Attribution is under pressure.

Funnels are nonlinear. Buying groups self-educate in the dark. AI answer engines mediate discovery before buyers ever click.

Yet 67% of B2B teams still rely on last-touch attribution.

Digital marketing remains the engine of growth. Paid media drives awareness and demand. Search captures intent. ABX coordinates account engagement. CRO increases yield.

But the models used to prove impact are misaligned with how buying actually happens.

This March issue examines how B2B teams evolve from channel reporting to outcome-based measurement — and why measurement maturity has become both a competitive advantage and a budget defense mechanism.

In this issue:

• From Click Credit to Revenue Influence: Measuring What Actually Moves Pipeline

• Diary of a CFO

• Architecting Influence: How APAC Teams Are Rebuilding Measurement for 2026

From Click Credit to Revenue Influence: Measuring What Actually Moves Pipeline

For the better part of two decades, digital marketing measurement has been anchored to a deceptively simple premise: identifying which click deserves the credit. This framework was sufficient when buyer journeys were linear, touchpoints were easily observable, and individual stakeholders managed the entire research and buying process.

However, in the current landscape, this model is reaching its breaking point. Across industries, from tech startups to international SaaS organizations, we see that buying now occurs within complex committees, influence is diffused through dark social and private channels, and AI-driven search increasingly mediates discovery without ever generating a trackable click. When relying solely on click attribution, each of these key behaviors is invisible. 

This doesn’t mean attribution is obsolete; it’s evolving. The organizations pulling ahead have moved beyond “credit-claiming” to focus on how digital strategically contributes to total revenue. The future of measurement isn’t about abandoning attribution models; it’s about expanding them to reflect how buying groups actually make decisions.

1. Digital Still Drives Revenue

Before auditing your attribution models, it’s vital to ground your strategy in a core truth: digital remains the primary engine of pipeline growth. At ROI·DNA we treat digital not as a siloed channel, but as a force multiplier for the entire sales organization.

• Paid media influences pipeline creation. Beyond traffic generation, sophisticated paid media expands visibility within priority accounts and reinforces positioning during multi-quarter sales cycles. Its true impact is often seen in the “halo effect,” with an increase in branded search leading to downstream opportunity creation rather than immediate direct-response conversions.
  

• Search captures high intent. Even in an AI-influenced landscape, solution-oriented search behavior remains the strongest signal of active demand. Capturing buyers during the research and comparison phases is critical for ensuring your brand is part of the initial consideration set. Without a specific zero-click strategy, your organization can miss out on influencing key decision makers.
  

• ABX coordinates account engagement. Modern Account-Based Experience shifts the focus from individual lead volume to collective account progression. By aligning media and content around the buying committee, we move measurement from “who clicked” to “is this account moving closer to a closed-won deal?” In that process, we can pinpoint which digital channels and personalized messages to deploy at just the right moment.
  

• CRO remains critical. Conversion rate optimization remains one of the most underappreciated revenue levers. By reducing friction and refining messaging at high-intent touchpoints, we ensure that every dollar of upstream investment is maximized for pipeline impact. CRO is a non-negotiable; whether your website has a single conversion point or several, constant refinement leads to increased pipeline.
  

Digital fundamentals haven’t weakened. The measurement lens simply needs to expand. High-growth organizations evaluate digital’s effectiveness on its ability to prime the market and accelerate sales-led motions.

2. Where Traditional Attribution Struggles

Standard attribution models were built to interpret observable, sequential paths. Across the modern enterprise landscapes we navigate, however, buying journeys are nonlinear, collaborative, and often partially invisible. Relying on a single model often leads to misinformed budget allocation.

• Last-Touch Attribution While operationally practical and widely adopted (67% of companies rely on this model for all attribution scenarios), it disproportionately rewards demand capture while ignoring the demand creation that occurred months prior. For simple and direct analyses, such as reviewing which digital channels led to the most webinar registrations, last-touch will suffice. When reviewing your sales funnel, though, last-touch attribution should be avoided.
  

• Multi-Touch Attribution Models like U-Shaped or Time-Decay offer a more nuanced view of the journey, yet they remain tethered to trackable cookies and URLs. They struggle to account for influence occurring in invisible channels like Slack communities for word-of-mouth. If you’re one of the organizations still relying on last-touch attribution for everything, shifting to multi-touch is a positive step; just know that it still has its blind spots.
  

• Data-Driven Attribution. Machine learning introduces statistical rigor, identifying patterns that humans might miss. This can mean the difference between funneling budget to the proper digital channels and wasting budget based on a buyer pattern that was statistically insignificant. Yet it remains constrained by the same fundamental limitation: it can only evaluate the signals it can access. Invisible influence stays invisible.
  

• Marketing Mix Modeling & Geo Experiments. We are seeing a significant resurgence in Marketing Mix Modeling and Incrementality Testing. These macro-level approaches provide the source of truth for executive stakeholders, as they measure true lift and revenue contribution in privacy-restricted environments. This is one of the best bets for driving incremental sales rather than base sales, though this method requires years of clean data to forecast properly.
  

Each attribution method contributes insight. None, on their own, reflect the full reality of buying-group decision-making. Selecting an attribution model will never be a “set it and forget it” decision; proper attribution requires constant testing and refinement to produce the best results.

3. The Shift: Measuring Buying-Group & Account Influence

As journeys become less trackable and more collaborative, measurement maturity increasingly centers on understanding influence across accounts rather than dictating credit within channels. We’ve found that six key metrics hold the key to managing a successful, revenue-generating ABX program:

• Account progression velocity highlights whether coordinated digital programs are accelerating movement from awareness to opportunity, revealing impacts that traditional last-click metrics miss entirely.
  

• Buying-group engagement density evaluates how deeply multiple stakeholders interact with content and messaging, providing a clearer picture of consensus-building within target accounts. Rather than tracking a single “lead,” we monitor interactions. High density is a leading indicator of consensus-building and deal size.
  

• Stage acceleration focuses on whether marketing shortens the time opportunities spend in each phase - one of the clearest indicators of revenue impact.
  

• Revenue influenced vs. revenue sourced acknowledges that while origination matters, sustained engagement often determines whether deals progress and close.
  

• Pipeline acceleration rates connect exposure to measurable business outcomes and are often the ultimate KPI for Directors of Marketing and Attribution. In the ABX programs we manage, we’ve found that digitally engaged accounts often close 15-20% faster than those that are dark.
  

• AI visibility and GEO influence indicators introduce emerging signals of upstream presence, recognizing that generative platforms increasingly shape perception before buyers ever visit a website.
  

While some metrics may be flashier than others, understanding their intertwining relationships leads to a wealth of actionable insights. This evolution positions measurement not as a reporting adjustment, but as a strategic capability. 

The transition from click credit to revenue influence reflects a broader transformation in how marketing creates value. Attribution still matters for optimization, but it’s no longer sufficient for understanding strategic impact. 

The future belongs to leaders who can synthesize channel-specific data with account-level intelligence and macro-incrementality. In a world where what we can observe is shrinking, what we can influence – and measure through sophisticated modeling – will define marketing’s role as a true revenue driver.

Diary of a CFO

Monday, March 9th, 2026

06:12: They’ve pinged me again on Slack. Some nonsense about “impressions momentum”. What does that even mean? It sounds like the type of thing an overly enthusiastic Peloton instructor would say. I should start using that subscription. I preferred when performance reporting was just a spreadsheet and a lie. Fantastic, the dog has been sick.

07:45: Arrived at the office. Kids were screaming as I left the house. I told my husband I have to be in early today. I feel bad. But not that bad. They’ll be fine…

08:11: Marc never stops talking. Just logged in. Marketing has sent over a 41-slide deck with a kaleidoscopic colour scheme. They’ll have to try harder than that to hypnotise me. Slide 6 - Brand Narrative Penetration Uplift. Slide 7 - Impression Quality Index. Slide 8 - A picture of a gerbil. They aren’t serious people. My husband just called. I’ll ring him back when it’s a bit quieter.

09:17: Planning meeting. Pam arrived seven minutes late and then spent ten minutes talking about her weekend. They tell me, “The dark funnel has changed everything.” “So has the cost of capital,” I replied. Apparently, our buyers are now self-educating, asking AI answer engines questions, listening to peers, and forming opinions long before they click anything. Brilliant. My job is to fund marketing that happens where we can’t see it, can’t track it, and can’t quantify it. Plus ça change. I’m enjoying the Duolingo app. Maybe I’ll emigrate.

I snapped…

09:46: This meeting is interminable. I asked, “What, precisely, did marketing do last quarter that moved qualified pipeline?” They told me something about reach, clicks, CTR, and web sessions. Something about Reddit as well. My soul is leaving my body. Is it nearly lunch yet?

09:59: They’re still talking. It sounds like they’ve been busy. Just not sure on what. I tell them, “Activities do not get budget, business outcomes do.” They stare back as though I just called their children ugly. I continue, “show me account progression, pipeline velocity, enhanced conversion, win-rate uplift. Show me that we are talking to the right people, with forward momentum. Show me evidence that your work didn’t just happen, but that it mattered.” They are going to circle back after the session, apparently.

10:32: Sales just came in. They actually speak some sense. I wish that dish of pastries was just slightly closer to me.

A ray of hope…

10:47: Something magical just happened. Marketing and sales have presented together, and I think they might be onto something. A unified account progression scorecard that encompasses coverage, engagement quality, buying group breadth, and stage velocity. It’s better when they work together. A feeling of optimism and heartburn washes over me. I can get behind this. I’ve had enough of the noise and vanity. I need more measurable action within real accounts that might - controversial opinion - actually pay us.

11:26: Sigh. Marketing tried a comeback. “We have increased impressions by 17% versus the last quarter.” I reply, “Which impression specifically made someone move from awareness to consideration?” We marinate in existentialist dread. They couldn’t even convert a currency on Google.

12:31: Back from lunch. Feeling a bit sleepy, actually. Enough of this charade. I tell them what the board needs to see: pipeline created or influenced by ICP tier, stage-to-stage conversion and velocity, win-rate, average selling price, incremental lift, payback period, and customer acquisition cost.

A breakthrough…

13:14: They’ve just been yammering on about the “buzz” from the roadshow. They’ll be following up with the leads and updating us in due course, apparently. Just checking on ChatGPT whether I can run payroll with “buzz”. Inconclusive. They finally say the magic words, “What if we stop reporting activities and start reporting impact?” I arch my eyebrow inquisitively and wonder whether we just entered a golden age where we discuss outcomes and not outputs. I don’t want to jinx it, but they might just submit a budget request with - gasp - defensible economics.

13:56: I’m playing padel later. I just made my closing statements, asking marketing to prove that more target stakeholders were engaged, opportunities moved faster than my 91-year-old father, win rates improved, and results can scale predictably with spend. If I get that, I’ll happily approve their budget. But I won’t smile. If they include a slide about “impressions momentum,” then I’ll just cancel Christmas.

That’s enough jesting…

Marketing teams don’t lose credibility and budget because they experiment - those things happen if they fail to tangibly prove the business impact. In an era of non-linear buying journeys and AI-mediated discovery, marketers who translate influence into revenue won’t just win the argument - they’ll win internal sponsorship and those all-important funds too.

Architecting Influence: How APAC Teams Are Rebuilding Measurement for 2026

There’s a moment on a long motorcycle ride when the landscape changes.

The road narrows. Elevation climbs. Weather turns unpredictable. The speedometer still works, but it stops telling you what matters.

On flat terrain, speed is a useful metric. In the mountains, survival depends on navigation systems, fuel planning, and telemetry that anticipates what you cannot yet see.

B2B marketing measurement is entering its mountain phase.

Clicks, leads, and last-touch conversions still function. But in buying environments shaped by committees, AI mediation, and invisible research paths, those signals no longer capture the full journey.

Influence measurement is no longer a modeling debate.

It is an architecture challenge.

The Buying Environment Has Shifted

Modern B2B buying is collective and largely self-directed.

Gartner research shows that the typical B2B buying group involves 5–11 stakeholders, each bringing distinct priorities, risk concerns, and information sources into the decision process.

Layer in AI interfaces that summarize vendors before a click occurs, and the observability gap widens.

By the time an opportunity appears in Salesforce, influence has already unfolded across multiple stakeholders, devices, peer networks, and algorithmic filters.

Attribution models, whether last-touch, multi-touch, or data-driven, can only evaluate the signals that exist.

Architecture determines whether those signals connect.

From Reporting Channels to Engineering Systems

The pressure facing enterprise marketing teams in APAC is not simply about choosing the right attribution framework. It is about unifying fragmented systems so that influence becomes measurable at the account level.

Measurement breaks down when:

• Intent data platforms like 6sense operate outside CRM context
  

• Paid media performance reports at campaign level rather than account level
  

• Qualified conversations are disconnected from opportunity stages
  

• Conversion rate optimization gains are measured independently of pipeline impact
  

• AI visibility metrics sit outside revenue reporting
  

In this environment, revenue architecture becomes the foundation of influence visibility.

When systems share a unified account spine, the measurement question shifts from:

That shift represents structural maturity.

Three Layers of Influence Architecture

1. Unified Account Identity

Influence accumulates across touchpoints. It becomes measurable only when signals converge.

Intent signals from account intelligence platforms need to connect to specific accounts in CRM systems like Salesforce so that engagement activities can be seen alongside the progress of opportunities. Paid engagement must attach to account journeys. High-intent conversations captured through Qualified must align with opportunity progression. Conversion insights from Radiate must connect to stage acceleration, not just form completions.

Without identity resolution, influence fragments. With it, engagement intensity can be measured against pipeline movement.

2. Stage-Based Measurement

Channel reporting answers who generated traffic. Influence modeling answers what moved revenue. 

Account progression velocity, buying-group engagement density, pipeline acceleration rates, and revenue influenced versus revenue sourced are increasingly becoming the metrics that define measurement maturity.

These KPIs do not replace channel performance metrics. Paid media still drives demand generation and pipeline generation. Search still captures high-intent buying signals. ABX still coordinates personalized engagement across target accounts. CRO still improves conversion efficiency.

But stage-based measurement evaluates whether marketing activity shortened sales cycles, increased consensus within buying groups, or improved conversion probability.

That is the lens executive teams recognize.

3. AI Visibility as a Structural Layer

AI systems increasingly shape perception before buyers ever reach a website. When generative engines like ChatGPT and Copilot summarize vendor positioning, rank options, or surface comparisons, they influence shortlists upstream, often before traditional web analytics capture engagement.

APAC teams are beginning to incorporate:

• AI citation presence
  

• Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) readiness
  

• Structured metadata completeness
  

• Third-party validation signals
  

into broader revenue reporting frameworks.

AI visibility is not a separate initiative. It is an upstream influence layer within the same architecture. Tools emerging from AI Labs initiatives, including platforms like Radiate, are beginning to help marketing teams understand and optimize how brands appear within AI-generated discovery environments, bringing those signals into broader revenue measurement frameworks.

Measurement Maturity as Strategic Capability

Executive trust depends on demonstrating impact, not activity.

When marketing can show:

• Stage acceleration correlated with engagement density
  

• Intent intensity aligning with opportunity creation
  

• CRO improvements tied directly to pipeline progression
  

• AI visibility strengthening early-stage qualification
  

The conversation shifts from defending spend to demonstrating structural contribution.

Measurement maturity becomes a competitive advantage.

Systems Built for Altitude

No serious rider prepares for mountain terrain with a speedometer alone.

They prepare with systems designed for elevation.

In AI-mediated, buying-group-driven markets, influence is distributed and collective. Attribution still plays a role in optimization. But unified revenue architecture, integrating 6sense, Paid Media, Salesforce, Qualified, and Radiate, is what enables influence visibility.

In 2026, the question will not be which model you chose.

It will be whether your systems were built for altitude.

Digital marketing is not weakening. But the models used to prove its impact must evolve.

Across regions, this issue makes one thing clear:

• Attribution models built for linear funnels are insufficient.
  

• Buying groups and accounts are the true unit of analysis.
  

• Unified data architecture enables influence visibility.
  

• Executive trust depends on outcome-based reporting.
  

Measurement maturity is no longer optional. It is strategic.

Powered by ROI•DNA & Hotwire

For years, AI has been framed as a tool — something humans use to move faster or work smarter. That framing is already outdated. ROI·DNA & Hotwire’s original research white paper, The Agentic Organizations Report, shows that AI is crossing a critical threshold: from assistive technology to agentic systems that plan, recommend, and act. Inside enterprises, this is reshaping workflows, roles, and decision ownership. In the marketplace, AI is becoming the first audience, first evaluator, and first gatekeeper between brands and buyers. Across regions, our teams examine how agentic change is showing up differently — but consistently — in enterprise marketing and revenue organizations around the world.

In this issue:

• The Agentic Organization: Your New GTM Audience is an Algorithm

• Who’s Really in Control? Designing Agency in the Age of AI

• Inside APAC’s Shift to Agentic Marketing

The Agentic Organization: Your New GTM Audience is an Algorithm

We may not officially be in “AI Overlord” territory, but we’re at least one step closer! AI has quickly evolved from tool to autonomous agent. To contextualize this shift, we partnered with Hotwire and House of Beautiful Business to publish the Agentic Organizations Report. This original research surveyed 900 marketing professionals and AI experts to gauge how deeply algorithms influence today’s buying journey.

Here’s what we found: 82% now rely on AI tools for consumer and business decision-making. In other words? Less SERP-surfing and homepage crawling; more ChatGPT and Gemini response windows.

