We’re midway through 2025 and it’s a year marked by upheaval across all industries - financial services, life sciences, industrial manufacturing, and the broader B2B and SaaS space are all feeling the strain.
Budget freezes. Relocated operations. Shifting regulatory pressures. New tariffs. For digital and marketing leaders, the second half of the year is about survival and positioning. The mandate remains: deliver pipeline, protect brand equity, prove ROI. But the ability to execute - fast, flexibly, and at scale - is under greater pressure than ever.
Behind the mounting pressure on marketing teams are big-picture shifts that aren’t just economic headlines, they’re already hitting execution. Whether it's supply chain rewiring, tariff hikes, or tightening financial oversight, these forces shape how digital leaders can plan, act, and deliver in H2 2025. A few standouts:
These shifts aren’t just increasing pressure, in many cases, they’re forcing mid-year pivots. For some, that means reworking campaign narratives to reflect new market conditions. For others, it means shelving plans entirely, delaying launches, or switching vertical focus due to regulatory or supply chain constraints.
Either way, we’re seeing common patterns emerge internally:
We’re seeing this everywhere: digital and marketing teams are under-resourced, overtasked, and still expected to move the commercial agenda forward. And while the headlines talk about “doing more with less,” the real conversation is about capability.
That means the launch won’t wait - but the team or specialist skillset isn’t there yet.
More B2B firms are turning to fractional digital and marketing teams to bridge the gap between strategic need and internal capacity. These aren’t just outsourced vendors - they’re embedded partners delivering tangible outcomes.
Fractional teams can:
They slot into and support your tech stack, your planning cycles, and your reporting expectations - without the long-term cost of new headcount.
As exec teams turn their attention to FY25/26 and beyond, marketing is under pressure to show its work. But that work can’t happen without the capacity to execute.
Fractional models offer:
According to Deloitte’s 2024 outsourcing survey, over 50% of companies now outsource front-office functions like marketing execution. And in B2B SaaS, the shift is particularly stark as PLG, ABM, and lead velocity all compete for limited in-house resources.
Strategy Planning
Campaign management
Content Creation
Analytics and Reporting
Martech and Data Integration
Development
UX/UI Design
Automation and Workflows
What makes this model work isn’t just the individual skillsets, it’s the structure behind them.
The most effective fractional teams don’t operate at the edges. They’re embedded, outcome-driven, and able to flex around the realities of enterprise delivery. From strategy and UX to campaign ops and martech integration, every part of the model is built to make momentum feel seamless.
The right model should:
Look for partners who aren’t just marketers - but operators.
If this resonates, you might also want to revisit our earlier piece: Fractional Digital Teams: The smartest team you’ll never hire. It explores the strategic rationale behind outsourcing digital and marketing capabilities - particularly in times of headcount or skills constraint - and lays the foundation for the model we’re seeing accelerate across industries now.
The second half of 2025 isn’t easing up. Whether you’re mid-launch, mid-restructure, or mid-budget review, your ability to deliver outcomes is under scrutiny.
Fractional teams aren’t a fallback - they’re how growth continues when hiring slows. And for marketing leaders staring down Q3 with no bandwidth and big goals, they may be the only viable way forward.
Are you equipped to deliver?
Or is it time to rethink what your team needs to succeed in 2025?