Only 5% of CMOs know why customers buy - and just 4% think their marketing actually works

Just 5% of senior marketing leaders are confident their teams understand why customers choose their brand, or why they walk away, new research has found.

Even fewer, just 4%, believe their marketing actually changes customer behaviour.

A growing industry blind spot

The findings come from The Behavioural Blind Spot, a 2026 white paper based on original research by Flowing Bee, conducted in December 2025 with 112 senior marketing leaders across Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Nearly half (45%) of respondents said their teams rely on intuition or past experience as a primary source of customer understanding.

Michael Sankey

Flowing Bee, co-founded in 2023 by behavioural scientist Dr Michael Sankey, works with ASX-listed and global enterprises across Australia, the US, UK and Europe.

“Nineteen in twenty marketing leaders are spending budgets without really knowing why their customers behave the way they do,” Sankey said. “That is a huge risk when every dollar is under pressure to perform.”

Three gaps driving the problem

The research highlights three structural gaps that compound with every campaign cycle.

First, teams default to gut feel, with 45% relying on intuition or executive opinion when evidence is lacking.

Second, insight is often lost in execution, with 55% of organisations splitting insight, execution and measurement across different teams or suppliers.

Third, measurement remains weak. Around 37% cited poor post-campaign learning as a key constraint, with reporting showing what changed, but not why.

Data without understanding

Sankey argues the issue is not a lack of data, but a lack of behavioural understanding.

“Marketers are doing the best they can with what’s available, and what’s available shows them what customers do, not why,” he said.

He added that most existing tools, including analytics, CRM, and surveys, are designed to track behaviour rather than explain it.

Fixing the gap

According to Sankey, the solution lies in shifting when behavioural insight is applied.

“The only way to break the cycle is to address it at the root, by building behavioural understanding before execution begins,” he said. “That means asking why before the brief is written, not after the channel is chosen.”

The full white paper outlines a framework for closing the gap, along with practical questions that marketing leaders can apply immediately.

Top Image: Flowing Bee

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