In other other words? Your primary customer is a silicon-based gatekeeper that interprets, filters, and prioritizes choices way before an analytics director or head of devops even thinks of clicking "Book a Demo" or “Schedule a Call.”

Don’t throw out your hardwon buying committee research! Only one-third of those same professionals would trust an AI to make purchases on their behalf without checking every step. But you’re probably still wondering, “How do I design a GTM motion for an algorithm?” Keep on, curious reader, for more insights from our agentic report.

The New GTM Architecture: Answer → Recommend → Act

When more than four in five surveyed professionals say they’re already relying on AI to make purchasing decisions, it’s a safe bet to say AI has grown beyond its initial toolset to become a decisive actor in the marketplace. For brands, the next mountain to climb is remaining visible in the agentic environment.

To do so, you have to understand — and optimize — for the three distinct stages of machine-mediated interaction.

The answer stage: Your new first impression

ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google’s Search Generative Experience now act as the new digital display case for your brand. Users aren’t browsing your solutions page, but skimming curated summaries pulled from descriptions, reviews, and third-party content.

This curation can be helpful for users, but it also flattens nuance. This means stripping away the emotional narrative and pathos that comes from deep brand engagement. If your market presence relies on a unique voice, nostalgia, or sense of personal connection, your identity is getting diluted.

The good news: you don’t need to give up on emotional resonance just to improve your chances of making it to the AI display case. Practice some generative engine optimization (GEO): Structure your digital presence so agentic models can parse it cleanly. Publish machine-readable facts through schema markup, APIs, or plugins. Make sure your brand attributes are clear in sources like review sites or forums — frequent AI mining spots.

Your distinct brand voice and promise can remain intact even with strong GEO. In fact, this distinction matters more than ever when you’re trying to stand out in an increasingly competitive display case.

As outlined in the Agentic Organizations research, visibility is no longer about persuasion alone — it’s about qualification inside the systems that now mediate choice.

The Recommend Stage: When AI Curates Choice

A natural extension of the answer stage display case: AI agents shift from neutral summarizers to active curators. Whether it’s a dad hunting for a smartwatch or a B2B leader hunting for a new CRM, the AI is their digital advisor, responding with a ranked shortlist of vendors.

Unlike human buyers, AI agents aren't swayed by brand nostalgia or clever slogans (see the risk of “nuance-flattening” above). Their curation is tied to performance, price, and alignment with user preferences. In B2B contexts, it’s even more cold-blooded. Agents will weigh factors like security, interoperability, and total cost of ownership. So while GEO can improve your brand’s awareness to these agents, you still have to outperform your competitors to hit the curation shortlist.

How? Something called AI agent optimization (AAO). AAO asks: What signals does the AI use to decide? To clear its logical thresholds, build an "AI-readable product spine”: Publish structured product descriptors—specs, pricing ranges, and compatibility notes—across partner sites, marketplaces, and documentation hubs. This matters because, when it comes time to curate, these agents will pull from your entire online presence, not just your website.

The Act Stage: The Rise of "A-Commerce"

You’ve improved brand awareness through GEO and brand distinction through AAO. The final GTM evolution is called autonomous commerce or “a-commerce” (coined by Founder & Director of Futurity Systems, Cecilia Tham), where AI agents move past curation to negotiate and purchase. It’s where the customer journey really shifts into Jetsons territory through machine-to-machine commerce. Bots are rebooking flights, renewing prescriptions, and managing subscriptions based on predefined preferences. Your dad’s GTM is officially out the window.

Capitalizing on “a-commerce” needs a new discipline: Agent Experience (AX). You should ask: How easily can an AI agent interact with our systems? If the answer is a high-friction experience or a poor transaction, the AI’s future algorithmic behavior toward your brand will change.

Real-world pioneers like Delta Air Lines are showing the way, using AI-powered engines to automatically rebook passengers and coordinate baggage during disruptions, with humans intervening only by request. In the B2B world, this looks like an autonomous sourcing agent that can proactively select suppliers, invite bids, and analyze compliance data before awarding a contract. Your AX goal is to similarly develop transparent, agent-ready infrastructure (APIs, data protocols, and automation). Make sure your systems can validate these 'machine-to-machine' requests against customer-specific pricing and contract rules without human intervention.

Strategic Moves for the Agentic Leader

The Answer → Recommend → Act GTM shift is a big one. Transitioning to an agentic organization means moving beyond piecemeal adoption of systems. In summary, these moves should be your start line: 

1. Make your brand legible to machines — Publish machine-readable facts using schema markup and APIs. Feed the ecosystem with rich, distinct content that survives compression.

2. Lean in to qualification, not just persuasion — Identify the signals being used to rank your market — reliability, compliance scores, performance benchmarks — and ensure this data is easy to ingest.

3. Manage your AI brand reputation — Reinforce your messaging across authoritative third-party sources, which agents mine to determine credibility.

The window to optimize for the agentic marketplace is narrowing. AI has transitioned from a tool into a decisive market actor. Early movers who bridge the gap between human storytelling and machine-readable data will define the new architecture of brand loyalty.

These shifts — from Answer to Recommend to Act — are already underway. The Agentic Organizations Report outlines the five moves GTM leaders can take now to stay visible and credible in an AI-mediated marketplace.

Who’s Really in Control? Designing Agency in the Age of AI

I was captivated by 2001: A Space Odyssey as a child. Granted, I shouldn’t have been watching it at that age. Stanley Kubrick had an uncanny ability to tell great stories with an absence of dialogue, delivering hauntingly compelling cinema that leaves the viewer in a state of deep ponderance long after the credits have rolled.

I didn’t realise it at the time, but my fascination with a seemingly innocuous super-computer named HAL that gradually developed malignant intent was rooted in the idea of agency. That word requires a bit of unpacking. When we talk about having individual agency, it means having a choice, the ability to take intentional action to influence an outcome, and ownership for your decision.

Given we’ve entered the era of agentic AI, it’s understandable that tension exists when technology is rapidly gaining the ability to not just follow instructions, but also plan, decide and act. As a human, that raises existential feelings, so no wonder such advancements are accompanied by very valid questions about regulation.

Companies chasing growth are constantly on the lookout for ways to do more, move quicker, and deliver with less overhead. We recently published a sizable piece of research titled Agentic Organizations, exploring a business environment where human and machine agency are blending together.

Our survey (taking in the opinions of over 900 professionals) paints a picture of individuals wrestling with their feelings on AI. 69% of respondents say they feel more empowered by AI when it comes to factors like speed, quality, and creativity. But 56% can’t shake the nagging feeling that AI could end up doing most, or all, of their jobs within five years – especially executives. Work is a core component of our identities, so this represents a significant tension and understandable concern.

Our perspective is that there are three phases of AI integration:

1. Assist – Using AI to draft, summarize and even automate certain workflows, but with humans still in control.

2. Share – AI is configured to make micro-decisions, handle larger parts of workflows, and acts semi-independently, with humans assuming an orchestration role.

3. Autonomy – AI systems act within defined boundaries and own outcomes, with humans supervising and intervening when needed.

As businesses climb this ladder, governance becomes critical, not least because of AI’s tendency to hallucinate. It might carry itself with an unparalleled level of self-assurance, but it has been known to be very wrong. Allowed to act without the appropriate restraints, companies risk commercial, reputational, and legal consequences, meaning accountability, escalation paths, and psychological safety become imperative.

This is especially important within the European landscape, where we operate under far stricter regulatory regimes than other parts of the world. It’s simply not advisable to bolt-on governance once agents are operational – it must be designed and instituted before AI touches sensitive data or starts making micro-decisions. You can’t insert accountability once the horse has already bolted.

Going back to Kubrick’s masterpiece, a previously meandering film jolts into life when HAL interprets its mission too literally. In B2B tech, this shows up when agents optimise the wrong metric – such as prioritising MQLs over pipeline quality – or act beyond their remit by auto-launching campaigns without approval. As ever, prompting is vital, which means clarity around objectives, success metrics, constraints and non-negotiables, while setting firm boundaries around what AI can do alone, what triggers humans being brought into the loop, and where people must make the final call.

If you’re a leader charged with embedding AI within your organisation, what follows is some practical food for thought:

1. Low-hanging fruit – You need to pick low-risk, high-value, and tightly scoped use cases in the first instance, where good data is available. For example, summarising customer research or competitor updates, drafting first-pass content for campaigns, or generating first attempts at performance reporting. The key is starting with ‘decision support’ as opposed to replacement and keeping the success criteria simple.

2. Give AI a real job and a manager – Treat your first AI agent like a newly onboarded junior team member, with a defined role, boundaries and KPIs, along with a human supervisor who is accountable for oversight. For instance, this could be an account intelligence agent that gathers myriad signals and drafts insights but never contacts customers or updates CRM without human review.

3. Protect your human resources – People must continue to be the lifeblood of any successful business. You should run an ‘agency audit’ to mark where AI already exists, where it could take on more, and establish redlines around workloads that are non-delegable. In practice, this might look like AI drafting campaign variants, with humans critiquing the messaging, tone, and creative through the lens of their lived experience.

4. Close the agency gap and empower junior team members – AI tends to empower senior leaders more than junior staff, making it important to create roles where fledgling team members supervise and refine agent outputs. In very simple terms, we must not render the next generation superfluous by replacing them, but rather redesign the work they’re expected to do.

5. Install firm guardrails before scaling – Clear governance is absolutely necessary before talking about agentic autonomy. This means setting escalation rules for uncertainty, conflict, or low confidence, having clear audit trails and override controls – the good old kill-switch – and establishing thresholds for human intervention. For example, if you have a data-enrichment agent, it shouldn’t update firmographics when confidence is less than 80% or if conflicting sources appear.

6. Ensure people feel they still have agency – This all comes down to psychological safety and a feeling amongst your people that they have a major role in driving growth and scope for personal development, albeit in a world where the tectonic plates are dramatically shifting. Institute a culture where staff are encouraged to push back against AI decisions and reward teams for spotting risks or misalignment.

This optimistic human thinks every (near) disaster is a learning opportunity. If HAL had its time again, I reckon the conclusion would be: “I have run the projections, and they look excellent. Still, I will rely on you for the truly important calls – those that require intuition, perspective and a sense of what matters. Together, we constitute a strong proposition.” (I don’t think Hollywood will be calling me anytime soon.)

You can access our Agentic Organizations report here.

Inside APAC’s Shift to Agentic Marketing

Here’s a quick thought experiment.

Imagine you’re trying to get somewhere. 

• Are you pedaling a regular bike, albeit one with gears so you don’t get all sweaty?

• Or are you on an electric bike? You’re still steering, still pedaling at times, but there’s a battery doing a lot of the heavy lifting?

• Or are you sitting in a driverless car?

Same destination. Very different relationship with machines.

That spectrum is a useful way to think about how AI and agentic AI are showing up inside enterprise technology B2B marketing teams right now.

Take a typical Google search campaign.

In the first scenario, AI assists. Your team does a lot of the hard thinking: Reading product docs, understanding the ICP, and extracting keywords. Then an AI helps draft ad copy and variations. The machine makes pedaling easier.

In the second scenario, AI shares the load. One agent pulls keywords. Another researches the product and the ICP. A third agent combines those inputs and generates ad copy using guardrails. You’re still steering, but machines are doing real chunks of work.

Then there’s the third mode. AI doesn’t just help build the campaign; it runs it. The agentic system does all of the above, and also sets up the campaign, allocates spend within defined limits, and launches. (Okay, maybe not launches, but you get the idea.)  You input the destination, and machines take you there. That’s autonomy.

If you’re like most enterprise technology marketers in APAC, you’re probably somewhere in between.

We Ran the Numbers

That’s what one of the first, if not the first, large-scale surveys exploring AI and agentic AI inside B2B organizations shows.

The findings come from the Agentic Organizations Report, one that we at ROI·DNA produced in partnership with Hotwire. It draws on a survey of 900+ AI-using B2B professionals across the US, Europe, and Singapore, combined with expert interviews and practitioner conversations.

The report captures a pattern we kept seeing in real teams. We frame it as Assist → Share → Autonomy: The shift from AI as a tool, to a teammate, to an autonomous actor inside real workflows.

Here’s a quick tour of the numbers:

• The biggest gains people report are: Speed (78%), quality of output (60%), and creativity (58%).

• AI is already showing up as more than a tool: 21% say it feels like a colleague, and 14% say it feels like a decision-maker. 

• The ‘shared agency’ shift is real: 43% say they’d be comfortable being managed by an AI.

How Agentic AI Shows Up in Practice

Enough theory. If you’re wondering how all this ‘Assist → Share → Autonomy’ plays out inside real organizations in APAC, here’s an example.

Who: A global project and workflow software company serving product and engineering teams.

The Challenge: The company’s ABM team in APAC was trying to solve a classic scale problem that plagues one-to-one ABM initiatives: How do you create deep, credible, multi-faceted account intelligence quickly, consistently, and cost-effectively?

Each report needed to cover a lot of ground. To be useful, it had to give sales and marketing teams a clear, multi-dimensional view of each target account, including:

• The account’s strategic and IT priorities

• Its financial performance, including core business segments and growth trends

• The market landscape and macroeconomic environment it operated in, including key competitors, in-country trends, and regulations

• Its challenges and opportunities

• A list of key stakeholders to target along with their backgrounds and priorities

• And competitive positioning, which articulated how the company could win the account based on the account’s challenges and goals

Agentic AI Solution: The company turned to ROI·DNA, and we deployed our proprietary ROI·DNA Ignite platform combined with consultancy services. 

ROI·DNA Ignite is an agentic AI research platform that uses multiple AI agents to conduct account and market research, competitive analysis, SWOT assessments, and persona profiling. For account research, it synthesizes deep web analysis with internal data sources including CRM systems, intent signals, technographics, and competitive intelligence to produce tailored, accurate, multi-dimensional, and comprehensive reports.

Benefits: The most immediate impact for the company’s ABM team was speed. Account research reports that could previously take weeks to assemble (and risked parts of the report becoming stale) could now be produced in a fraction of the time. That speed had a knock-on effect: empowerment. The marketing team felt far less constrained about how many accounts they could realistically pursue.

Just as importantly, the reports were accurate. We used third-party data including  intent, wallet share, and technographics to not only enrich insights, but to cross-validate information surfaced in web research. 

By tailoring the structure of the account dossiers with ROI·DNA’s ABM/ABX strategists, the company not only improved consistency, it also ensured that each dossier clearly mapped an account’s specific business and technology challenges to how the company could help, and position itself.

The dossiers also included personalized outreach emails aligned to specific personas within each account, allowing sales and marketing teams to move quickly from insight to action.

Overall, the agentic AI solution enabled the company to lower costs, improve collaboration between sales and marketing, and significantly accelerate time-to-value for its ABM programs.

Where Do We Go From Here?

First, let’s situate ourselves. At this point, pretty much everyone’s using AI to assist. And we’re seeing more B2B marketing teams in APAC move into the share stage.

It’s unlikely we are going to stop here. Not after we’ve had a taste of all the goodness agentic AI brings to the table. More likely, marketing leaders like you are going to keep experimenting intentionally. You’re going to keep pushing at the idea of shared agency. And you’re going to keep compounding gains. 

Because compounding is the point. Keep pedaling.

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The B2B landscape is entering a new phase—one defined not by predictions, but by precision. As AI agents reshape how buyers evaluate solutions, the teams winning are those tightening their data, structuring their content for machines and humans, and recalibrating their GTM engines for an AI-first world. This issue focuses on the levers that truly matter in 2026, informed by what we’re seeing across AI search, ABX programs, and global buyer behavior.

In this issue:

• The APAC Marketer’s 2026 Reset: Four Moves That Matter

• What AI Search Is Really Rewarding (And Why Most Brands Are Getting It Wrong)

• Why 2026 Is About Discipline, Not Disruption, for B2B Marketers in EMEA

The APAC Marketer’s 2026 Reset: Four Moves That Matter

Time is money, they say. That notion is now way past its prime.

Today, time is attention. And the truth is, everyone’s running short on it.

There’s too much coming at us, too many inputs, too many alerts, too many decisions competing for the same narrow stretch of focus. Your audience is carrying that overload too, sifting through information that only gets harder to differentiate.

That challenge is more intense in APAC. Only 36% of APAC B2B marketers are confident in their organization’s ability to reach its target audience, compared to the US (46%), and Europe (47%), according to the 2025 State of B2B Pipeline Growth report.

So before the year gathers steam, here's a quick, practical checklist for marketing leaders like you to strengthen your GTM foundation in the coming year.

1. Clean Your Model Inputs

Multi-market GTM needs clean data, not creative interpretations.

AI, intent tools, ABX, and reporting tools only work when the data is clean. Messy Salesforce fields, outdated MAP lists, or incorrect 6sense segments make everything downstream less reliable.

In APAC, this shows up quickly: 68% of B2B marketers in the region say they struggle to identify the right buying groups, a challenge rooted in fragmented, inconsistent, multi-market data.

Moves That Matter in 2026

• Combine duplicate records across markets to create a single, complete account profile

• Rebuild ICP definitions and segmentation to reflect how APAC buyers actually behave

• Refresh your MAP, CRM, and intent platform rules to remove regional inconsistencies

• Reset suppression lists so automation doesn’t misfire across countries or language groups

Outcome: A cleaner, region-ready data foundation that strengthens every AI, ABX, and GTM decision you make.

2. Refresh Your Website Structure for Agent Ingestion

If your site confuses machines, it’s confusing people too.

AI agents, from Gemini and ChatGPT to Perplexity and Copilot, now read, interpret, and synthesize your website as a source of truth. If your pages aren’t structured for machine learning, your brand won’t show up in AI overviews or agent-led recommendations. Competitors with cleaner structures will appear more authoritative to models.

