Top 5 Takeaways
- Retention is the new growth strategy as CMOs prioritize loyalty over lead generation.
- Strategic thinking wins when vendors connect technology to business outcomes.
- Simplification matters as CMOs prefer fewer, better-integrated tools.
- Proof beats promise with ROI expected early in the sales cycle.
- Messaging must mirror boardroom language by focusing on revenue, not features.
In 2025, CMOs face growing pressure to tie marketing to business impact, reduce churn, and contribute directly to revenue. Yet most tech stacks are underdelivering. In fact, only 21% of marketing leaders are confident their current stack will meet customer expectations by 2025.
That disconnect is your opportunity.
This blog breaks down the martech trends that matter most in 2025 and shows how vendors can align messaging, positioning, and outreach to land and expand. You’ll learn:
- How loyalty is outpacing lead gen.
- Why CMOs are rethinking how they evaluate tech partners.
- What your team can do today to win in a leaner, smarter martech ecosystem.
4 Martech Trends That Reveal What CMOs Want from Vendors
Clear priorities are guiding how CMOs evaluate martech and adtech partners in 2025. These trends reflect a shift toward performance, simplification, and strategic alignment. Each one points to the criteria vendors must meet to earn credibility, stay relevant in the martech ecosystem, and drive meaningful pipeline growth.
1. CMOs are replacing lead gen with loyalty
The most pivotal shift in the martech industry is how success is being measured. Retention is overtaking acquisition as the primary focus of marketing strategy. CMOs are reallocating spend from high-volume lead generation to lifecycle efforts that increase lifetime value (LTV) and reduce churn.
According to Forrester, acquisition budgets are being trimmed in favor of loyalty and engagement. This is a redefinition of value. Why this trend matters:
- A 1% drop in churn can increase revenue by up to 7%.
- Lifecycle marketing, engagement automation, and CX optimization tools are moving from “nice-to-have” to “must-have.”
- Vendors who support full-funnel strategies (from acquisition to retention) are winning longer, more strategic contracts.
This signals a call for the martech industry to evolve from lead-driven tactics to loyalty-fueled growth. Sellers who align their platforms with long-term customer value—and show how they reduce churn—are meeting CMOs where their priorities are shifting.
2. CMOs want strategic partners
CMOs aren’t buying features. They’re buying foresight. In a space flooded with platforms promising automation, personalization, and real-time insights, differentiation doesn’t come from product specs—it comes from strategic relevance. The most compelling martech trends in 2025 show that CMOs prioritize vendors who can bring thinking to the table, not just tools.
They’re looking for partners who:
- Deliver market perspective and vertical fluency: CMOs want partners who understand the challenges unique to their category, whether regulated industries, B2C at scale, or high-growth DTC, and can frame solutions within those realities.
- Align to strategic goals—not just tactical needs: It’s no longer enough to “plug in” and support a channel or campaign. Martech vendors must show how they contribute to revenue growth, customer retention, or operational efficiency at the business level.
- Offer actionable insights tailored to the CMO’s business: Leading with use cases, competitor benchmarks, and data-backed trends that speak to their challenges demonstrates readiness for an executive-level partnership.
To break through, martech sellers must demonstrate value from the first interaction. Outreach needs to feel less like a product pitch and more like the beginning of a boardroom conversation. That means translating features into business impact—and doing it with authority.
3. CMOs want fewer, better-integrated martech tools
One of the defining martech trends of 2025 is ecosystem consolidation. Years of unchecked platform proliferation have created bloated environments that strain internal teams and stall performance. CMOs are now focused on simplifying their martech ecosystems, and only vendors that support interoperability and have a cross-functional impact are making the cut.
The vendors’ CMOs prioritize those that:
- Eliminate redundancies and reduce tech debt: CMOs are under pressure to maximize the ROI of every tool. If your solution overlaps with existing functionality—or requires heavy internal lift—it’s unlikely to make it past procurement.
- Bridge silos across marketing, CX, and revenue teams: Tools that enable unified data flows and shared visibility across departments support the broader shift toward full-funnel accountability.
- Strengthen operational efficiency and performance measurement: A well-integrated tool not only saves time but enhances reporting clarity, accelerating decision-making and proving impact.
