Marketers today are sitting on a mountain of data, but instead of clarity, they’re often met with chaos. Data from the 2025 Practitioner Survey reveals that while 59% of marketers check performance data daily, just 13% find proving ROI “very easy.” The problem isn’t a lack of metrics, it’s the fragmentation, inefficiency and outdated reporting tools that prevent marketers from turning data into action. Here’s what the survey revealed, and why fixing the analytics gap could be your brand’s biggest performance unlock this year.
The reporting struggle is real, and costly
Marketers aren’t short on performance data, but they are short on time. Nearly one in four professionals spends more effort wrangling reports than analyzing results. Whether it’s manually pulling numbers from disconnected platforms or formatting visuals for leadership, these outdated workflows are slowing down the very teams tasked with accelerating growth.
And while 64% of marketers track revenue, only a quarter have a clear attribution model. That gap is more than just a reporting headache, it’s a budget blocker. Without reliable ways to prove what’s working, teams struggle to justify spending or reallocate dollars efficiently.
To move faster, marketers need analytics platforms that consolidate data, automate insights and eliminate busywork. Think fewer spreadsheets, more strategic decision-making.
Attribution confusion undermines ROI
If marketers can’t prove impact, they can’t scale results. Yet attribution remains one of the most persistent challenges. Just 25% of survey respondents use a clear model to measure incremental revenue, and 37% admit they can’t isolate lift at all.
That’s a big problem in a budget-tight landscape. When leadership doesn’t see the connection between campaigns and outcomes, it’s harder for owned channels like email and SMS to compete with paid media for resources, even though they often drive better retention and long-term growth.
This is where identity resolution and AI-powered attribution come in. By tying anonymous visitors to specific actions and tracking their journeys across multiple touchpoints, identity resolution partners go beyond ESPs, giving marketers a way to finally connect effort to impact and make the case for more investment in high-performing, lower-cost channels.
Omnichannel is the goal, but measurement is siloed
Marketers know that customer journeys are cross-channel, but their data often isn’t. In fact, 43% of those surveyed say fragmented tools prevent them from getting a complete view of performance. And 35% report attribution confusion when it comes to cross-channel campaigns, leading to suboptimal strategy and spend.
When reporting is siloed by channel, email here, paid ads there, marketers miss the bigger picture. Which efforts are driving awareness? What’s influencing conversion? How are channels working together, or not? Without a unified view, it’s nearly impossible to optimize holistically.
The solution? Integrated dashboards that pull together performance from email, SMS, web and ads, plus predictive tools that surface patterns across the full customer journey. When insights are aligned, strategies can be too.
AI isn’t optional anymore
More than half of marketers (53%) want AI-driven recommendations to optimize spend. But adoption is still lagging, mostly due to resource constraints and uncertainty. Yet the need is clear: marketers want to spend less time pulling reports and more time pulling levers that drive growth.
The future isn’t about more data. It’s about smarter data, automatically surfaced, instantly contextualized and deeply actionable. AI tools that forecast revenue, detect anomalies and suggest next steps in real time are no longer a nice-to-have. They’re essential for staying competitive.
Marketers need solutions, not tools. Solutions that go beyond traditional dashboards to deliver automated insights, audience segmentation and budget guidance, all tailored to performance marketers. When machines handle the heavy lifting, human creativity can finally take the lead.
Looking ahead: from reporting to revenue
The message from the 2025 Practitioner Survey is loud and clear: analytics isn’t just about measurement anymore, it’s about momentum. Marketers who fix the analytics gap will free themselves from reactive reporting and unlock proactive, profitable growth.
Brands that prioritize real-time insights, smarter attribution and cross-channel clarity won’t just prove ROI, they’ll improve it. And in 2025, that might be the most valuable outcome of all.