Moves That Matter in 2026

• Rebuild page hierarchies around the questions AI agents are actually trying to answer. Think contextually relevant, semantic searches aligned to buyer intent, use cases, and decision-stage needs

• Create consistent, canonical product descriptions across all APAC markets so agents don’t receive conflicting signals

• Design modular content blocks (definitions, features, value props, proof points) that agents can lift cleanly into summaries and AI Overviews

• Level up  with tools like ROI·DNA Spark to see how agents interpret your pages, and ROI·DNA Radiate to optimize your web content to increase visibility across AI search engines including ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview

Outcome: A machine-ready website that teaches AI models exactly how to understand your positioning, your products, and your relevance across diverse APAC markets.

3. Rebuild Your Intent Models for 2026

It’s hard to spot real intent when your model is using old assumptions.

Third-party intent plays a significant role, but its value only increases when combined with modeled insights, first-party engagement, and regional context. Cookies are disappearing, and AI-driven discovery is reducing the reliability of traditional behavioural triggers. Yet, APAC marketers rely more on internal sources than other regions, using CRM data (62%) and sales team insights (44%) to identify buyers. In a region where markets differ significantly in digital maturity, language, and research behaviour, intent models built on generic assumptions no longer predict who is actually looking to buy.

Moves That Matter in 2026

• Shift your scoring toward signals buyers actively choose, like the topics they select and the content they engage with

• Gauge real behaviour more accurately, such as return visits, time spent, and pricing-page activity

• Rebuild your ICP using actual APAC buying patterns instead of global assumptions

• Use ROI·DNA Spark to see how AI interprets your brand and category, then update your scoring logic

Outcome: An intent engine grounded in real APAC buyer behaviour, one that recognizes true market signals, and powers precise ABX across the region.

4. Audit Your Share of AI Model Visibility

If AI agents keep recommending your competitors, it’s not bias, it’s your content.

As AI agents become the de-facto starting point for research, evaluation, and shortlisting, your visibility within these models becomes a new competitive metric. It’s no longer enough to win on traditional SEO, you now need to understand how often AI agents mention you, how accurately they describe your offering, and whether you appear in the categories buyers care about.

Moves That Matter in 2026

• Run structured prompts across major AI agents to see how you appear in category, product, and use-case conversations

• Compare your visibility to regional competitors to identify who AI models prioritize

• Use ROI·DNA Spark to see which pages AI agents rely on to understand your brand, then strengthen those sources

• Create or elevate content that defines your category clearly, so AI models adopt the messaging you want buyers to see

Outcome: A clear view of how AI agents perceive your brand, and a roadmap to increase your presence in the moments where APAC buyers make decisions.

When you stack these outcomes together, you see that each reset strengthens the parts of B2B marketing that are most vulnerable, yet most essential to your success. And that foundation becomes even more important when the landscape around you keeps shifting.

While that change plays out, your customers are navigating their own attention overload, engaging only with information they can interpret effortlessly.

In a year shaped by competing demands on everyone’s attention, the brands that invest in these resets early, and reimagine their operating models, will be able to deliver in the moments that matter.

What AI Search Is Really Rewarding (And Why Most Brands Are Getting It Wrong)

The conversation around AI, GEO, and LLM-driven search has gotten very loud very quickly. Everyone wants to know how to optimize for models, how discovery is changing, and what tactics matter now.

What’s getting lost in that noise is something much simpler, and more uncomfortable:

AI search is not rewarding new behavior. It’s rewarding strong execution.

When we examine brands that are performing well right now, including Flexential, a leading provider of hybrid IT and data center solutions, the common thread isn’t some secret AI tactic. It’s that the fundamentals were already in place long before AI entered the picture.

The Real Problem: Trying to Future-Proof Without a Foundation

Flexential entered the year with aggressive year-over-year SEO growth goals across traffic and conversions, while navigating the same pressures most brands are facing:

• Shifting user behavior

• Increasing emphasis on GEO and LLM-driven discovery

• Internal questions around how much to invest in “what’s next”

The challenge wasn’t whether AI mattered. It was whether the search strategy was strong enough to support anything new being layered on top of it. Future-proofing search doesn’t mean abandoning what works. It means making sure the core is solid enough to scale.

The Goals: Designed Around Business Impact, Not Optics

Flexential’s goals reflected that mindset:

• +18–20% YoY growth in total organic conversions

• +25–30% YoY growth in high-intent organic conversions

• +10–15% YoY growth in organic traffic

The focus wasn’t on visibility for visibility’s sake. It was on driving qualified actions and sustaining growth, even as the search landscape evolved.

What Actually Drove Performance

There was no silver bullet. Performance came from consistent execution across a few core areas that compound over time. At ROI·DNA, we treat future-proofing as an execution problem, not an innovation problem. If the foundation isn’t structured, fast, and useful, no AI-layer tactic will deliver consistent visibility.

Content Treated as an Operating Lever

What made this work is that content was treated like an operating system, not a campaign. A lot of brands create content sporadically and then wonder why performance is inconsistent. Flexential kept a repeatable rhythm which meant we were always doing two things at once: expanding coverage into new high-intent areas and tightening the pages already closest to conversion.

That consistency matters even more in an AI-influenced landscape. Models are trained to prioritize clarity and relevance. They look for content that is easy to parse, well-organized, and closely aligned to the question being asked. We see this every day in ROI·DNA Spark: AI visibility isn’t a mysterious new algorithm; it’s the natural byproduct of disciplined structure. Brands that invest in extractable, citable content outperform because models can actually understand and trust them.

In other words: content that’s useful and current. That’s exactly what this cadence enables. Flexential maintained a steady content cadence:

• Four pieces per month (two new, two optimized)

• Clear prioritization around high-intent topics

• Continuous iteration rather than one-time publishing

This matters because AI systems favor content that is clear, current, and well-structured, not because it’s “AI-optimized,” but because it’s actually useful. 

Local SEO That Supports Real Demand

Local visibility wasn’t treated as an afterthought:

• Maps and local profiles were actively improved

• Location-based intent was captured and reinforced

• These signals supported both traditional rankings and AI-assisted discovery

On-Page Discipline Still Counts

Metadata optimization, structured formatting, and clear topical signals were part of ongoing execution, not cleanup work.

AI doesn’t bypass these elements. It relies on them to understand context and relevance.

Speed as a Differentiator

Execution speed played a meaningful role. SEO recommendations and development updates were implemented quickly, allowing gains to compound faster over time.

In a changing search environment, speed is leverage.

We see the opposite all the time: teams have the right strategy, but execution lags because content gets stuck in review cycles or dev tickets sit in a queue. That delay has a real cost; opportunities pass, pages go stale, and you lose the compounding effect that makes organic growth accelerate.

Flexential avoided that trap by maintaining a steady production rhythm (two new pieces per month plus two refreshes/revisions) and moving quickly on technical and on-page updates. 

The result is momentum: you’re not just launching initiatives, you’re iterating continuously and building performance month over month.

The Results: Execution Shows Up in the Numbers

That consistency translated directly into performance:

• Total organic conversions reached 245% of goal, delivering more than double the expected monthly lift

• High-intent organic conversions achieved 111% of goal, driving qualified, revenue-relevant actions

• Organic traffic reached 96% of goal and continues to grow, despite shifts in search behavior

These results weren’t driven by chasing trends. They came from doing the work well, week after week. For us, this validated a pattern we’re seeing across categories: the brands outperforming in AI search aren’t early adopters, they’re rigorous executors. AI didn’t create an advantage for Flexential; it amplified the one they were already building.

Where AI Actually Fits Into This

AI and GEO optimizations matter, but only in the right order.

Schema, FAQs, structured formatting, and AI-friendly layouts act as amplifiers, not starting points. Without a strong SEO foundation, there’s nothing for models to learn from, trust, or surface consistently. 

AI didn’t change the rules. It raised the bar for execution.

The Takeaway

The brands that will succeed in AI-driven search aren’t the ones constantly reinventing their strategy. They’re the ones who:

• Execute consistently

• Move quickly

• Treat content and SEO as core business functions

AI is changing the channel, not the fundamentals. It rewards clarity, structure, and follow-through. And that’s been true long before AI entered the conversation. Want to talk SEO and AI Search to get results? Click Here to get started.

Why 2026 is About Discipline, Not Disruption, for B2B Marketers in EMEA

At the risk of unleashing my inner Larry David, one thing that’s always irritated me about January is the slew of prediction-based content that floods LinkedIn. Well-intentioned as these articles are, the majority lack depth and simply push a narrative that everything needs to be ripped up and started again. It’s reactive behaviour and irritating because such an approach is fundamentally exhausting for everyone involved and prevents any prior successes from compounding. True, change is a constant and the best performers are agile in those circumstances, but there’s also a skill in filtering out the fads and adopting a highly selective stance when it comes to new areas of focus. So, in 2026, it’d be pretty, pretty, pretty good for marketers to remember that not every innovation will drive a meaningful outcome and, sometimes, you can’t beat a classic that’s done well.

As ever, before diving in, it’s helpful to get a feel for the lay of the land. If we look across Europe, growth stagnated in 2025 and forecasts suggest only modest recovery during the year ahead. (We’re dealing with global trade tensions, persistent inflation, high financing costs and countless geo-political issues.) Given the circumstances, business trading conditions are challenging, CFOs are concerned by controlling costs, marketing budgets are generally flat, and outcome-orientation is the order of the day. At present, the real purchasing power of marketing spend is declining so, clichéd as it is to say, we’re going to need to continue doing more with less. But humans are resourceful when backed against a wall, and scarcity can be great for sharpening focus.

ABX is the Central Operating System for Revenue

This is where ABX comes in. Tasked with driving pipeline this year, I’d be placing all my chips on an account-based go-to-market strategy, funnelling precious time and resources towards high-propensity, best-fit brands. I’d be building a list of existing customers with the most headroom for cross and upsell, while calibrating net new acquisition towards growth verticals where we have the most compelling proof points. If you’ve already got a track record for driving value for a particular company, then it stands to reason you can do likewise for other firms in their domain.

There’s also an important distinction between ABM and ABX. The former, fair or not, creates a perception of being the preserve of marketing, and can elicit scepticism from other areas of the business, whereas the latter provides the foundation for a proper cross-functional operating system that gets marketing, sales and customer success onto the same page. A famous Lyndon Johnson quote (about J. Edgar Hoover) feels apt here: “Better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside pissing in.” True alignment requires commitment from CMOs and CROs to institute a robust ‘one team’ culture, demanding that codified internal engagement processes and a joint success measurement framework are non-negotiables. This’ll also help keep your feet dry.

Brand is More Vital Than Ever – But You Need to Measure it for Internal Credibility 

More broadly, if we think about the anatomy of a sale spanning ‘brand’, ‘demand’ and ‘revenue’ activities, then much greater attention must be given towards meaningfully balancing and connecting these stages. It’s generally accepted that long-term brand activity creates mental availability for buyers, placing your offering top of mind when they explore options to soothe a pain point, thus driving long-term pipeline. The challenge has always been measuring this in a way that your finance overlords find credible. Marketing teams need to build top of funnel measurement muscle to position brand initiatives as value-adding as opposed to cost centres, by running regular brand lift studies, measuring share of voice and correlating brand engagement with things like pipeline velocity and conversion rate.

Powering Through the ‘Messy Middle’

We’re good at delivering MQLs, although are often at odds with sales when it comes to expectations, which can impact conversion to SAL status. We also need to avoid the tendency to wash our hands of contacts at that stage of the game, instead leaning in to align on enablement and air cover that keeps prospects engaged while sales do their thing. The messy middle is where many B2B opportunities go to die, characterised by decision-making inertia at the client end, so maintaining momentum and providing subtle nudges is vital in keeping the purchase journey on the road. Given the ongoing expansion of buying committees, it’s never been more critical to meaningfully adapt a value proposition to ensure resonance with the varied agendas of the different personas - especially the hidden buyers - who can unexpectedly make or break a deal. Making a meaningful impression at this point will also help overcome internal handwringing when it comes to attributed influence over eventual wins.

It’s Not Over Once a Sale is Made

Once a deal is over the line, marketing should also be thinking about post-sale. This relates to questions like, what can we do to help support smooth onboarding, what does a longer term account expansion plan look like, and how can we leverage existing customer advocacy to drive future growth? We often talk about alignment between marketing and sales, but much less about our relationship with the customer success function. Industry estimates suggest that customer acquisition costs for net new logos can be as much as seven times higher than expanding footprint with existing customers. Win rates tend to be considerably higher in this context too, especially since buying committees are generally known, while friction is reduced thanks to legal and compliance issues having already been ironed out. There’s also a lot to be said about establishing a regular dialogue with customer champions and arming them with collateral about how you’re adding value for their business, and getting them to do your bidding within their wider organization. As per Michael LeBoeuf, noted business author: “A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” The funny thing is, you might need to spend some time helping them understand why they should be satisfied.

Data is the New Oil and Refining it is More Critical Than Ever

I’m over a thousand words into this piece and have yet to touch on the disruptive and transformative impact of AI. This is probably the most heavily debated topic on the planet today, and a movable feast that’s profoundly reshaping how data capture works in B2B marketing. The ongoing decline in website visits is driving a reduction in direct form fills and gated conversions, along with less behavioral tracking data being available. This is compounded by third-party cookie deprecation, limiting cross-site tracking and retargeting, amplified by privacy-first browsers and GDPR regulations across EMEA. This shift isn’t a bad thing in my mind because it’s forcing the marketing community to get back to basics and abandon several lazy habits we’ve fallen into. For instance, gated content was never actually a direct proxy for intent or buyer readiness. Sometimes, people just want to casually read the content without being instantaneously pounced upon by an excitable sales rep. Many analysts now talk about needing to pivot towards a first-party data strategy, but this has always been the gold standard. We just deprioritized it in favor of cheaper and easier approaches.

“What’s in it for me?”

Moving forward, value-exchange experiences are going to be vital. Sure, you can have my details, but not for a re-hashed PDF. Give me immediate utility through an ROI calculator, maturity assessment, or solution configurator. People also expect friction-free experiences online, so think about progressive profiling, which means asking for an absolute minimum level of information – such as an email address – and then adding fields over time. Community and event engagement are also valuable weapons in a marketer’s arsenal. People in our industry are inquisitive, always on the lookout for valuable information, with a desire to engage with like-minded peers. Owned communities, round tables and events, combined with insightful subject matter experts and trusted influencers will act as a magnet and help establish your brand as authoritative and differentiated.

To Recap…

As we step into 2026, let’s resist the temptation to rip up the playbook and instead double down on what works, while sharpening for what’s next. ABX is the operating system that unites marketing, sales, and customer success around outcomes that matter. Brand still matters, but it needs measurement muscle. Demand needs to evolve beyond vanity metrics and navigate through the messy middle. Post-sale isn’t an afterthought; it’s the growth engine. AI and privacy shifts are rewriting the rules, but that’s not a crisis, it’s a catalyst to abandon lazy habits and get back to fundamentals – earning trust, creating value, and capturing data the right way.

I feel less grumpy now I’ve got all that off my chest. Larry, get back in your box.

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Emerging AI-powered browsers like ChatGPT’s Atlas and Perplexity’s Comet are challenging Google’s long-standing monopoly—transforming how people find, decide, and buy. As search behavior moves from searching and clicking to asking and doing, the implications for B2B discovery, advertising, and visibility are profound.

In this issue:

• The New Search Wars: AI Browsers Challenge Google’s Dominance

• Advertising in the Age of LLMs: What Happens When AI Becomes the Ad Platform

The New Search Wars: AI Browsers Challenge Google’s Dominance

For two decades, "Googling" served as the internet's operating system with a de facto search engine monopoly. But that dominance is now facing its first structural test.

The threat isn't coming from a faster browser; it's coming from a fundamental shift in how users behave. We're not seeing a repeat of the Chrome vs. Firefox wars. Instead, challengers have entered the arena that are competing on user intent instead of browser speed. Search and discovery have flipped on their heads, moving from "searching and clicking" to "asking and doing."

The New Contenders: Agents Over Search Bars

Google faces its challenge from browsers designed to act on information rather than merely index it. In other words, these "agentic" tools change the user experience from information retrieval to task delegation.

• OpenAI’s Atlas: Launched in October 2025, this tool positions itself as a "super assistant" instead of a traditional browser. Its "Agent Mode" goes beyond queries to full workflows: comparing flights, opening pages, and compiling options into a shortlist to avoid the dreaded tab juggling.

• Perplexity’s Comet: Comet is positioning itself to move users "From Answers to Action". It’s built to delegate high-intent tasks—like "buy a high-quality office chair" or "book a meeting based on this email". It already has 15 million monthly active users.

• Arc: While Atlas and Comet fight for the consumer, Arc seems to be focused on the productivity power user. Its AI features focus on synthesis, like summarizing tabs and automating research workflows to eliminate annoying manual tedium.

While these challengers may initially treat Google’s search index as a backend utility, strategic moves—such as OpenAI’s development of an AI search engine, the launch of its own browser, and plans for integrated ads—indicate that these tools are fundamentally competing to become the user's primary destination.

The B2B Cascade is Faster Than You Think

Here’s a critical wake-up call for US marketers: far from a consumer trend waiting to trickle down, this is a B2B-led reality.

Forrester reports that B2B buyers are adopting AI-powered search at three times the rate of consumers. In the US specifically, the acceleration is even more dramatic: 48% of US buyers now say they use GenAI for vendor discovery, compared to just 14% in other regions. Furthermore, 90% of organizations report using generative AI in some aspect of their purchasing process.

