The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing is still in its early stages for many small and medium-sized companies in Germany. According to a recent study by the platform provider Hubspot and the professional network LinkedIn, only seven percent of marketing professionals in Germany have already optimized the use of AI and plan to use it more intensively.
This puts Germany far behind in a European comparison. The leader is Finland with 20 percent, followed by Switzerland (17 percent) and Belgium (13 percent).
Source: Hubspot
The majority of German marketing managers are still in an early phase of AI integration. Around 35 percent of respondents are testing AI in individual applications, while 29 percent are still looking for possible uses. Only 16 percent have already integrated AI into some workflows. Only four percent of German companies support the statement that AI plays a fundamental role in their strategic decisions.
Budget shortage as a key obstacle for AI
A key reason for the reluctance to introduce AI is the lack of financial resources. Almost half of European respondents (46 percent) see the budget as a key obstacle, while in the DACH region this figure is 44 percent. Nevertheless, 75 percent of German marketing professionals expect budgets for AI technologies to increase in the coming year, similar to the rest of Europe, where 78 percent of respondents expect a budget increase.
Companies that are already using AI are seeing significant success, particularly in increasing their return on investment (ROI). According to the study, 40 percent of companies that were able to significantly increase their ROI last year use AI to analyze customer data or in the form of chatbots and virtual assistants. In comparison, only 32 percent and 28 percent of companies that did not see an increase in ROI are using these technologies.
Other areas such as sales forecasting, email campaigns and ad targeting also show that companies that have integrated AI into these processes are more likely to report positive developments in their ROI.
Skilled labor shortage and leadership support as key
“The study shows that the majority of marketing professionals in small and medium-sized companies in Germany still need time to integrate AI into their processes,” said Josephine Wick Frona, Head of Marketing DACH at Hubspot, in a press release. “But if they are given the necessary budget and specialists who have the necessary knowledge, they can fully exploit the benefits of AI and achieve measurable results that show how AI advances marketing. It is important that they have strong support from their respective management to do this.”
The study “AI usage in Europe: How data and AI are changing the rules of the game in marketing” was conducted in May 2024. 2,306 marketing managers from small and medium-sized B2B and B2C companies in Europe were surveyed, 667 of them from the DACH region and 507 from Germany.
Andreas Marx
(amx, born in 1989) has been an editor at absatzwirtschaft since July 2022. He is neither a native nor an immigrant, but he is definitely digital. The Berlin resident with a penchant for niche topics has a broad range of interests, which is also reflected in his career: He has already worked at Playboy, the C3 agency and the industry service Meedia.
