current strategy to be 'exceptional.' Worryingly, more than half (52%) admit they are making only limited progress toward their pipeline goals. The research, based on a global survey of 534 B2B revenue marketers, highlights that this disconnect is not due to a lack of ambition or awareness - but a fundamental misalignment between how teams are structured and how today’s B2B buyers actually make purchasing decisions.

Late-funnel performance is emerging as the most pressing challenge for UK marketers. Thirty-eight percent of respondents identified closing deals and lead qualification as their top barriers, while 34% struggle with lead nurturing—precisely at the point where sales and marketing teams traditionally pass the baton. This bottleneck highlights the limitations of legacy, siloed structures in a world where buyers are increasingly committee-driven and self-directed.

Commenting on the findings, Deb Wolf, CMO at Dataminr, said, “The way we define pipelines is changing. It used to be very straight-line based - a lead became an inquiry, became a sales-qualified lead, became an opportunity. We know that just isn't how buyers are buying anymore. They're buying so much more in committee. You can't single-thread these deals anymore.”

AI and data-driven personalisation are reshaping how UK marketers approach their strategy. Over half (52%) of UK and European respondents say that personalisation is the most important factor in improving lead nurturing effectiveness. Additionally, 36% are now using generative AI to create and optimise content, particularly in high-volume areas like email and campaign development. While promising, these trends also highlight the need for greater integration and education to fully unlock AI’s potential.

At the same time, the research shows that while UK marketers are investing in content strategy, they are not yet seeing consistent returns. Over half (56%) of UK and European marketers view content personalisation as a major opportunity to drive effectiveness—significantly higher than their US counterparts (47%). However, many UK teams remain in the early stages of implementation, with 56% describing their tech stacks as either “limited” or “disorganised.” This lack of infrastructure is making it harder to scale personalised programmes, optimise the buyer journey, and demonstrate impact to internal stakeholders.

Elizabeth D’Arcy-Potts, managing director - commercial, EMEA and APJ at Pipeline360 believes these findings are a wake-up call for marketing leaders. “Amid rising economic and performance pressures, our survey data shows that B2B marketers are prioritising outcomes that drive customer retention, growth, and net new acquisition - not simply adding more tools to their tech stack. Marketing today is inherently performance-driven, and this shift underscores the need for a smarter and more streamlined approach to pipeline growth and revenue generation.”

The report also reveals a sharp contrast between high-performing marketing teams and those struggling to keep pace. High performers are far more likely to report strong capabilities across key areas - from data utilisation and lead nurturing to content quality and sales-marketing alignment. For example, 79% of high performers report being excellent at handling data, compared to just 14% of low performers. 75% of high performers report strong sales-marketing alignment, while only 24% of low performers say the same.

This performance gap suggests that success in today’s market isn’t just about working harder - it’s about working smarter. High-performing teams are replacing outdated models with collaborative revenue structures, co-owning the full buyer journey, and aligning around shared metrics and outcomes.

“Without the right support, these prolonged cycles translate to wasted marketing efforts, missed opportunities, and increased pressure to deliver results,” added Elizabeth. “These insights underscore the need for a smarter, more integrated approach. At Pipeline360, we're committed to helping our customers overcome these challenges with seamless, data-driven solutions and services that eliminate roadblocks, streamline operations, and drive measurable outcomes.”