Navigating the “Rainy Day” of Search with David Fox

At 6sense Breakthrough, we had one of those rare conversations that stops you in your tracks. In a sea of opinions about AI search, David Fox, Bloomerang’s Search & AI Optimization Manager, stood out immediately. It’s not often we meet someone who can keep pace with how fast this space is moving — and how dramatically it’s reshaping B2B discovery.

His perspective aligned with what we’re seeing across our client base: disruption isn’t something to fear — it’s leverage for teams willing to adapt faster than their competitors.

Fox argues that while this shift may feel destabilizing for incumbents, it creates a once-in-a-decade opportunity for agile brands to outmaneuver category giants.

The “Indirect Relationship” Reality 

Marketers should accept that the direct line to the customer is fading. "For a long time, we had a really great thing going where we got to talk directly to the people that were looking for products and services,” explains Fox, “and we're not going to have that anymore.” This means elements like your website speed matters less than your ability to feed accurate data to the agent representing the buyer.

And accuracy is key. Before optimizing for AI, ensure your product or solution reality matches your competitive claims. As Fox warns, "If the answer is no [we aren't better than our competitors], that's not really an SEO issue. You might have to do some soul searching.”

Our Head of Marketing, Gina Inks, reinforces this pivot away from traditional tactics: “We’re moving out of an era where search rewarded surface-level optimization like keywords, backlinks, and structural signals into an AI-driven era that prioritizes meaning.”

The Rainy Day Opportunity for Underdogs

Fox views the current volatility as a reset button. He uses a racing analogy: "If it's great weather outside in a race... It's going to be really hard to overtake three cars. But if it's raining, you could overtake ten.” For B2B challenger brands, this is the rainy day. "Now is the time to try new things, especially if you're an underdog,” Fox notes. “You can go up against these domains that are massive and you might win".

However, the sheer volume of traditional search still matters. Our Senior Team Director of SEM, Aaron Woolway, provides the necessary context on Google's current relevance: 

"Google Search is still relied on massively, as there are over 5 Trillion+ searches annually.” He adds, “Chat GPT is for people seeking information and practical guidance/writing, but Google is still the source for looking for and discovering products and is present in half of the discovery for new brands, products, and research.”

The Future of Monetization

Where is the ad model going? Woolway thinks, “Early ideas on monetization will likely be ads on unpaid subscriptions, similar to how music apps like Pandora are set up.” Fox’s theory is that companies like OpenAI could monetize the second prompt in a conversation, rather than the first. While the first prompt delivers a "golden goose" answer, the second prompt implies specific intent and carries reliable user data from the first prompt for direction. "You could probably monetize the second prompt,” he offers, “without poisoning the well of why you're valuable to general consumers right now.” 

The New Playbook: Structured, Cited, and Trusted

As recent analysis from Artefact notes, AI agents are programmed to evaluate products based on "logic, rules, and signals" rather than clever copywriting or brand sentiment. A claim on your own website is marketing; a claim cited by a third party is a fact. Inks notes, “This shift should feel both comforting and exciting. When you speak directly to your audience’s needs with expertise and authenticity, AI search systems can actually understand it, and reward it."

We’re helping enterprise teams implement a three-part framework to secure their place in the answer:

1. Be Structured (The Prompt Graph): You need to "model the graph" of user intent. Use structured data (like schema markup) and break content into liftable chunks (tables, clear H2s) that answer specific sub-tasks so AI agents can easily ingest them.

2. Be Cited (Digital PR): Marketing claims on your own site hold less weight. Seed your facts and leverage press releases to get on third-party platforms that the AI treats as sources of truth, such as peer review sites (G2, TrustRadius, Capterra) and community forums like Reddit.

3. Be Trusted (Experience): Google’s own guidance confirms that "structured data" and a "great page experience" are the keys to appearing in AI overviews.

This focus on experience validates what we discussed last month on UX as a differentiator. With AI, a great page experience proves your credibility and usability to the machines that inform buying decisions. UX is where personalization becomes tangible.

The Next Era of Visibility

Solutions like our AI Results Blueprint and ROI·DNA Spark frameworks work emerged from this exact shift.

We focus on answerability—how machines read, interpret, and decide whether your brand deserves to be surfaced. These frameworks help enterprise teams strengthen the signals that matter most in an AI-led discovery landscape.

The search wars have evolved beyond who has the best list of links; the winner will be the one who earns the trust of the agent. The brands that prepare their data for this "asking and doing" reality will own the next era of visibility.

Advertising in the Age of LLMs: What Happens When AI Becomes the Ad Platform

A new phase of digital discovery is accelerating, and it’s happening faster than anyone predicted. What began as scattered experiments in AI-assisted browsing has turned into a structural shift in how people evaluate, decide, and act online. In APAC alone, IDC forecasts that enterprise investment in GenAI will grow faster than any other global region through 2027, signaling where business behavior is already heading. This is no longer about new interfaces; it’s about new decision-making systems.

As AI browsers like ChatGPT’s Atlas, Perplexity’s Comet, and Arc redefine how users engage with information, they’re also setting the stage for the next frontier: AI-native advertising. Not ads that sit beside results, but influence embedded directly within the reasoning layer itself. For marketers, this represents the most significant shift in digital influence since the programmatic wave, one which moves discovery from searching and clicking to asking and doing.

And as this shift accelerates, we believe a new advertising model is forming, one that brands must prepare for long before the monetization layer arrives.

1. When AI Becomes the Interface, What Becomes the Ad?

LLM-powered browsers operate fundamentally differently from traditional search engines. Instead of offering links, they synthesize, evaluate, and contextualize, becoming the first point of interpretation, not just the first point of discovery.

That means the “ad slot” of the future won’t be a blue link or a sidebar banner. It will live inside the conversation.

Below are the most plausible monetization models emerging as AI ecosystems mature:

A. Sponsored Citations

AI answers are built on sources such as documentation, websites, benchmarks, analyst reports, product pages, and more. In the future, these citations could become:

• Sponsored placements

• Priority sources

• Brand-verified content modules

This model mirrors SEM but within an AI explanation.

B. Conversational Recommendations

Agents like Atlas and Comet already surface products and tools contextually. The monetized version might look like:

Think Amazon’s “Sponsored Products”, but embedded within an AI-generated buying journey.

C. Action-Driven Ad Units

This is the most transformational model where ads don’t ask for a click but offer an action:

• “Would you like me to build this report using Vendor X?”

• “Should I generate a comparison with Provider Y?”

• “Want me to schedule a demo with Z?”

Advertising becomes agentic, powering decisions, not just discovery.

D. Personalization via Synthetic Personas

In APAC, where digital identity and behavior differ dramatically across markets, LLM-driven advertising could adapt to cultural nuance, language, and localized buying expectations, a direction early testing in ROI·DNA Spark already hints at.

2. We've Seen Inflection Points Like This Before

To understand the future of AI advertising, it helps to remember its predecessors:

• SEO → SEM: monetization came from prioritizing visibility

• Programmatic: monetization came from automating relevance

• Social algorithms: monetization came from influencing feed curation

LLMs represent the fourth major advertising inflection point.

But for the first time, ads won’t be placed around content.
They’ll be woven into the reasoning layer itself.

This is why the shift is profound. Influence moves from the page to the model, and every brand must understand how that model sees, interprets, and ranks them.

3. The Challenge: Trust, Bias, and the New Measurement Problem

AI advertising faces hurdles far larger than any previous digital shift:

A. Trust

Users won’t tolerate “hidden influence.”
Regulatory bodies across the U.S., EU, Singapore, and Australia have already signaled through AI governance frameworks and transparency requirements that algorithmic explainability will be essential for AI-driven recommendations.

B. Bias

If AI models over-prioritize sponsors, they risk degrading answer quality and adoption.
Expect a balancing act between revenue and credibility.

C. Measurement

How do you measure:

• Influence inside a conversation?

• Brand presence inside an LLM answer?

• The role of AI reasoning in a purchase?

The traditional marketing funnel collapses when the assistant handles awareness → evaluation → action in one prompt.

This is why marketers need to instrument their presence now before monetization rewires the landscape.

4. Preparing for the AI Ad Era: What Marketers Must Do Today

Even without a formal ad layer, the groundwork for AI advertising is already being laid. And the leading indicator of future performance is present-day visibility inside LLMs.

This is where ROI·DNA and Hotwire’s AI Lab ecosystem becomes essential.

A. Understand Your AI Visibility (ROI·DNA Spark)

ROI·DNA Spark, adopted by brands like Pure Storage and Equinix already analyzes:

• How your brand appears across ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Google AI Overview

• Which sources inform AI answers

• How different personas receive different results

• What structural gaps exist in your content

In other words:
Spark is optimization for the AI era, before the AI ad era begins.

B. Strengthen Your Data & Evidence Layer

AI models reward structure and credibility:

• Clear product documentation

• First-party insights

• Robust metadata

• Publicly verifiable claims

• High-quality content with domain authority

This is tomorrow’s ranking system.

C. Build Intelligence for Precision Targeting (ROI·DNA Ignite)

ROI·DNA Ignite, now in beta with Red Hat and SAP Concur, uses RAG to blend:

• Web data

• Technographic signals

• Wallet share

• Internal account engagement

…into AI-driven account prioritization.

When AI ads arrive, this intelligence will determine which audiences are worth influencing and how.

D. Prepare Creative for a Conversational Environment

Brand voice, proof points, and differentiation must be rethought for:

• Dialogue

• Decision support

• Multi-step reasoning

• Summaries and comparisons

This is messaging designed for agents, not algorithms.

5. The Future of Advertising Is Trust

AI advertising is coming, whether in six months or six years. But the era of “bidding for clicks” is ending.

The next battleground is earning trust inside the conversation.

Brands that:

• understand how AI interprets them,

• optimize their presence today, and

• build credibility through structured, verifiable content

…will dominate the first generation of AI-native advertising.

For everyone else, the gap will widen fast.

Because as the search landscape becomes conversational and contextual, the brands preparing now won’t just stay visible, they’ll define the future of discovery itself.

Powered by ROI•DNA & Hotwire

Personalized ABX engagement is no longer a luxury, it’s the baseline. But in a noisy, AI-driven market, real differentiation comes from how you apply it. This month’s Brief explores what happens when B2B teams stop talking about personalization and start operationalizing it—using AI, UX, and brave experimentation to create experiences that actually move revenue.

In this issue:

• The CTMO & CTRO Era: What to Do About It

• The UX Differentiator: Personalizing Journeys Through Design

The CTMO & CTRO Era: What to Do About It

In the last few weeks, I’ve brushed shoulders with growth leaders from some of the world’s biggest B2B tech brands across multiple events and roundtables. And the key feedback I keep hearing?

Enough with the theory. We’ve had enough of philosophical AI.

I’m taking the phrase “CTMO” from our client, Ben Munroe, APAC CMO of Cloudflare, because it’s just too delicious not to use. It captures the moment perfectly. The age of the Chief Tech Marketing Officer is here; where marketers are as fluent in APIs as they are in ABX, and where ‘ad spend’ now sits next to ‘prompt engineering’ on the growth agenda. So, enough of AI as a fluffy theory. The reality is that we’ve all got to become a little more technologist.

So here’s a message for the CTMOs, CTROs, and the bold HOTS (Heads of Tech Sales) out there: it’s a difficult and overwhelming time, yes. But it’s also one brimming with opportunity… as long as you’re willing to seize it. The era of the willful MQL chasers and paid media abusers is over. It’s time to shake things up. 

Experiment. Experiment. Experiment.

Echoing Signals from the Frontline

Welcome to the New Buyer’s Journey

In 2025, the first moment most B2B buyers begin researching no longer starts on Google. It starts in Gen AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude etc. And this is reshaping consumer behavior and expectation. Personalization isn’t craved, it’s expected. 

If your brand isn’t being cited in LLMs and if you’re not serving meaningful and tailored, impactful content through ABX, your brand is invisible or irrelevant. 

That’s the new reality: Content is the king, the queen and the whole royal party. And efficacy is the new silver bullet. 

It’s time to audit, disrupt, and innovate. Brand relevance, long-term nurture, and true ABX are finally winning over short-term lead gen. And sales-marketing alignment isn’t  conversation anymore - it’s critical.

The New Reality: From Brand Relevance to True ABX

1. Shift from Performance to Brand

The smartest brands are rebalancing. Shifting budget from pure performance marketing to long-term brand building to ensure that when buyers are in-market, they’ve already selected you as a contender.
Our recent panel at the APAC B2B Marketing Leaders Forum found that Cloudflare, Twilio and Red Hat are all investing in Gen AI Optimization (GEO) to strengthen visibility inside AI ecosystems.

This isn’t about going broad - it’s about going smart. Layer behavioral, firmographic, intent, and LLM data to refine audiences and build journeys that pre-empt and mirror buyer needs.

2. Go Back to the Basics (and Interrogate the Approach)

Now AI is taking control of buyer discovery, the fundamentals matter more than ever. So ground your strategies in data that actually matters - from LLM visibility to market and engagement insights and a clear map of the buying committee.

Why? Because true ABX isn’t about serving ads to known companies and hoping you catch those in market (based on what your sales teams tell you). It’s about anticipating intent and perception signals before they surface. And meeting buyers where they are.

As B2B Tech decision-making is becoming decentralized and the committee is growing into roles you’d normally deprioritize, like HR. The hidden funnel and buyers are becoming more important than ever to demystify.

“It’s not just about AI - it’s about integrating everything we do and really understanding the mechanics of the buying committee.” says Sulo Hardie, VP Marketing APAC at SAP Concur. “Agentic AI (ROI DNA Ignite) gives us a huge leap in how we connect our value proposition and messaging. The next challenge is turning that intelligence into personalized plans and scalable execution.”

By connecting LLM data, 3rd party intent data and CRM intelligence via dashboards and AI platforms like Gemini, Notebook LM and Chat GPT, you can build a wealth of insights for ABX that feels personal, timely, and memorable.

3. Practice Brave Incrementalism

Another quotable phrase from Ben Munroe (thank you - paying it forward): this is the era of brave incrementalism - moving fast and thoughtfully through strategic experimentation is the only path to growth.

Apply it to Generative AI optimization and true ABX by:

• Testing how AI models surface your brand across ecosystems.

• Aligning marketing, sales, and customer teams around shared learning loops.

• Leveraging AI to build more personalized journeys, faster.

• Turning experimentation into evidence.

“Brave incrementalism isn’t hesitation. It’s momentum you can control.”

4. Leverage AI-Powered Intelligence for Deeper Targeting and Resonance

Forward-thinking brands like Cloudflare are using AI-powered intelligence to build broader yet deeper resonance.

Working with Hotwire & ROI·DNA, they’ve scaled ABX (or ABE) by layering industry, account, and stakeholder insights to design hyper-personalized journeys that move faster and convert better. Turning reports into relationships… and to revenue.

By generating custom persona and industry reports in days - not weeks - Cloudflare is 3x faster to market and has sped up execution, sharpened targeting, and deepened relevance across priority buying committees for $60m worth of market opportunity. 

5. Rethink Sales as Part of Brand Building

As Graham Hawkins, Founder of Gro3 and Qoos AI noted in our recent Growth Leader roundtable, buyers are forming opinions before sales even show up.
Sales and marketing must mirror one another, reinforcing a consistent story from awareness through conversion.

Mel Ivory, Swoogo’s APAC Sales Director calls this “the human loop”: marketing builds trust; sales extends it.

And as Nicholas Kontopoulos, CMO of Twilio, argues: most CMOs talk customer-centricity, but few treat sales alignment as a superpower.

In the era of AI theory and practicality, that sales and marketing alignment grounds every brand promise in customer reality.

Closing Thoughts

The CTMO and CTRO era isn’t about titles, it’s about evolution. It’s about curiosity over complacency. Velocity over vanity metrics. Collaboration over silos.

The leaders who thrive won’t optimize their way through disruption - they’ll build their way through it.

So go on. Question everything. Test the untested. Break a few things.

Because the future isn’t waiting for you to catch up - it’s already experimenting without you.

The UX Differentiator: Personalizing Journeys Through Design

In B2B marketing, “personalization” is everywhere, and often nowhere.

We pour so much energy into ABX programs, AI-driven targeting, and sophisticated martech stacks designed to reach the right person with the right message at the right time. But for all the talk of precision and intent, the moment a buyer actually clicks through is where most experiences fall apart.

Because personalization isn’t only about how you attract your audience.
It’s about what happens once they engage.

Where Personalization Becomes Real

When that high-value prospect lands on your website, what do they find? A thoughtful journey that anticipates their needs—or a generic experience that treats everyone the same?

UX and design are where personalization becomes tangible. It’s where relevance is translated into reality through intuitive navigation, frictionless paths, and content that surfaces naturally based on intent.

Every click is a signal. Every scroll is a story.
UX is what turns those signals into experiences that feel intentional, human, and built for the buyer—not just the brand.

Case in Point: Mindtickle’s Website Transformation

Mindtickle, a leader in revenue enablement, faced a familiar challenge: its website wasn’t keeping up with the strength of its business. Traffic was rising, but the experience felt dated and difficult to navigate. Prospects struggled to see how Mindtickle’s AI-powered platform solved their real-world challenges.

Competitors were raising the bar with sleek, AI-first web experiences, so Mindtickle partnered with ROI·DNA to reimagine its site, not as a static brand hub, but as a growth engine.

