Software marketing operates in a budget environment shaped by growing public cloud spend and the tooling used to scale pipeline—from marketing automation and attribution to CRM alignment. Across the journey, most B2B buyers research online before they reach out, and many consume multiple pieces of content before engaging sales. This page breaks down the channel mix and the measurement stack that help software teams prove ROI and improve lead conversion.
Key Takeaways
- $317 billion global public cloud services revenue in 2023, indicating the growing budget pools that software firms market to capture
- $833 billion global public cloud services revenue forecast for 2025, reflecting accelerating cloud spend that influences marketing demand generation and pipeline
- $8.4 billion global marketing research analytics market size in 2023 (estimated), reflecting analytics needs in software marketing planning
- $2.3 billion paid search spend in the US in 2023, highlighting search as a key acquisition channel for software firms
- Google represented 28.6% of the global digital ad market in 2023, indicating the scale of one of the dominant acquisition ecosystems for software buyers
- 4.3 billion email accounts worldwide in 2024, reinforcing email as a scalable channel for software marketing campaigns
- $5.1 billion global spend on B2B marketing technology in 2024 (MarTech), reflecting technology budgets tied to software marketing operations
- $8.5 billion global spend on marketing automation software in 2024 (estimated), showing investment levels in automation used by software marketers
- $6.2 billion global marketing attribution software market size in 2023 (estimated), reflecting budget for attribution and measurement in software marketing
- 72% of B2B buyers conduct online research before contacting a vendor, showing how software marketing must support self-serve evaluation
- B2B buyers typically consume 13 pieces of content before engaging with a sales representative, emphasizing content marketing’s role in software deals
- $10.0 billion global influencer marketing market size in 2023 (estimated), showing spend that impacts software partnerships and advocacy marketing
- 2.5x higher conversion rates from personalization compared to non-personalized experiences, relevant to software lead conversion
- 78% of CMOs say they are under pressure to prove ROI, increasing demand for performance measurement in software marketing
- 48% of marketers say their top goal is generating traffic and leads, guiding software marketing objectives and funnel KPIs
Software marketers should gear up for rising cloud budgets and tougher ROI demands with smarter content, targeting, and measurement.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size11 stats
01
$317 billion global public cloud services revenue in 2023, indicating the growing budget pools that software firms market to capture
02
$833 billion global public cloud services revenue forecast for 2025, reflecting accelerating cloud spend that influences marketing demand generation and pipeline
03
$8.4 billion global marketing research analytics market size in 2023 (estimated), reflecting analytics needs in software marketing planning
04
$9.2 billion marketing research and advisory services revenue in the US in 2023 (NAICS 54191/market research), indicating vendor landscape for software marketing decisions
05
The global customer data platform (CDP) market is forecast to reach $6.1 billion by 2026, supporting the data layer investments behind software marketing personalization.
06
$398 billion global public cloud services revenue in 2023, measured as global public cloud services revenue
07
$494 billion global public cloud services revenue in 2024, measured as global public cloud services revenue
08
$598 billion global public cloud services revenue in 2025, measured as global public cloud services revenue
09
$713 billion global public cloud services revenue in 2026, measured as global public cloud services revenue
10
$836 billion global public cloud services revenue in 2027, measured as global public cloud services revenue
11
$973 billion global public cloud services revenue in 2028, measured as global public cloud services revenue
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
With global public cloud services revenue reaching $317 billion in 2023 and projected to climb to $833 billion by 2025, software firms have a rapidly expanding Market Size to target, further amplified by supporting martech growth like the CDP market forecast to hit $6.1 billion by 2026.
report visual · Projection
Global public cloud services market size is steadily expanding
Global public cloud services revenue rises year over year, with the latest period led by the highest level in the series and a clear upward gap versus earlier years.
