70% of companies struggle to integrate their sales plays into CRM and revenue technologies, finds Bain & Company survey

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~ According to a new research report released by Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm, 70% of companies are struggling to effectively integrate their sales strategies into their revenue technology tools. This is hindering their ability to achieve expected growth gains.

The report, titled "2025 Commercial Excellence and Revenue Growth Agenda", surveyed over 1,200 senior commercial executives from 18 different industries worldwide. It found that while more than 80% of respondents claim to have structured and repeatable sales and marketing activities, only 20% of them have been able to fully realize the value of these efforts. The main reason for this gap is the lack of integration between sales plays and technology, such as customer relationship management (CRM) solutions.

When asked about the biggest hurdles to B2B growth in 2025, respondents cited adoption of go-to-market technologies, managing price pressures, and improving salesforce productivity as the top challenges.

Jamie Cleghorn, global leader of Bain & Company's B2B Commercial Excellence group, stated that there is a significant gap between companies' revenue strategies and how they utilize technology. He emphasized that those companies who effectively integrate their strategic sales approach with technologies like AI and CRM will be best positioned for accelerated revenue growth. The report also highlights specific actions that business leaders can take to ensure long-term growth while achieving greater productivity.

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The use of AI in go-to-market functions was another key finding of the report. It revealed that almost all companies have started implementing AI in various areas, with 30% having scaled up to one or two use cases and 62% having scaled up to more than two uses. Additionally, nearly all respondents reported that AI has met or exceeded their expectations. However, more than half of commercial organizations admitted that they have not yet established adequate data foundations for optimizing this technology due to challenges such as incomplete or low-quality data sets and improper configuration.

Rob Stein, leader in Bain's Customer Strategy & Marketing practice, stressed the importance of a systematic and measurable approach to AI deployment. He noted that leading companies are allocating more resources to sales and marketing technologies, which has resulted in higher spending and better outcomes. Stein also emphasized that using AI at scale has become a necessity for B2B companies looking to succeed, as it enables them to operate more efficiently and deliver better products and services to customers.

Apart from technology adoption, managing price pressures was identified as another top hurdle to B2B growth by respondents. While more companies anticipate being able to offset rising costs with higher prices this year compared to 2024, they are concerned about their ability to continue executing margin-enhancing pricing strategies without the justification of high inflation. The biggest barriers cited by respondents include competitive pressures, customer resistance, insufficient data or analytics capabilities for pricing decisions, and gaps in team skills or expertise related to pricing.

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The report also delved into the topic of improving commercial productivity, which was identified as a top hurdle by executives. Over half of the respondents expect to see improvements in this area by 2025, with industries such as Medical Technology, Machinery and Equipment, Information Services, Logistics, and Telecommunications being the most optimistic. The top three priorities for increasing productivity cited by respondents include providing frontline coaching and training for sellers, improving customer segmentation, and optimizing market spending.

The report also covers other topics such as key barriers to growth by industry and six steps for business leaders to ensure sustained success.

For media inquiries or interviews with Bain & Company representatives regarding this report, please contact Amanda Folsom (Boston), Gary Duncan (London), or Ann Lee (Singapore).
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