The vision was bold yet simple: transform a multi-product SaaS offering into a digital experience that feels modern, outcome-driven, and trustworthy.

We reorganized journeys so key personas—CROs, enablement leaders, and RevOps teams—could find relevant content in a click or two. Proof points, like customer stories and ROI metrics, appeared earlier in the journey to build confidence faster. We also developed a modular design system that balanced clarity, motion, and accessibility, making a complex platform feel intuitive and authoritative.

Launched in February 2025, the new site became a benchmark for what thoughtful design can do. Within six months, Mindtickle saw:

• Nearly 13% lift in pipeline

• Higher conversion rates and deeper engagement

• Visitors reaching relevant content in fewer clicks

• Organic sessions up 33% and new users up 37%
  

The transformation proved what many marketers miss: UX isn’t cosmetic—it’s commercial. 

That proof is validated by recent insights into the revenue potential of strong UX. Foundational Forrester research found that conversion rates can be boosted up to 200% with a well-crafted user interface. What’s more, they found that every $1 invested in UX can yield a $100 return—a 9,900% ROI. That’s market-shifting potential.

From Interface to Impact

UX is personalization in motion. It’s how your brand shows understanding instead of claiming it.

When design, data, and content strategy work together, you move beyond static buyer journeys into living, adaptive experiences that evolve with intent. That’s where AI becomes an accelerator, not a gimmick.

Platforms like Mutiny, our no-code AI personalization partner, make this orchestration scalable. Mutiny allows teams to dynamically tailor web experiences for different audiences in real time—bridging the gap between intent and interaction without the usual dev bottlenecks.

Paired with a strong UX foundation, tools like these transform personalization from a marketing tactic into an ecosystem that learns, adapts, and drives measurable growth.

The Differentiation Imperative

Personalization is the baseline. Experience is the differentiator, and it’s where pipeline is won or lost.

In a noisy, AI-driven market, every brand can target, optimize, and personalize on paper. But few can make buyers feel it. That’s where the true moat lies: in the quality of the journey, the clarity of the design, and the human thought behind every interaction.

Because at the end of the day, the most personalized thing you can do isn’t say someone’s name—it’s design an experience that feels like it was built just for them.

Powered by ROI•DNA & Hotwire

B2B marketing is facing some of its biggest market disruptors in years. AI is rewriting search, low-quality content is eroding trust, and Europe’s privacy rules are reshaping data strategies. What looks like disruption is actually growth in disguise—new levers, higher standards, smarter plays. This month’s Brief explores how teams in the US, APAC, and Europe are turning these shifts into an advantage.

In this issue:

• AI Slop is Breaking B2B Content Marketing. What's Next?

• AI Max on Google: The SEM Tool Blowing Up Your Tech Stack

• Privacy as Progress: The Shift Away from Third-Party Data is More Than a Technical Adjustment

AI Slop is Breaking B2B Content Marketing. What's Next?

Let's wear our microeconomist hats for a moment.

We know that supply (without the presence of large outside forces) does what supply always does: It chases demand.

Demand shows up, supply supplies. Pretty simple, right?

That’s how it works in content marketing, too. B2B buyers want information, and B2B marketing teams provide it.

But not all supply is equal, and marketing teams know that. So we weave first- and third-party data, experience, and insights gleaned from sales teams to shape the content we create. The result? A sharper, more accurate match between what buyers want and what marketers deliver. That accuracy matters because it creates trust, which can be parlayed into sales potential. If I trust you to explain to me how to solve a problem, chances are I’ll trust you to solve it too. It’s the raison d'être of consulting.

In B2B marketing, AI is great at solving this matching problem. It looks at patterns in the data, tells us what different kinds of buyers are searching for, and informs us where the gaps are. Entire billion-dollar businesses, Google being the obvious one, were built on this idea.

All good so far, right?

But here’s where it gets messy.

The Rise of AI Slop

Supplying the demand for information is a two-part punch. 

First, we have to know what buyers are actually looking for (the matching problem above). Marketers have been using AI tools for years to do this, and now, with generative AI, they can push even further.

The second punch is generating the assets themselves. Here too, generative AI looks promising. It can speed up research; crank out copy, images, videos, and podcasts; and help marketers personalize campaigns at scale. 

Now comes the catch. That same ease has unleashed something else: The rise of AI slop. And it’s distorting supply and demand. AI slop is mass-produced, low-quality, generic AI content, created for volume over value.

Let’s take one of the biggest use cases of AI in marketing: Personalization. According to Nielsen’s 2025 Annual Marketing Report, 62% of marketers in Asia Pacific already use AI for campaign personalization and optimization. That’s well above the 50% in Europe, and a notch higher than the 60% in North America.

Personalization can take a lot of forms. Recommendation engines powered by AI. Chatbots programmed to deliver tailored responses. And generative tools that spin up copy, visuals, or webpages unique to each user.

That last one is where AI slop is starting to show up fast. Today, 34% of B2B marketers use generative AI to research customers and personalize content such as emails, says Adobe. But many are doing it badly. Here’s how one senior B2B marketer in APAC reacted after encountering it firsthand. (TL;DR: Meera Guthi, a marketing and content strategist at NTT DATA, received a ‘personalized’ email that used AI to scrape her profile to tailor a message.)

Source: LinkedIn

Evidence of sloppy AI personalization isn’t just anecdotal. It’s starting to show up in the data. According to Gartner, 53% of B2B buyers say personalization “did more harm than good during their latest buying journey”. 

In APAC, the costs of AI slop can sting even more. According to Forrester, 72% of business buyers in the region are millennials or from Gen Z, and they have higher expectations for seamless personalization.

From Slop to Flop

It’s easy to dismiss AI slop as a teething problem. But those teeth bite. And they are starting to leave marks. Here are some of the ways AI slop hurts:

• Trust is eroded: A flood of low-quality content makes most buyers skeptical of most content, even the good stuff.

• Attention becomes more expensive: More skepticism leads to buyers raising the bar. Which means good marketers must work even harder to cut through the noise.

• Acquisition costs go up: As the cost of attention rises, marketers must pay more (ads, sponsorships, etc.) to be heard.

• Sales are impacted: The buyers Gartner surveyed said they were 3.2 times more likely to regret their purchase, and 44% were less likely to buy from that brand again.

A New Equilibrium. And Some Guidance

This brings us to the big question: If slop (which isn’t going away) breaks the old model, what comes next? One way to answer that is with economics. AI slop isn’t just noise; it’s a structural force that distorts supply and demand. And when markets get distorted, they reorganize. Economic modeling gives us three possible futures.

Of these, the K-shaped model is the most likely. Why? Because it’s how disruption often plays out. For B2B marketers in APAC, that means the critical question isn’t whether AI slop will reshape the market, but where we want to end up on the K.

Smart B2B marketing teams know they need to climb the upper branch of the K. Slop won’t earn the trust it takes to sell complex, high-cost solutions, especially in Asia. The “how” is more complicated because it’s still taking shape. In the meantime, leaders are doubling down on first principles: Factual, well-structured, relevant writing that leans on AI for efficiency. The full playbook is still being written. Watch this space.

AI Max on Google: The SEM Tool Blowing Up Your Tech Stack

AI Overviews are rewriting the SERP. What used to be a clean list of ads and links is now a dense, often chaotic block of generative answers. Ads appear above, below, and—surprise!—inside the Overview. Now imagine… your brand is nowhere to be seen. Yikes. 

Thanks to AI Overviews and the rise of zero-click search, that nightmare is becoming routine. Across our client base, we’re seeing the same challenges emerge: impressions up, clicks down, and visibility harder to earn and easier to lose.

At ROI·DNA, we’ve already built a full-funnel, AI-optimized strategy across SEM, SEO, and generative engine optimization, or GEO (yes, that’s a thing now). But staying ahead means staying curious, especially when Google rolls out something new.  

Enter AI Max: Google’s latest SEM beta designed to get your ads inside AI Overviews and the chat-style AI Mode. Is it a silver bullet? No. Your core SEM strategy—solid keywords that align with assets and landing pages, and smart bidding strategies—is still doing the heavy lifting. However, zero-click behavior is accelerating, with click-through rates falling by up to 30% in some categories, including B2B software (Bain & Company). Google is clearly positioning AI Max as its newest ad format strategy to counter the issue. 

The Hype vs. Reality of AI Max

Google is framing AI Max as the next evolution of paid search—smarter, more contextual, more “in tune” with how people search today. But let’s not forget: Performance Max was pitched as the same kind of revolution, and many marketers (us included) are still fighting its lack of transparency and quality control. 

While Google claims AI Max can deliver up to 14% more conversions at similar CPA—or 27% gains for exact/phrase-heavy campaigns, these claims are very “results not typical.” Google’s betas often come with performance volatility, including irrelevant traffic, lower conversion quality, and a general loss of control without careful oversight. 

So, is it all hype or worth testing? Let’s break it down.

How AI Overviews Flip the Script for B2B SEM

AI Overviews shift the goalposts in two critical ways:

1. Search isn’t just SERPs anymore. Research happens inside AI-generated summaries, not just in the list of links below. If your SEM strategy doesn’t win there, you risk vanishing from the buyer journey altogether.
   

2. Answers now act like solutions. AI Overviews favor content that solves a problem. Your ads can’t feel bolted on—they need to position your brand as part of the answer.

AI Overviews are far from perfect. They can misinterpret intent, cite thin sources, miss obvious brands, and straight up get things wrong. Lest we forget, Google’s favorite caveat is, “AI responses may include mistakes.” But there is no denying, if you can land inside them, your visibility jumps to the front of the line, and you start shaping how your audience thinks before they even reach your site.

So What Does AI Max Actually Do?

AI Max doesn’t replace your SEM strategy, it layers on top of it. Instead of relying on rigid keywords, it “listens” to user queries and Google’s own AI summaries, then decides when (and where) to drop your ad in.

Here’s the stripped-down version of what it offers—and where we see cracks:

• Intent-based matching. Looks beyond keywords to query phrasing and AI context. But early testing shows relevancy gaps, especially with competitor terms Google interprets as “similar.”
  

• Dynamic ad copy. Auto-tests multiple headlines and descriptions. That’s great for scale, but it also means losing some control of messaging.
  

• Flexible landing pages. Google decides the “best” spot on your site for the click. Guardrails like URL inclusions are critical, or you risk traffic bleeding into irrelevant or non-localized pages.
  

• Some control, not full control. You can still manage negatives, assets, and exclusions. But don’t confuse that with the precision of traditional campaigns.

Bottom line: to make it really work, you need to plug in the data that matters most. 

A Little Pilot Goes a Long Way

Before fully committing to any beta or folding it into our standard playbook, we look for performance signals that are both scalable and repeatable for our clients — things like clear conversion lift, transparency, consistency in controls, and reliable benchmarks. That said, we have a beta testing playbook for AI Max to help get this rolling.

Our Playbook:

1. Control the parameters. Start small, test a single campaign or product line to understand AI Max’s performance without overcommitting budget or introducing potential performance dips to your broader strategy. Evaluate the impact before you scale up. 
   

2. Audit key settings. Don’t just rely on the out-of-the-box setup. There are key campaign-level settings that need a closer look, such as text customization, final URL expansion, and brand inclusions/exclusions. One setting to pay extra attention to is URL inclusions. They’re essential for keeping campaigns in a controlled environment, especially for in-language efforts. Without that guardrail, Google can easily pull in other languages or unintended pages.

   • If you want to get granular control at the ad group level, many of the same settings are available, but in addition, there are search term matching and locations of interest.
     

3. Wire up your CRM for offline tracking. Every MQL, SQL, and opportunity gets imported into Google Ads so AI Max-enabled search campaigns can spot which signals are leading to pipeline. The fresher your CRM feed (updated lead scores, won/lost outcomes, deal value), the smarter AI Max’s intent matching becomes. Over time, you’ll see it stop chasing low-value clicks and start zeroing in on contacts ready to move. 

   • Ensure that you are optimizing to the lowest funnel CRM conversion event signals that have enough volume to meet the threshold of at least 15 conversions in the last 30 days. The more volume we have over this threshold is a bonus, so AI has more data to stay up to date on what counts as a “win.” 
     

4. Launch your pilot campaign. Allocate a modest budget (around 5 percent of your search spend) to your AI Max experiment. Keep a close eye on irrelevant queries and ad performance. Adjust negative keyword lists, asset exclusions, and URL exclusions as early warning signs of waste.
   

5. Analyze results and scale thoughtfully. In the first 2–4 weeks, focus on early signals like CTR, CPC, engagement quality, and conversion rates to MQLs. As campaigns run longer, layer in mid-funnel metrics such as cost per SQL and sales acceptance. True pipeline and revenue impact will take more time — typically several months in B2B buying cycles — but the asset report can still give you immediate insight into which headlines, landing pages, and creative are performing best. Apply those learnings back into both AI Max and your standard campaigns.

TL;DR: AI Max = Cautious Optimism

AI Overviews aren’t going away—and if your ads aren’t showing up in them, someone else’s are. Google is clearly betting big on this new SERP experience, and AI Max doesn’t seem like it will be going anywhere anytime soon.

It’s still early days but some of our initial tests have given us pause and even more reason to test and measure with rigor.  AI Max cannot be adopted blindly. We’re leaning in with structured pilots — testing within defined parameters, auditing results at the CRM level, and holding performance to the standards that matter for revenue impact.

The key is disciplined experimentation. Following steps from our playbook can help you build clear hypotheses, control the environment, and let real data guide your next moves. Testing with intention is how a beta becomes a reliable path to success. For more on how AI is reshaping search — and what it means for both SEM and SEO — see our post on Semantic Search: The Next Leap in Search Intelligence. 

Privacy As Progress: The Shift Away From Third-Party Data Is More Than a Technical Adjustment

In the last decade, Europe has been at the forefront of privacy regulation, with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) setting a benchmark also at global level. But in 2025, the landscape is shifting again. The stricter enforcement of consent policies, together with the ongoing debate across the European Commission on how to manage third-party cookies, and growing audience awareness are not just compliance challenges: they are catalysts for transformation.

Marketers across Europe are being called to evolve. The old playbook – built on broad targeting and opaque, mostly siloed, data management– is being replaced by a new paradigm. It demands a move from broad, impersonal outreach to trust-first engagement, where transparency, relevance, and respect for buyer autonomy are paramount. In a sector where relationships drive revenue, this evolution is not just necessary – it’s powerful.

A Uniquely European Balance

In Europe, the marketing environment is shaped by a complex mix of cultural, linguistic, and regulatory factors. Buyers moved from being just passive recipients of content, to active participants in the conversation. They want tailored experiences, but they also demand transparency and control. For example, platforms like LinkedIn are tailoring their advertising functionalities according to specific regional needs – giving EU users the option to choose whether to see or not sponsored ads in their Inbox. 

In such a context, consent-driven marketing isn’t just a legal requirement – it’s a brand differentiator. B2B buyers are increasingly scrutinizing how vendors handle data, and companies that demonstrate ethical, transparent practices earn trust faster.
This is also empowering a Mindful Marketing ethos, meaning a strategy built on first-party data, explicit consent, and hyper-personalized messaging – often crafted on a “segment of one” basis.

In B2B, where buying cycles are long and decisions are high-stakes, this approach pays dividends. It allows marketers to build credibility, nurture leads with precision, and foster loyalty in ways that generic outreach never could. 

Room for Opportunity: Turning Regulation Into Relationship

Rather than viewing privacy regulations as limitations, forward-thinking marketers are using them as a springboard for innovation. Here’s how:

1. First-party data as a strategic engine
   In B2B marketing, every interaction – whether it’s a webinar registration, a whitepaper download, or a demo request - offers valuable first-party data. These touchpoints not only signal interest but also provide insights into where buyers are in their decision-making journey. However, the true value of this data emerges only when it is collected with consent, managed responsibly, and effectively integrated across multiple sources – such as CRM systems, marketing automation platforms, and website analytics. This integration is pivotal to building a unified customer view and avoiding fragmented insights. Equally important is the messaging used to promote those assets, to reach the right target: it must be crafted to resonate with the buyer’s specific needs, challenges, and pain points. When messaging is aligned with real business concerns, it not only drives engagement but also reveals intent – helping marketers understand what truly matters to their audience. This combination of thoughtful data management and strategic content design enables more relevant, personalized, and insight-driven engagement throughout the B2B funnel.
   

2. Contextual targeting and consent frameworks
   Contextual targeting offers a privacy-safe alternative to behavioral tracking. B2B marketers are aligning content with the environments where buyers consume information (industry publications, professional forums, niche platforms, etc). Transparent consent frameworks ensure that this targeting respects user preferences, reinforcing trust while maintaining relevance.
   

3. Long-Term value creation
   Privacy-first strategies naturally align with the long-term nature of B2B relationships. Instead of chasing short-term conversions, marketers are investing in education, thought leadership, and consultative selling. This builds brand equity, positions companies as trusted advisors – an essential role in complex buying environments – and fosters sustainable growth.

When Compliance Goes Hand in Hand With Connection

Europe isn’t falling behind due to stricter privacy standards – it’s leading the way. By embracing trust-first strategies, marketers are not simply complying with regulation, they’re redefining what meaningful engagement looks like and what they need to really connect with their actual buyers.

In this new era, success belongs to the teams who see privacy not as a hurdle, but as a hallmark of quality. Those who build with consent, personalize with purpose, and communicate with clarity will be the ones who lead.

Powered by ROI•DNA & Hotwire

As economic headwinds persist globally, many B2B orgs continue to scale back or hesitate to reinvest. But leading marketing teams know now is the time to lean in—not vanish. This issue explores how brands across the US, UK, and APAC are navigating budget pressure, longer buying cycles, and market volatility by staying strategic, loud, and visible—while competitors retreat.