With half of CMOs planning to consolidate their martech stacks this year, every conversation is a competition, not just against category peers, but against the idea of not buying at all. To stay competitive, vendors must position their platform as the connective tissue in a leaner, higher-performing stack.
Pro tip: Discover how martech teams are winning with sharper positioning in ‘The Advantage of Outsourcing New Business for Adtech.’
4. CMOs want proof of performance
The CMO’s role has shifted from brand guardian to revenue driver, and their vendor expectations have followed suit. Martech and adtech partners are now expected to validate their value with performance data, not promises. The martech industry in 2025 is being shaped by a new standard: if it doesn’t contribute to measurable business outcomes, it’s not part of the plan.
The partners that CMOs trust most:
- Demonstrate real-world ROI early in the sales cycle: Whether it’s increasing LTV, improving retention, or reducing CAC, proof must show up before the first contract, backed by benchmarks and results from comparable businesses.
- Tie features to strategic business metrics: It’s not enough to say what your platform does. CMOs want to know how those capabilities lead to pipeline acceleration, revenue growth, or cost savings.
- Bring reporting clarity, not complexity: CMOs need partners who make impact easy to communicate up the chain, not tools that add layers of interpretation or manual analysis.
According to PwC and Forrester, demonstrating ROI is the top challenge for CMOs in 2025. If your platform doesn’t make that easier, it won’t survive their evaluation process.
How to Message Like a 2025-Ready Martech Partner
Now that we’ve broken down the buying mindset, it’s time to translate that understanding into messaging that actually lands. Today, precise (not flashy) pitches win. CMOs are scanning fast, prioritizing alignment over novelty, and rewarding vendors who speak directly to their business objectives.
Getting in the door takes more than product differentiation. It requires precision, context, and language that respects the weight of a CMO’s mandate. Here’s how martech sellers can cut through the noise and connect with relevance.
1. Lead with insight-led outreach
Executive engagement starts long before a meeting is booked. CMOs are watching for vendors who show early signs of strategic clarity. Strong outreach:
- Leads with intelligence (not intent): Share a POV that reflects current category dynamics, recent funding, product shifts, or competitive threats.
- Prioritizes signal (not volume): Targeted messaging that addresses their world is far more potent than a blast approach.
- Positions you as a resource (not a pitch): CMOs respond to partners who help them stay ahead of the curve.
Thoughtful, personalized outreach signals strategic potential and sets the tone for a higher-level conversation.
2. Show vertical proof
In a market where every platform claims to drive efficiency, CMOs are relying on contextual evidence to separate noise from value. Templated case studies won’t cut it. Relevance is everything. To make your proof points resonate:
- Use category-specific stories with metrics that map to their revenue model.
- Highlight benchmarks and lift, percentage gains, cost savings, or conversion rates tied to peer companies.
- Anchor your narrative in business outcomes and actual results like sales velocity or customer lifetime value.
CMOs are buying what it’s proven to do in an environment like theirs.
3. Speak in revenue terms instead of marketing jargon
The fastest way to lose executive attention is to speak in terms they have to interpret. The CMO’s seat at the table is increasingly tied to revenue performance, so your language must reflect their KPIs. Instead of talking about:
- “Enhanced engagement,” talk about funnel conversion rates.
- “Audience activation,” talk about the cost per opportunity.
- “Customer experience,” talk about LTV improvement.
Strong martech trends messaging translates complex capabilities into clear value. When your pitch mirrors how a CMO presents in a boardroom, you’ve crossed the credibility threshold.
Final Thoughts: What CMOs Want from Martech Partners in 2025
CMOs are making fewer bets and holding every partner to a higher standard. To stay relevant in today’s martech industry, vendors must evolve from product providers to performance partners. The new baseline is strategic alignment, full-funnel integration, and impact you can prove.
To earn a place in the modern martech ecosystem, vendors must:
- Show strategic thinking from the first touchpoint.
- Align to retention-driven pipeline growth.
- Back every claim with data that connects to revenue.
- Respond to the four martech trends shaping how CMOs buy in 2025.
At Catapult, we help adtech and martech companies translate these expectations into outreach, messaging, and positioning that actually moves pipeline. If your team needs to connect with CMOs earlier, prove value faster, and close with confidence, we’ll get you there.
