Thirty-seven per cent of business leaders admit they don’t know what they are spending their marketing budgets on, according to a survey of 1,021 UK workers.

The study, carried out by MarketingSignals.com, also revealed that more than 1 in 3 (35 per cent) said they are unsure as to whether the marketing budget has increased or decreased in the last financial year.

In addition, the research found that 21 per cent of business leaders don’t even know what audiences their marketing campaigns are targeting. A further 16 per cent confessed they are unsure as to which marketing channels they have used for this activity.

And nine per cent of business leaders surveyed said that they don’t know what marketing measurement techniques the company has employed.

Gareth Hoyle, managing director at MarketingSignals.com, said: “The research shows how business leaders are worryingly unaware of the marketing activity that is being carried out for their company. From the budget, the target audience to measurement methods, there are a number of marketing practices that business leaders aren’t up to speed on, which play a crucial role in the success of the business.

“Of course, those at the top often have a lack of time to study campaign activity in depth, but they are often the most well informed on the overall strategy of their business, making it an imperative that they understand the detail of their current marketing efforts.

“Ultimately, the bottom line of any business is to make money and marketing is an essential component of this process. Moreover, marketing can impact on a business in many different ways – from increasing sales, to growing the business and engaging customers. Therefore, it is extremely important that business leaders make more of a concerted effort to recognise what marketing activity the company is undertaking.”