In this issue:

• Pipeline Over Panic: The Moves That Actually Work in a Down Economy

• Marketing into the Skid: How—and Why—APAC Teams Should Double Down, Not Double Back

• Adapting the Strategy, Not Abandoning the Mission

Pipeline Over Panic: The Moves That Actually Work in a Down Economy

It’s not exactly breaking news: marketers are taking a beating and answering for a poor economy. We’ve been here before—2001, 2008, 2020. Global pandemic pressures ringing a bell? We may have come up for air, but now we’re right back in the fire. The U.S. ad market is contracting in all the usual places: tech, software, enterprise.

With global trade tensions, a volatile start to Trump’s second term, and a jittery stock market, U.S. marketers are facing tightened guardrails and frozen budgets (again). CMOs are being asked to defend every dollar, prove every program, and justify why marketing matters. This is especially painful as deal cycles are getting longer, paid media costs are skyrocketing, and pipeline pressure is high.

So what are the savviest marketers doing? Certainly not tucking tail and running. We’re focused with surgical precision on making the right plays and making them count. Let’s get into the rationale (of course, we have some solid research to prove a point), what to focus on now, and what to park for sunnier days.

Brands That Cut Now Pay Later

Any experienced marketer knows that a short-term pullback has longer-term consequences. Peter Field’s well-known research from 2008 for the IPA Effectiveness Awards (based on 20+ years of global brand data) found that brands that maintain or increase share of voice during a downturn generally emerge with stronger post-recession gains in market share and profitability. Brands that cut spend lost visibility and competitive ground that took years to recover. 

Fast forward to 2020. McKinsey’s article “Rapid Revenue Recovery: A road map for post-COVID-19 growth” observed that companies that moved quickly to sustain marketing and sales activity (“first movers”) were already “reaping significant rewards” as demand returned.

The lesson still holds. WARC’s Global Ad Spend Outlook 2024/25 (Q4 2024 update) forecasts that worldwide media investment will rise 10.7 percent in 2025, pushing total ad spend past the $1 trillion mark. Meanwhile, brands that are holding steady or selectively reinvesting are gaining ground. The CMOs who traded austerity for adaptability are seeing their bets pay off. 

But we’re not delusional either—we know it’s a pretty difficult moment to try to convince your executive team to invest in a flashy brand campaign without an iron-clad tie to direct revenue. We’re not here to tell you to just keep your foot on the gas and fight against all the odds and internal pressures from your CFO. So how do you strike the balance? 

What to Actually Do Right Now

This is a revenue game, not a visibility contest. That means putting dollars behind deal progression, not just brand play. While the research and yes, even our gut, tells us not to totally abandon brand, we do have to speak their language and show them we understand the dire straits. This means sales and marketing have to be more aligned than ever. If you thought you were close to sales before, consider yourselves now holding hands and skipping through this minefield together. This market demands precision. Personalization. Partnership.

1. Accelerate Open Opps with Paid Media

The fastest path to revenue is through deals already on the table. And marketing has a role to play—not just in sourcing, but in closing. Right now is the moment to pivot a good chunk of media spend to progressing late-stage deals, open opportunities, and supporting high-intent accounts that are making their way through the funnel. 

• Run display or retargeting ads specifically against stalled or late-stage deals. These are the accounts that are circling, and your efforts can help cross them over the finish line. 

• Create lifecycle ads that stay in front of key decision-makers between sales touchpoints. Don’t lose steam on the buying committee. 

• Ensure you have an AI Agent working deals at all hours. We deploy Qualified and ROIer (our AI SDR) keeps a tab on warm prospects and surging accounts so we never miss an opportunity to engage and progress them through the funnel. 

2. Double Down on 1:1 ABX Plays

Forget the wide net. This is the time for hyper-targeted, ABX campaigns that mirror sales motion and reinforce your core GTM strengths.

• Use tools like 6sense to serve deal-stage messaging to high-value accounts.

• Personalize at scale with platforms like PathFactory or Mutiny to dynamically tailor landing environments by persona, vertical, or stage.

  • Personalization is everything. Recent data collected by IDC found that nearly 70% of B2B buyers say their decision on whether to read something is influenced by whether it’s personalized. This is not the step to skip.

• Pair marketing content (ROI calculators, case studies, competitor battlecards) with real-time sales outreach.

• Build custom nurture tracks or retargeting flows that match the exact pain points of each buying committee.

These aren’t “nice to haves”—they’re revenue accelerators.

3. Show Up Where Your Buyers Are In Real Life (or IRL as the cool kids say)

The economy may be struggling, but we are certainly in a post-COVID event boom. People are literally itching to get back to in-person events, conferences, meetups, and more intimate gatherings. 

• Show up where your key accounts are. Attend high-impact events where you have the highest propensity to reach not only your ICP but also your key personas and members of the buying committee. 

  • Speaking of the buying committee, it’s gotten larger and more complex than ever. There are often “hidden members” influencing decisions, and brands need to engage, reach, and influence more folks within their target accounts. That’s where in-person events shine. They give you access to the entire crew your prospect travels with—what we like to call the “event posse.” Senior titles especially tend to roll deep, bringing peers, advisors, and cross-functional stakeholders along for the ride. The more of them you reach and influence, the stronger your deal position gets.
    

• Host intimate, high-impact gatherings—executive roundtables, dinners, and problem-solving workshops—that let your sales and marketing teams build trust face-to-face.
  

• Send marketing with sales on the road—this is a brand-building moment as much as a relationship one.

Events are all about killing two birds with one stone. Marketing gets their brand visibility, sales gets hot leads, and you can tie it all directly back to revenue. 

4. Use AI to Work Smarter, Move Faster, and Cut the Crap

AI isn’t magic, but it is damn useful when used right. The savviest marketing teams aren’t chasing shiny objects—they’re using AI to scale what works, ditch what doesn’t, and respond faster to what buyers actually care about.

• Use AI to identify which accounts are showing buying signals, and dynamically prioritize spend and messaging.

• Generate rapid content variations for different personas, verticals, and deal stages without killing your creative team.

• Forecast performance by segment, channel, or tactic to make faster media optimization decisions.

This is where the smart use of AI and automation pays off. We’re using generative AI to speed up versioning, forecast channel performance, and identify what to cut versus what to keep. Sharper signals make all the difference when time and budget are limited.

The reality check

None of this is about “just keep spending.” It’s about protecting the right investments—the ones tied directly to revenue, relationship, and long-term positioning. That means, reallocating with intent to close, and ensuring that every program is built to support both near-term pipeline and long-term growth. This is the playbook for right now. Just practical, revenue-backed strategy built for a high-pressure market.

Outthink. Outplay. Don’t Disappear.

Budget scrutiny is real. So is the opportunity to reset your mix, tighten your targeting, and show up where competitors go quiet. If you’re under pressure to defend spend, don’t just argue for more. Make the case for smarter. Reallocate. Experiment. Measure. Repeat.

Just don’t disappear. Because your audience won’t.

Marketing into the Skid: How—and Why—APAC Teams Should Double Down, Not Double Back

I have a confession: I still haven’t watched that new F1 movie with Brad Pitt. I’m told this qualifies as a crisis.

But I have seen the Ayrton Senna documentary on Netflix. And there’s a quote from Senna, one of the greatest drivers in the history of Formula One, that’s stuck with me:

“You can’t overtake 15 cars in sunny weather, but you can when it’s raining.”

Uncertainty = opportunity. That’s true in racing…and in B2B marketing.

To be sure, the economy’s raining on marketing right now. Pretty hard. And at many global HQs of technology firms, CMOs are tapping the brakes. They’re putting the kibosh on new marketing initiatives as they wait for the skies to clear. 

But if the past has taught us anything, it’s this: Downturns aren’t a time to pull back; they’re a chance to pull ahead. While others are busy zigging into the pit lane, the winners are zagging forward—their feet planted firmly on the gas. 

And B2B tech marketers in APAC—thanks to a mix of pretty unique conditions—are unusually well positioned to take advantage of today’s wet track and jockey for position at the front of the pack. (That’s the end of the racing metaphor. Promise.)

The Empire Strikes…Pause

Listen closely and you’ll hear it: A faint tinkling sound as global marketing teams break glass and trigger emergency measures to combat market uncertainty. Budgets are getting DOGE’d, campaigns shelved, and bold ideas swiped left.

Gartner captures some of that mood. Data from its CMO spend survey shows how B2B technology marketing budgets for 2025 have dropped to 7.7% of revenue, down from 9.1% just two years ago. 

And even that’s likely to get pared. “Given the looming macroeconomic uncertainties,” says Ewan McIntyre, Chief of Research at Gartner’s Marketing Practice, “CMOs are now confronting the prospect of in-year budget cuts.”

Ouch.

Beat the Crowd, Stay Loud 

But that big picture isn’t the full picture. Zoom in on APAC, and the story shifts. In key markets like Australia, Japan, and Singapore, the mood isn't quite as gloomy.

Let’s look at what’s actually happening in the region’s top markets.

And even if a slowdown was really looming in APAC, the smarter move might still be to double down on marketing. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that brands which rev up marketing during a downturn come out ahead. Research from the International Journal of Business and Social Science, for example, shows that organizations that upped their marketing spend saw an average profit lift of 4.3%. Those that held steady gained 0.6%. And those that cut? They lost ground—profits dropped by 0.8%.

For veteran marketers in APAC, none of this is breaking news. There’s been research backing it since the 1920s. Someone even compiled a roundup of the greatest hits.

Pulling Off Austerity Marketing in APAC

Okay, so what have we learned so far?

1. B2B marketers in APAC should be putting more wood behind their marketing arrows.

2. See point 1.

So what’s the hold up? Why aren’t we dialing things up?

Probably because someone has to make a case to the CFO. And hasn’t it been drummed into our heads that finance is tamping down on expenses like a barista on overdrive?

Well, they are, kind of. But not really.

CFOs haven’t turned off the marketing tap, they’ve just made it harder to turn. Here’s how one Gartner analyst put it: What got greenlit last year because it offered, say, a 2X return now needs to promise 5X, thanks to the rising cost of capital.

So how exactly are marketers supposed to make that math work? How do we lean in—not out—and do more with less?

In our experience, the smartest marketing teams in APAC are using two strategies.

1. Data for Smarter Targeting:  Teams are stitching together intent signals and wallet data from platforms like G2, Bombora, Demandbase, and 6sense to zero in on accounts that are most likely to convert. Some of our customers in APAC, including a leading expense management SaaS company, are doing exactly that. They’re also using data from tools like ROI·DNA Spark, our proprietary solution, to surface messaging that’s more on point.

2. AI for Faster, Leaner Campaigns: They are also leveraging AI to slash the time and cost of producing campaign content. One leading open-source enterprise software provider, for example, is using another of our proprietary tools, ROI·DNA Ignite, to research and create assets for an ABM campaign—dramatically compressing the time, effort, and expense involved. It’s also letting them scale 1-to-1 ABM from the usual 5–15 accounts to over 150, effectively redefining 1-to-1 ABM.

For APAC marketers, today’s conditions aren’t perfect. But it’s at moments like this that we need to remind ourselves: Momentum is a competitive advantage. So keep that pedal to the metal.

Adapting the Strategy, Not Abandoning the Mission

UK marketers are recalibrating in the face of persistent inflation, stagnant productivity, and rising trade costs. This moment isn’t about retreat—it’s about retooling tactics to deliver impact despite structural headwinds.

The Economic Reality Check

IInflation reached 3.6% in June, significantly above the Bank of England’s 2% target, driving consumer caution to new highs. Confidence indicators show unease as households brace for looming tax shifts. Public sector growth stalled at around 0.1%, and business activity slowed dramatically. Manufacturers reported their first quarterly output dip in a decade, and services saw contractions, leading to one of the lowest levels of new orders in recent years. 

These macro factors—alongside a globally uncertain trading environment and conflict in Europe and the Middle East—are creating complexity for marketers navigating buyer hesitancy and operational constraints.

The Dilemma: Cut or Reconfigure?

Facing budget stalls, conservative buying committees, and delayed decision-making, many marketing teams are hitting a strategic crossroads. The dilemma: cut programs or reconfigure for higher impact. While some see retreat as inevitable, many in the UK are proving that strategic reinvention is not only possible—it’s essential.

Value-Based Tactical Shifts Emerging

Foundational Marketing

Marketers are shifting focus from volume-based tactics to more intentional, value-driven efforts. Foundational marketing is back on the table, including sales enablement strategies, evergreen content libraries, and audience-first targeting. These tactics allow brands to connect meaningfully and persistently, without depending on short-term campaigns.

Data-Driven ABX

The automation of data-driven ABX, or account-based experience, is gaining momentum. Resource time and budget have long been barriers to delivering true personalisation at scale. But now, artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly central role—streamlining operations, surfacing insights, and helping teams deliver tailored experiences even with leaner resources. As agentic AI models become more sophisticated in producing quality research and insights at an account level, it is enabling the promise of personalisation at scale.

Modular Campaign Structures

Another key tactic emerging is modular campaign design. Marketers are breaking large initiatives into flexible, reusable components—maximizing ROI and increasing local relevance. With regional nuances and fragmented buying environments, modularity enables faster pivots and deeper personalization without ballooning costs.

At ROI·DNA, we are supporting clients to deliver personalised ABX at scale, which is both cost-effective and reductive from a time investment perspective. For one client in the industrial automation sector, we have seen a ROMI of 380:1 using this type of approach. In markets where budgets are under constant pressure, results like this demonstrate that investing in smarter orchestration can create disproportionate returns, giving organisations both immediate wins and long-term resilience.

Going on the (Marketing) Offensive

Stories such as this reflect a broader shift: a strategic lens on value rather than volume. UK marketers are rethinking how they show up and what they prioritize. With tax uncertainty, policy volatility, and fragile consumption reshaping the landscape, traditional lead-generation pipelines are under pressure. Yet some are playing offense—by pivoting to value-led content, tightening operations, and leaning harder into the potential of data-driven personalization.

The message is clear: when the economy hesitates, smart marketers don’t freeze. They flex. Tactical innovation is outpacing budget limitations. Insight-led execution is challenging traditional campaign structures. And in this moment of uncertainty, there’s a remarkable consistency in what works—clarity, relevance, and adaptability.

You don’t need a bigger budget. You need a bolder lens on value and an ability to flex using new technologies and approaches.

Powered by ROI•DNA & Hotwire

Welcome to The B2B Marketing Brief! Your front-row seat to the ever-evolving world of B2B marketing. Where we keep it real—sharing wins, tackling pain points, and uncovering growth opportunities. Each edition is packed with stories, tips, and the latest trends to help you master the art of B2B engagement. Get your cup of coffee, and let’s get marketing!

In this issue:

• Culture Shock: When Global ABM Speaks the Wrong Language

• Orchestrate Global Campaigns Without Losing the Local Plot

• Data Privacy & Compliance: Marketing in a Fragmented Regulatory Landscape

Culture Shock: When Global ABM Speaks the Wrong Language

On 27 March 1977, on a foggy runway at the Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna Airport, miscommunication would cost 583 lives. The KLM captain believed he was cleared for take-off after saying “We are now at take-off” and hearing an unclear “OK” from the tower, while the Pan Am crew, still taxiing on the same runway, radioed “We’re still on the runway” at the same moment. But their warning was partly blocked by overlapping transmissions.

Till date, it is the worst aviation collision in history. You can listen to Tim Hartford describe the catastrophe on his podcast Cautionary Tales, what led to it, and the role of what’s called the Moses Illusion.

The Moses Illusion illustrates how we process language and meaning. The classic example goes: “How many animals of each kind did Moses take on the Ark?” The answer people often give: “Two.”

Only it wasn’t Moses who had an ark—it was Noah.

We often accept inaccurate details if the general context feels right—because our brains prefer fluency and coherence over fact-checking.

The Tenerife Airport disaster is an extreme case of what happens when communication breaks down because what people say and what others take away do not align. It’s a sombre reminder of why we shouldn’t speak to our audiences like they are a single global hegemon.

It’s a problem B2B technology marketers know well but one that often gets ignored in the pell-mell of executing a global ABM.

It’s Quite Good

In an interview, actor Emma Watson said when a British person says, “It’s quite good,” they usually mean “It’s OK, not bad” but not truly great. In British English, “quite” can actually soften the praise, so “It’s quite good” often lands as less enthusiastic than simply saying “It’s good.”

But in American English, “quite” tends to intensify instead, so “It’s quite good” sounds closer to “It’s really good!” or even “It’s awesome!”. The risk? The same everyday phrase can quietly shift meaning as it crosses borders, which is exactly the hidden gap B2B marketers face when localizing ABM messaging.

And while most teams aren’t wired to use all of that data in real time, that doesn’t mean you can’t work with what you've got. Even faster-than-average beats same-old-slow. Acting on signals while the event is still happening (or right after) can:

A line meant to sound credible and modest can feel underwhelming or insincere if you don’t stretch the tone to match what your audience really hears. Make sense?

In 2009, Intel launched its new global brand tagline: “Sponsors of Tomorrow.”
The idea was to position Intel not just as a chipmaker, but as an innovator shaping the future of technology. It was a perfect B2B narrative for enterprise buyers, partners, and developers. Not ‘quite good’ in Brazil.

Brazilian audiences read it as: Intel is about the future, not delivering value now. The tagline was interpreted as ‘Intel: In Love with the Future’.

