Marketing Automation Report: the largest MA and AI study in the DACH region

Marketing automation has been sold as a miracle cure for years. The reality in the DACH region is more sober: most B2B companies are scratching the surface. I do not know this from gut feel, but from four editions of field research.

Since 2021 I have been a co-author of the Marketing Automation Report, together with Prof. Dr. Darius Zumstein and a team at ZHAW and FHNW. It is the largest study of its kind in the region. Across the editions we have surveyed more than 1,200 B2B companies.

What does the report actually measure?

The report measures how far companies really automate their marketing and lead generation, from first research to handover to sales. Instead of opinions we collect data: which tools, which processes, which results. That turns into a maturity level a company can compare against the market.

How the editions came about

The first edition in 2021 started as a commissioned study from my circle at the time, with 402 participating companies. The result was a wake-up call: only around 40 percent used any marketing automation technology at all back then. The details are in the ZHAW Digital Collection.

The 2022 edition (around 460 companies) centered on strategy, execution and maturity. In 2023 (236 companies) we sharpened the view on process. Every year the same question: are companies just talking about automation, or doing it.

How do you turn it into something usable?

The report is not a PDF to file away. It is a map. You read off your own maturity, find the one dimension with the biggest gap, and work there first. I laid out exactly this logic in my book with Springer Gabler as the digital B2B roadmap. And I keep filling it with practice, for example in lead generation and customer care.

The numbers from the latest edition

The most recent edition is the Marketing Automation and AI Report 2024, with 385 companies from Switzerland and Germany, surveyed between November 2023 and January 2024. The new focus: AI in lead generation. The core findings are clear and uncomfortable.

• The average lead-management maturity is only 36 out of 100 points.
• LinkedIn is the most important source of contact data at 58 percent, ahead of events and referrals.
• 56 percent of companies still score their leads by hand.
• Only 5 percent are in the scaling phase with AI. The rest experiment or watch.

The biggest brake is not technology, but a lack of resources and skills. That matches what I see in projects: tools have become cheap, context and discipline have not. If you want to start with AI today, the honest entry point is in my article how to get started with AI in B2B sales.

Where the report shines and where it does not

What shines: the data base. More than 1,200 companies over four years, unmatched in the DACH region. What does not shine: a report does not make you better, it only shows where you stand. The warning: do not benchmark yourself to death. The average is low, that does not mean low is good enough. The front-runners are pulling away.

The deeper point: automation is not a tool purchase, it is a question of process and data. That is exactly what the report measures year after year. And that is exactly where my work starts. If you want to see what that looks like in practice, look at my process or get in touch.

Frequently asked questions

Who publishes the Marketing Automation Report?

It is published by a team around Prof. Dr. Darius Zumstein at ZHAW and FHNW, with research partners from the field. I have been a co-author since the first edition in 2021.

How many companies were surveyed?

Across the 2021 to 2024 editions combined, more than 1,200 B2B companies, most of them from the DACH region.

What is the most important finding of the 2024 edition?

Lead-management maturity averages only 36 out of 100 points, and while AI is discussed broadly, only 5 percent of companies genuinely scale it.

Where do I get the report?

The editions are freely available through the ZHAW Digital Collection and the official report site.

Who is the report relevant for?

For marketing and sales leaders and management in B2B companies who want to know where they stand and where the next lever is.