398 USD (billions)
Start
+19.58%
CAGR · 5y
973 USD (billions)
Projected
20232028
source-verifiedmy.idc.com2028
02 · Category
Advertising Spend4 stats
01
$2.3 billion paid search spend in the US in 2023, highlighting search as a key acquisition channel for software firms
02
Google represented 28.6% of the global digital ad market in 2023, indicating the scale of one of the dominant acquisition ecosystems for software buyers
03
4.3 billion email accounts worldwide in 2024, reinforcing email as a scalable channel for software marketing campaigns
04
$5.7 billion European digital ad spend in 2023 (estimated), showing the scale across another major region for software marketing
Interpretation
Advertising Spend Interpretation
In 2023 software firms leaned heavily on advertising channels, with US paid search reaching $2.3 billion and Google taking 28.6% of the global digital ad market, while Europe spent an estimated $5.7 billion and scalable channels like email reached 4.3 billion accounts worldwide in 2024.
03 · Category
Martech & Automation5 stats
01
$5.1 billion global spend on B2B marketing technology in 2024 (MarTech), reflecting technology budgets tied to software marketing operations
02
$8.5 billion global spend on marketing automation software in 2024 (estimated), showing investment levels in automation used by software marketers
03
$6.2 billion global marketing attribution software market size in 2023 (estimated), reflecting budget for attribution and measurement in software marketing
04
$17.1 billion global CRM software market size in 2024 (forecast/estimate), showing customer-relationship tooling underpinning software sales/marketing alignment
05
$6.4 billion worldwide demand generation software market size in 2024 (forecast/estimate), supporting software marketing tool investments
Interpretation
Martech & Automation Interpretation
Software companies are pouring sizable budgets into Martech & Automation, with 2024 spending reaching $8.5 billion on marketing automation software and $5.1 billion on B2B marketing technology, underscoring that automation and integrated tech stack capabilities are becoming central to how teams generate and measure pipeline.
More related reading
04 · Category
Industry Trends7 stats
01
72% of B2B buyers conduct online research before contacting a vendor, showing how software marketing must support self-serve evaluation
02
B2B buyers typically consume 13 pieces of content before engaging with a sales representative, emphasizing content marketing’s role in software deals
03
$10.0 billion global influencer marketing market size in 2023 (estimated), showing spend that impacts software partnerships and advocacy marketing
04
43% of B2B marketers say lack of content is a challenge, indicating content operations and throughput metrics for software marketing teams
05
15% of B2B buyers say they use webinars as a source of information during the evaluation stage, informing software webinar strategy
06
87% of B2B marketers use email marketing, reinforcing email as a core channel for software lead nurturing.
07
92% of B2B marketers use data and analytics to measure marketing effectiveness, supporting the growing emphasis on attribution and ROI reporting.
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
With 72% of B2B buyers conducting online research before contacting a vendor, software marketers need to invest in strong, consistently produced content that supports self-serve evaluation, especially since B2B buyers consume 13 pieces of content and 87% of marketers rely on email to nurture leads.
05 · Category
Performance Metrics5 stats
01
2.5x higher conversion rates from personalization compared to non-personalized experiences, relevant to software lead conversion
02
78% of CMOs say they are under pressure to prove ROI, increasing demand for performance measurement in software marketing
03
48% of marketers say their top goal is generating traffic and leads, guiding software marketing objectives and funnel KPIs
04
83% of B2B marketers use SEO as a channel, which affects software demand generation through organic visibility.
05
58% of marketers say they track marketing attribution at least monthly, showing a shift toward more frequent measurement cycles.
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Software marketers are increasingly driven to prove results with tighter performance measurement, as data like 78% of CMOs facing ROI pressure and 58% tracking attribution monthly shows, while tactics that raise conversions such as personalization at 2.5x are becoming central to lead and funnel KPIs.
06 · Category
User Adoption2 stats
01
76% of marketers say they use customer journey mapping, enabling more structured adoption of lifecycle marketing in software.
02
In 2024, 68% of B2B companies were using AI-assisted marketing tools for at least one function, reflecting adoption of AI in software go-to-market marketing ops.
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User Adoption in software marketing is accelerating as 76% of marketers use customer journey mapping and 68% of B2B companies rely on AI-assisted marketing tools, helping teams drive users through more structured, more automated lifecycle experiences.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Timothy Grant. (2026, February 13). Marketing In The Software Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/marketing-in-the-software-industry-statistics
MLA
Timothy Grant. "Marketing In The Software Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/marketing-in-the-software-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Timothy Grant. 2026. "Marketing In The Software Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/marketing-in-the-software-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+9 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)