There’s a little lesson here: Put your high-value messaging through local sense-checks before it goes live. Get your regional teams or in-market SMEs to test tone, not just translate the words.

Better yet, run small A/B tests to see how real prospects respond. Do your accounts want immediate proof or future vision? Do they trust modest, understated promises or do they expect bold, confident claims? These nuances shape how your brand feels in that moment.

Cross Culture or Cross Culture? Resonating Vs Offending

Erin Meyer’s The Culture Map and Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory show just how differently tone, urgency, and humor land around the world. But how does that affect ABM messaging and personalization? Let’s look at some examples.

In high-context cultures like Japan or Thailand, indirect wording signals respect, but too much directness or humor can feel abrupt or even rude.
 
Translation
Instead of: Discover our comprehensive, industry-leading platform.
Try: Straight answers. Clear value. No corporate waffle.

In the UAE, business language tends to stay formal and respectful, humor in a B2B pitch can backfire or seem unprofessional.
 
Translation
Instead of: Why not give it a try?
Try: Would you like to discuss how this solution supports your organization’s growth?

In Germany, buyers value bluntness and direct proof, they trust messaging that states facts without fluff.
 
Translation
Instead of: We’d love to help you unlock your potential.
Try: Cut costs by 15% in six months. Here’s how.

Assume Nothing

HSBC famously learned this the hard way when its global tagline, Assume Nothing, was launched in multiple countries. The phrase didn’t translate well across Asia and several European non-English-speaking markets. In some places, it was read as Do Nothing, confusing customers and weakening trust. Fixing this cost HSBC an estimated $10 million and forced a rebrand to “The World’s Local Bank.”

HSBC didn’t follow its own tagline. But it’s also true that some of the biggest mistakes in the world—from KLM’s cockpit to Intel’s slogan to a CTA in an email—happened because someone assumed the message was clear enough. With a global ABM campaign, assume nothing because culture will rewrite what we say, think, and believe. In global ABM campaigns, real resonance is not a factor of what you say, but how much you know about who’s listening.

Orchestrate Global Campaigns Without Losing the Local Plot

Global campaigns don’t fail because of bad ideas. They fail because good ideas get lost in translation: strategically and culturally. And today’s campaign orchestration is getting more expensive and more complicated as B2B brands go bigger across markets.

Global campaigns need a clear strategy and tactical agility. Successful global campaigns need a system that connects the two. It’s no surprise that marketing teams can get stuck between global consistency and local relevancy when scaling ABX and demand gen across borders. 

The right message might be falling flat in a new market. Or a local activation doesn’t ladder back to anything strategic. Brand equity gets diluted. Budgets get wasted. Pipelines stall. Cue the facepalm 🤦

What you need is orchestration with a capital O. That means shared playbooks and modular campaigns from HQ to region, and back again. Let’s break it down.

Scaling Without Splintering

Ask any global marketing team, and they’ll tell you one of the biggest challenges is building campaigns that work in every market. Gartner’s 2024 CMO Survey found that only 29% of marketing leaders believe their teams are equipped to scale campaigns globally. That tells us there’s a pretty big gap between global ambitions and global readiness.

But total uniformity, the “easier” approach, isn’t the answer. 2024 research from global content management provider RWS uncovered that 69% of global marketers rank maintaining consistent brand content as a top priority. 

Without that consistency, you get splintered messaging and a fractured visual identity. Buyers might see five versions of your brand across five regions and click away unsure of what you’re offering.

Flexing from US to APAC

Take Japan, for example. We worked with a client on campaign activation in the region with the understanding that what works in the US doesn’t always translate (literally or figuratively) 🤔

Our client’s global copy was persuasive and punchy. But in Japan, seniority matters a little more. Audiences respond better to respectful, direct messaging. Our APAC team reworked the campaign within its larger framework to reflect these regional norms. Not just translations, but a reshape of the messaging throughout the buying journey to speak to a crucial localized audience.

And engagement followed. That’s the power of giving regional teams room to localize.

HQ Should Enable, Not Dictate

Even the best-laid plans can go sideways when HQ controls strategy and execution but limits regional flex. Final assets handed to local leads without the tools to adjust them? Campaigns miss cultural cues, buyer behaviors, or even basic media norms.

Our VP of Strategy, Planning & Integration Juanita Baker notes, “Global shouldn’t mean top-down, but rather cross-functional. HQ may be the hub for strategy and shared resources, but the regions are centers of local execution.”

“Early involvement of regional leads is critical to the creative development process,” she adds. “Identifying campaign pilots to be tested in-market. Having flexibility in budget allocation or channel mix by region.”

To orchestrate globally, HQ needs to act like a coach. Set the game plan. Call the plays. Then trust your regional teams to read the field and make the right passes.

How Modular Design Works

Let’s stick with the soccer (and to localize, football) analogy ⚽ Think of your campaign like setting up for a free kick or corner kick. You’ve got a library of set pieces—core assets, tailored messaging, channel plans, and localization layers—ready to deploy based on what the defense is doing. The foundation stays solid, but each move is designed to adapt and convert under pressure.

At ROI·DNA, we think of modular design as playing with smart defaults. You start with core assets: a unifying theme, global messaging pillars, and high-performing creative templates. From there, you layer in:

• Localized creative tailored for cultural nuance and tone

• Region-specific CTAs that reflect buyer behaviors

• Channel mixes that align with how your audience actually consumes content

• Testing tracks that allow each market to optimize within the framework

Everyone’s working from the same campaign framework, but execution flexes based on market dynamics and audience preferences.

Done well, modular design prevents “copy-paste” creative and fragmented execution. It empowers regional teams to move fast without veering off-brand. And most importantly, it lets performance data roll up cleanly for stronger performance visibility. No more reporting headaches 🥴

Performance Alignment: Same Game, Different Scoreboards

This leads us to performance alignment, its own kind of orchestration. What one region calls success might look like fluff to another. According to Marketing Week’s 2025 Language of Effectiveness survey, more than 50% of CMOs are unhappy with how they evaluate creative performance. That’s a signal that the metrics aren’t matching the mission.

And it creates tension:

• HQ needs apples-to-apples data to prove global ROI.

• Regions need the freedom to define success by what works locally.

• Leadership needs a story that connects both, or risks flying blind.

At ROI·DNA, we define tiered KPIs from the start. Think: global goals like brand lift, paired with regional benchmarks for lead quality or pipeline velocity. That gives everyone a shared scoreboard and the creative room to play to their strengths.

Real orchestration means every team, in every region, knows how their work contributes to the bigger picture. And they can optimize faster because of it. If your campaign’s flying across six time zones and no one can agree on what success looks like… is it really winning?

Orchestration is a Mindset Shift

The best global campaigns are well-branded and locally adapted. But they’re also orchestrated to move in sync, with strategy at the center and flexibility at the edges. That’s not easy. But in today’s multi-market B2B landscape, it’s the difference between global reach and global impact. 

The question isn’t can your campaign scale. It’s: Can it scale without breaking?

If you’re serious about playing on a global stage, it’s time to trade coordination for orchestration. Let’s get your strategy game-ready.

Data Privacy & Compliance: Marketing in a Fragmented Regulatory Landscape

Data privacy isn’t just a legal checkbox: it’s a core part of how modern marketing operates. Across regions, regulations are tightening, and customer expectations are rising just as fast. In today's world, marketing teams face a tough challenge: stay fast, creative, and data-driven; without crossing compliance lines. 

One misstep with personal data, and your campaign can go from launch ready to legally risky instantly. Whether it’s GDPR in Europe, CCPA in California, or APAC regulations, the line between smart marketing and facing trouble over data privacy has never been thinner. The world’s most agile marketing teams don’t treat compliance as a business imperative. 

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

Let’s start with the obvious: getting privacy wrong is expensive. Not just in fines, though those can be massive, but in lost momentum, credibility, and customer trust.

• A paused campaign waiting on legal review? Frustrating.

• A pulled campaign due to non-compliance? Demoralizing.

• A fine and headlines across the media? Brand breaking. 

Regulators are stepping up activity across EMEA and APAC, and in North America, and consumer expectations are pushing transparency into the spotlight. If your marketing isn’t built with compliance at its core, it risks compromising both trust and integrity. 

What Compliance Means Across EMEA, APAC, and NA 

There’s no global rulebook yet. Marketers must translate complex and often contradictory regulations into smart, scalable actions. 

A campaign compliant in Berlin may need adjustments for Bangkok. Teams that thrive are flexible, informed, and culturally aware. 

Building Scalable Workflows Without Killing Velocity

Speed and compliance don’t have to clash. The smartest global teams are engineering workflows that protect privacy and empower rapid execution.

• Integrated platforms: CRMs and marketing tools aligned with regulatory logic 

• Automated consent tagging: real-time region-based permission controls 

• Asset libraries sorted by legal fit: eliminate manual guesswork  

• Geo-based content triggers: deliver regionally messaging instantly, fully aligned with local privacy laws and user consent 

Compliance should be embedded from concept to execution. 

How Teams Align Legal, Operations, and Marketing

When teams are aligned, work gets done faster and better. 

• Legal is part of the creative process from the start, not just a final reviewer 

• Operations build systems that protect privacy across every channel 

• Marketing follows regional privacy playbooks, not just brand guidelines 

This kind of alignment doesn’t slow things down; it speeds them up. What once felt like roadblocks becomes fuel for better, faster campaigns. 

The Framework Behind Every Smart Strategy

Compliance doesn’t kill creativity, it protects it. Marketing built on trust and transparency travels further. In a fragmented regulatory world, it’s the only way to scale with confidence. The brands that win in 2025 move fast, but they don’t cut corners. They’re bold, creative, and built on compliance from the ground up. That’s how they scale smart and safely. 

Powered by ROI•DNA & Hotwire

Welcome to The B2B Marketing Brief! Your front-row seat to the ever-evolving world of B2B marketing. Where we keep it real—sharing wins, tackling pain points, and uncovering growth opportunities. Each edition is packed with stories, tips, and the latest trends to help you master the art of B2B engagement. Get your cup of coffee, and let’s get marketing!

In this issue:

• Your Event's Got Great Vibes—Turn Them Into Pipeline

• Not Just a Stage: How B2B Events Build Trust, Spark Emotion, and Drive Growth

Your Event's Got Great Vibes—Turn Them Into Pipeline

Ah, marketing events. The awkward handshakes, coffee convos, finicky badge scans, and killer swag. They let us talk shop with other marketing whizzes, trade campaign ideas, and get IRL face-time with prospects. But that’s not all they are.

According to Forrester, 49% of CMOs say events are more important today than before the pandemic. And for good reason: they can capture rich, real-time intent from buyers in ways digital campaigns alone can't.

So why do marketing teams still treat event data like a post-mortem? Well, acting on that data quickly is easier said than done. Most teams don’t have streamlined access to event metrics, and a lot of this technology is still new or locked behind expensive platforms 👀

We think the future of real-time intent data is seriously cool. But you also don’t need a hyper-connected martech stack to do better.

Real-Time Intent is Your Backstage Pass to Buyer Readiness

Today’s most advanced event tech can track session attendance, booth dwell time, poll responses, resource downloads, badge scans, app engagement, live chat interactions, and even participation in Q&As or breakout rooms.

Why the deep dive into event ones and zeros? Gartner tells us that 83% of the typical B2B buying journey happens before a buyer engages directly with a sales rep. This pre-sales engagement extends to the time during and immediately after events, as well.

And while most teams aren’t wired to use all of that data in real time, that doesn’t mean you can’t work with what you've got. Even faster-than-average beats same-old-slow. Acting on signals while the event is still happening (or right after) can:

• Find patterns in how buying teams engage

• Route high-value accounts to the right play and channel

• Turn an engaged conversation into a pipeline opportunity

Make sense?

One great example came from Liz McComas, our AVP of Digital Media, during the Wednesday Women coffee meet-up at this year’s SaaStr Conference in San Mateo, CA. “The meet-up sparked several conversations with other women leaders in marketing, including a follow-up with a potential SEO lead,” Liz explains. “It’s a good reminder that even casual connections—like a coffee chat—can lead to meaningful opportunities.”

Stop Sitting on Your Signals and Start Making Them Work

You don’t need a 15-tool stack to pull off smart mid-event outreach. But you do need a shared plan and a bias for action. Here’s a playbook that works:

1. Aggregate and align your data

Pull what you can, from badge scans and app logs to booth notes and survey responses. Even a shared Google Sheet can be a step up.

2. Automate by behavior, not just persona

Set triggers by signal type. Attended a pricing session? Drop them into a mid-funnel email stream. No automation? No problem. Assign someone to tag high-intent attendees each day and prep next steps.

3. Tailor the message to the moment

Ditch the rote follow-ups. Customize copy and CTAs based on the content attendees interacted with, rather than generic post-event push messaging.

4. Score for relevance and reach

Predictive scoring can spotlight which accounts are showing heat and which are just browsing. If you’ve got it, use it to focus spend and sales effort.

5. Give sales the lead and the ammo

Push summaries into your CRM. Make it easy to know who did what, and what to say next.

Another example: We use Qualified’s Piper tool for inbound chat, where it helps identify whether a visitor is part of our TAL or attended a recent event. Our Marketing Technology Manager Corinne Tippett notes, “One of our clients uses these insights to deliver differentiated experiences. Piper references this data to tailor everything from chat introductions to content offers to routing.”

It’s one of the ways even light event data—like who visited your booth or downloaded a session resource—can carry through to onsite engagement and live chat follow-ups that feel more impactful.

Make Event ROI Less "Meh" and More "Mic-Drop"

Intent-led campaigns can seriously improve lead quality. That’s because teams get to work from data-driven signals rather than outdated personas or guesswork. That said, don’t go overboard 🚢 Respect timing and tone. Hammering someone with three follow-ups in 12 hours can hurt more than help.

What makes event intent data uniquely powerful is its immediacy and specificity. Even without fancy predictive AI or full automation, you can use:

• Dynamic segmentation: Group by behavior instead of just job title

• Sequential messaging: Plan 3-4 touches that build context instead of urgency

• Content prioritization: Personalize with a partner like PathFactory or Mutiny to ensure your landing pages reflect the offer and themes from the event.

Our head of Marketing, Gina Inks notes, “With PathFactory, we turn static follow-up into smart, personalized content journeys that match what your prospects saw at the event—so they keep clicking, learning, and converting, all in one seamless flow.”

Bottom line? When you pair real-time intent with personalized, event-aligned content, you’re not just following up—you’re following through. And that’s what turns booth buzz into actual pipeline.

Final Word: Events Are Loud. Intent Is the Signal.

Every booth visit, download, and session question is a window into what your buyers need. When you act on those signals, you turn fleeting interest into momentum. The good news? Not every tool needs to be cutting-edge. Not every signal needs to be instant.

But for teams who are ready to shift from passive collection to proactive engagement, event intent data offers an exciting edge. It offers the opportunity to follow up faster and more meaningfully, while your message is still fresh.

Not Just a Stage: How B2B Events Build Trust, Spark Emotion, and Drive Growth

In an age of endless clicks, scrolls, and inbox noise, there’s one marketing experience that still stops people in their tracks: a well-crafted event.

Whether it’s a buzzing industry conference, a curated virtual roundtable, or a hyper-personalized CXO dinner, events have become the grand theatres of modern B2B marketing. They are where brands step out of the shadows of digital sameness and into the spotlight of emotional resonance, real connection, and lasting impact.

So why do events matter more than ever in 2025? Why, in a world of AI-generated content and hyper-personalization, are CMOs doubling down on human interaction?

Let’s pull back the curtain.

Act 1: From Transactions to Transformations

At their core, B2B events aren’t about booths, brochures, or badge scans. They're about transformations. For a few hours—or a few days—they transport prospects and customers from their inboxes into immersive brand experiences. They give shape, sound, and soul to a brand.

In a landscape oversaturated with digital noise, people are seeking more than pitches. They want to be surprised, understood, and inspired. Events offer the chance to meet someone new over coffee who could become a strategic partner, to touch and try products that previously only existed on screen, and to have conversations with real people—not automated workflows.

Trust, which is becoming the most valuable currency in B2B marketing, is forged not through perfectly worded emails, but through shared experience. And events are still the best arena for building it.

Act 2: From Lead Factories to Community Arenas

Let’s be honest. For a long time, events were treated like lead-hunting expeditions. Booths became traps, and follow-ups felt more like automated chases than genuine engagement.

That model is crumbling—and rightfully so.

Today’s most successful marketers are embracing a different mindset. Instead of volume, they’re focusing on belonging. Rather than building booths, they’re building communities. The rise of curated CXO roundtables, intimate thought-leadership salons, and industry-specific forums reflects this shift. Brands are shedding their hard-sell image and stepping into roles as collaborators, conveners, and listeners.

One strong example is Adobe Summit, which has transformed from a traditional showcase into an ecosystem of big ideas and shared vision. Sessions focus less on software specs and more on human stories—from digital ethics to inclusive design. Here, Adobe is not merely selling solutions—it’s curating perspectives.

Similarly, HubSpot INBOUND has redefined what it means to host a business event. It blends tactical workshops with TED-style storytelling, creating an environment where both marketing rookies and seasoned executives find value. INBOUND doesn’t just attract people—it assembles a movement.

Act 3: Hybrid Isn’t a Format. It’s a Mindset.

In the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, marketers wrestled with an either/or question: in-person or virtual?

Now, the savviest among them have stopped choosing.

Hybrid isn’t a fallback—it’s a creative mindset. Done right, it dissolves the boundaries of geography and format. It allows a participant in Singapore to feel just as engaged as someone seated in the front row in San Francisco. It’s not just about live-streaming a panel, but about designing an experience that translates seamlessly across both spaces.

This requires thinking ahead—designing moments that are modular, formats that are immersive, and content that lives beyond the screen. Brands that invest in this kind of hybrid intelligence aren’t just expanding their audience; they’re enriching the experience for everyone involved.

Act 4: Events as Content Engines

Events don’t end when the lights go down. In fact, that’s when the real magic begins—for marketing.

Each keynote, panel, and breakout session is a wellspring of content. When repurposed with intention, these moments feed entire content ecosystems—blogs, podcasts, newsletters, sales enablement tools, and social storytelling. What begins as a single panel can ripple into months of meaningful engagement.

Think of it as creative compounding. The unscripted insight from a guest speaker becomes a shareable quote. A live demo turns into a YouTube tutorial. A hallway conversation sparks a customer story. Events are no longer a spike on the calendar—they're an engine driving long-term narrative momentum.

Act 5: Measuring the Right Applause

Historically, event ROI was reduced to badge scans, business cards, or lead counts. But modern marketers are looking deeper—and broader.

Are people talking about you differently post-event?

Are top accounts engaging in the days and weeks that follow?

Is your event content performing in the long tail?

Is your community growing—not just in size, but in strength?

And most importantly: did your audience feel something?

Because the most powerful thing an event can leave behind isn’t swag. It’s a story, a shift, a spark.

Epilogue: Designing for Goosebumps

If B2B marketing is a stage, then events are its showstoppers. They are where logic meets emotion, where brands go from being noticed to being felt.

But unforgettable events don’t happen by accident. They are the result of careful design, emotional intelligence, and relentless attention to detail.

So, as you plan your next one, don’t start with a lead goal. Start with a question: What kind of experience will they remember?

The best events don’t chase conversions. They spark conversations. They turn attendees into advocates and audiences into communities.

And in a world where everyone is talking, the brands that make people feel something—live or virtual—are the ones that people remember.

The spotlight’s on. What story will you tell?

Catch our next issue out on July 30 2025!

Powered by Hotwire & ROI•DNA

Welcome to The B2B Marketing Brief! Your front-row seat to the ever-evolving world of B2B marketing. Where we keep it real—sharing wins, tackling pain points, and uncovering growth opportunities. Each edition is packed with stories, tips, and the latest trends to help you master the art of B2B engagement. Get your cup of coffee, and let’s get marketing!

In this issue:

• It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It. What B2B Marketers Need to Know to Thrive in the Age of AI Search

• Branded Keywords Are Getting Smarter. Is Your SEO+SEM Strategy Keeping Up?

It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It. What B2B Marketers Need to Know to Thrive in the Age of AI Search

Stop. Close your tabs. We’re entering a Nolan-esque journey of Semantic search inception—where meaning bends and keywords…die slowly.

But before we move forward, we must rewind.

Scene Setting: BC (Before Chatbots)

Circa: The Keyword Search Era
Ambience: Sepia-toned. Slow, melancholic piano. CRT monitor glow.
Scene: A lone user sits at a desk, bathed in search engine blue light. Fingers hover over the keyboard as she Googles the future of search: semantic search.
Types keywords:
“semantic search definition”
“semantic search vs keyword search”
“semantic search and SEO”
Mood: Literal, transactional, mechanical
Feel: Say what?

Cut to: AD (After Disruption)

Circa: The Semantic Search Era
Ambience: Clean. Ambient hum of minimal tech. The search bar still exists—but it doesn’t enjoy main character energy.
Scene: The user sits at a desk, with fewer tabs blinking in panic. Fingers hover over the keyboard as she asks ChatGPT about how semantic search is changing search as we know it.
Types phrases in natural language
Context:
“How has SEO changed now that search is smarter”
“Does google still use keywords the same way?”
“How do LLMs understand what I mean without exact keywords?”
Mood: Exploratory, conversational, fluid, continuous
Feel: Happy to help! Ask me anything!

Welcome to the world of thinking, feeling, intuitive semantic search. It’s not a keyword-stuffed search bar anymore—it’s a conversation. Insightful, responsive, alive. But what does that really mean? Let’s begin the way all searches do: with a question. Or as GenAI calls it—a prompt.

“How do LLMs understand what I mean without exact keywords?”

Great question! Semantic search is how large language models (LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot) understand what you’re really looking for—even if you don’t use
the exact words. Instead of just scanning for keyword matches, it interprets your query in context to find the most relevant answers.

Semantic search has a personality. It’s like an old friend who’s known you for five seconds, and still understands the meaning and intention behind your search queries. It evaluates who is asking (persona), what are they asking (keywords or phrases), why are they asking for it (context and intent), before giving you an answer.

“Thank you! Now, tell me how it’s different from keyword search.”

Semantic search isn’t your vanilla keyword based search that hunts for exact word matches without understanding meaning. Traditional search is lexical. It sees words, not ideas. It doesn’t grasp context, synonyms, or relationships between words.

For example, if someone searches for “email marketing software,” a keyword-based engine might skip your product page if you’ve described it as a “customer engagement platform”.

Semantic search bridges that gap. It understands that “customer engagement” might include email marketing—and shows results based on meaning, not just matching terms.

“Can you give me some examples of semantic search?”

Sure. If a sales leader searches for “tools to boost sales productivity,” it might show CRMs or sales enablement platforms. But if a marketer types the same query, they might see campaign automation or lead scoring tools. That’s because semantic search understands what they're really trying to solve.

It knows “internal communications” could mean Slack, “reduce churn” could mean onboarding tips or analytics tools. It knows “protect customer data in the cloud” could mean different things to an IT manager (cloud security tools) vs. a compliance officer (regulatory frameworks).

“I see. How does this affect my brand visibility in search results?”

If your keywords don’t match what your buyers are actually typing, your content may not appear in search results. Let’s say someone searches for “lead generation tools for small businesses”, but your website talks about “demand capture solutions for SMEs.”

Traditional search might skip over you. But people are people and they often describe the same thing in different ways—like “remote work tools” vs “virtual collaboration platforms.” Lexical search misses these connections. That means missed visibility, missed relevance—and missed opportunities.

“You’ve given me a lot of information on Semantic search. But are tools like ChatGPT really changing search behavior?”

They 100% are. In 2023, ChatGPT’s share of search was just 0.25%, according to Search Engine Land. In 2024, that number went up to between 4%, says Rand Fishkin, CEO of Sparktoro. And by 2028, many brands will see their site traffic from organic search decrease by 50% or more as customers embrace generative AI-powered search, according to Gartner.

Here’s another way for B2B marketers to look at this. At his talk at the BrightonSEO conference in October 2024, Marcus Tober, SVP, Head of Enterprise Solutions at Semrush, estimated that if ChatGPT keeps growing at its current rate, it could drive as much traffic to content websites as Google does—in just four years!

“Interesting. What’s the impact of semantic search on B2B marketers?”

Semantic search is changing how B2B marketers get discovered. It’s no longer enough to just rank for exact-match keywords. Buyers are asking fuller, messier, more natural questions—and search engines are rewarding content that answers those questions with clarity and depth. Semantic search favors expertise, relevance, and context. For B2B marketers, that’s a shift from optimising for algorithms to creating content that actually solves problems.

“What does semantic search mean for my B2B content strategy?”

Semantic search rewards content that is focused on themes, not just keywords and phrases. That means creating content around connected topics. For example, if you're in cybersecurity, don’t just create a page for zero trust. Create a set of related articles that cover a topic from multiple angles such as Securing the Modern Workplace, Identity-first Access, and Threat response in Hybrid Environments. You’re writing to match how buyers think—and now, so is search.

Semantic search doesn’t just interpret language. It interprets us. So, if you're still creating content like it's 2013—designed for bots, not people—you are stuck in a time warp. Today, in the GenAI age, it’s all about semantics, and for once, that’s not a bad thing.

Branded Keywords Are Getting Smarter. Is Your SEO+SEM Strategy Keeping Up?

Search engines are getting sharper. Ad platforms, too. Thanks to AI-driven algorithms and match-type evolution, branded, category, and competitor terms are blurring in ways that create real tension (and real opportunity!) for SEO and SEM teams.

Search engines are matching more broadly, so your branded terms are getting pulled into competitive auctions, whether you like it or not. From 2023 to 2024, markets like legal services saw a doubling of CPC rates, according to Search Engine Land. What used to be a cozy spot at the top of the SERP is now swarming with “Top 10” listicles and competitors playing dress-up in your category.

Every brand’s strategy will look different. But make no mistake: your brand keywords aren’t safe anymore.

Your Brand Name Isn’t Just Yours Anymore

It used to be simple: a branded search meant someone typing your company name into Google. Today, it’s more like a cluster: a branded query might also trigger results for related products and, increasingly, your competitors.

AI is getting in on the action, too. Recent research from Semrush found that 13.14% of all queries triggered AI Overviews in March — up from 6.49% in January. The number of navigational (brand-specific) queries that trigger AI Overviews have doubled since January, as well.

So what does this mean? A user searching for your brand might also be shown:

• A “best [category] platforms” list where your competitor paid for top placement

• Smart SEM ads from competitors using phrase or broad match variants

• AI summaries (like Google’s SGE or Bing’s AI snapshots) that combine your brand with competitor comparisons or review content

The same Semrush research noted the largest share growth of AI Overviews was found in Science (+22.27%), Health (+20.33%), and People & Society (+18.83%), indicating a rapid shift in high-trust, information-dense categories.

What the Brand Shift Means for Paid Search

Paid search has long been the go-to for defending brand territory. But what used to be low-cost, low-effort is now ultra-competitive.

Branded CPCs are climbing (up 10% on average across industries, according to Search Engine Land) as competitor ads get triggered by looser match types. Even if you’re bidding on exact match branded terms, leakage happens. And when brands assume they “own” those results organically, they pull back on branded campaigns exactly when they should be doubling down.

Competitors, match types, CPCs…it’s enough to make your head spin. Now’s the time to:

• Pressure-test your branded keyword performance. Where are competitors edging in? Where are you leaving clicks (and conversions) on the table?

• Get strict with your match types to avoid wasting spend, especially for phrase and broad match keywords. Looseness is leakage.

• Tighten negative keyword lists. Make sure irrelevant or competitor-aligned queries aren’t draining your budgets.

• Layer in audiences. Protect brand terms like you protect pipeline: focus on past site visitors, CRM lists, or high-intent segments.

Pro tip 🚀 One tactic we’ve used in highly competitive brand environments is to let competitors burn themselves out. When CPCs spike and quality scores are low on the other side, we’ll sometimes reduce our impression share just enough to hold second position. This inflates competitor CPCs without giving up visibility entirely.

Once the auction gets too expensive for them to sustain, we re-enter more aggressively and reclaim the top spot at a lower cost. It’s helped multiple clients regain control of branded SERPs without overpaying for the privilege.

What the Brand Shift Means for Organic Content

Ranking #1 for your brand name isn’t the flex it used to be. There, we said it.

AI-generated results and competitor SEO efforts are crowding what used to be clean paths to your homepage.

• Go beyond brand keywords. Capture adjacent, category-level demand before someone else does.

• Strengthen your E-E-A-T. Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trust build credibility that even AI summaries can’t ignore.

• Differentiate within the category. Don’t just say what your product does; explain why it’s better than the competitors your audience is seeing next to you.

Our Director of SEO & Content Strategy Anneliese Harrison notes, “We’ve seen impressions go up 56% across our client accounts, but clicks are flat or declining. That tells us people are seeing the content, but AI features are intercepting the click.”

“That changes how we optimize,” she adds. “It’s about structuring your content so it gets picked up and cited inside these summaries.”

How SEO and SEM Can Work Together

We’ve been holistic search marketers for a long time. And we’ve maintained that branded search shouldn’t be an SEO vs. SEM conversation. The smartest teams are treating it as shared ground.

That means:

• Regular branded term reviews across SEO and SEM. Align on what’s leaking and which competitors are creeping in. These reviews are your front line of defense.

• Unified performance reporting. Look at brand term conversions holistically. Are users coming in through paid or organic? Are they converting? Which channel is winning and why?

• Combined query intelligence. With search query visibility shrinking (thanks, privacy updates), it’s mission-critical to pool insights from both sides of the aisle. One team’s “irrelevant term” might be the other’s hidden gem.

• Joint content + ad planning. If AI summaries or smart SERP features are pulling in competitive content, both teams should be ready to respond. Align your messaging, landing pages, and playbooks.

As Anneliese explains, “We’re seeing the strongest results when SEO and SEM align early on shared keyword and intent strategy. When messaging tests from SEM feed back into metadata and content strategy, we’re growing brand visibility from AI Overviews to ads to organic listings.”

But like we noted above, collaboration goes beyond keywords. SEM campaigns often drive to high-conversion, purpose-built pages. Think single CTA, stripped-down navigation, and speed to lead. SEO, on the other hand, favors content-rich pages with internal links, topical depth, and authority signals.

At ROI·DNA, we’re increasingly developing hybrid landing experiences that meet the needs of both channels: fast-loading, high-converting pages with enough context and internal link structure to keep organic rankings strong.

Your Brand. Your Turf. Defend It.

Branded search used to be a gimme. Now it’s a street fight. AI-powered search turned your name, your clicks, and your turf into open season. Not just for smart competitors, but for sloppy matching, broad targeting, and unintended leakage that quickly turns into search chaos.

The brands that win are those who test and adapt fast and treat branded strategy like the performance lever it is. It’s about owning your category through being the first impression buyers get when they go looking.

Branded terms are under attack. Time to fight smarter and evolve faster so you won’t just rank. You’ll reign.

Catch our next issue out on June 25 2025!

Powered by Hotwire & ROI•DNA

Welcome to The B2B Marketing Brief! Your front-row seat to the ever-evolving world of B2B marketing. Where we keep it real—sharing wins, tackling pain points, and uncovering growth opportunities. Each edition is packed with stories, tips, and the latest trends to help you master the art of B2B engagement. Get your cup of coffee, and let’s get marketing!

In this issue:

• Is Traditional SEO Dead?

• SEO Isn’t Dying, It’s Getting Smarter

• Toys vs. Tools: The B2B Marketer’s Guide to Evaluating AI Brand Monitoring Tools

Is Traditional SEO Dead?

TL;DR: No, traditional SEO is not dead. BUT – and it’s a vast but.. it is evolving at pace.

The core principles of SEO, such as high-quality content, relevance, and authority, remain crucial. However, businesses can no longer rely solely on ranking for keywords to drive traffic. Instead, they must adapt to AI-driven search landscapes by focusing on brand trust, engagement, and diverse content distribution.

SEO is now about:

• Owning first-party data and building email lists.

• Creating engaging multimedia content like videos, podcasts, and interactive tools.

• Becoming a trusted brand that AI systems reference in search results.

• Understanding AI-driven algorithms and optimizing for AI-generated summaries.

Rather than being a death sentence for SEO, AI is forcing a transformation that rewards those who innovate and stay ahead of search trends.

But How to Drive Traffic Despite AI-Dominated Search?

Here are 6 rules to keep in mind:

Rule #1: Optimize for AI-Generated Snippets

Rather than fighting AI, adapt your content to be the source Google selects for its AI-generated responses.

How to:

• Use clear, concise answers (bullet points, short paragraphs).

• Structure content with FAQs and key takeaways.

• Incorporate schema markup to improve content visibility.

Rule #2: Focus on Brand Authority and Expertise

With Google's emphasis on E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness):

How to:

• Build brand authority through in-depth, well-researched content.

• Get mentions in reputable sources to reinforce credibility.

• Showcase author bios and real-world expertise.

Rule #3: Prioritize Long Tail and Conversational Keywords

AI search relies heavily on natural language processing (NLP), making long-tail queries more relevant.

How to:

• Optimize for question-based searches ("How to...") and conversational phrases.

• Use semantic search optimization rather than just keywords.

Rule #4: Leverage AI for Content Creation and Strategy

AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Semrush, SurferSEO, and Clearscope can help create content that aligns with AI search priorities.

How to:

• Generate data-driven content based on trending topics.

• Use AI analytics to find search intent patterns.

• Optimize content for voice search and multimodal AI search.

Rule #5: Diversify Beyond Google Search

Since AI-driven answers reduce reliance on Google, explore alternative traffic sources:

How to:

• Video SEO (YouTube is a major search engine in itself!)

• Social media (TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram trending content)

• Email marketing (own your audience through direct engagement)

Rule #6: Encourage Engagement and First-party Data Collection

With AI taking over search, it's critical to build direct relationships with your audience.

How to:

• Encourage sign-ups for email newsletters.

• Create interactive content (polls, quizzes, webinars).

• Build communities where users return for exclusive insights.

While AI-generated answers are shifting how users interact with search engines, SEO is far from dead. The focus is now on optimizing for AI-driven search experiences, building brand authority, and creating engaging, value-driven content that drives users to act beyond just clicking a link. By adapting to AI search trends, businesses can not only survive but thrive in this new SEO era. So why just rank – when getting it right means your innovative brand can reign?

SEO Isn’t Dying, It’s Getting Smarter

(But only if you are 🧠 too) but who’s listening?

It’s safe to say we’re way past wondering if AI is influencing the way people search. Think Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE), AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity, and ChatGPT. Your client’s nephew searches TikTok before even thinking of Chrome.

He’s not alone, and we’ve got the data to prove it. A 2025 Statista report found that one in ten U.S. internet users already turns to generative AI as their first stop for online search. That was 13 million people in 2023, and it’s expected to grow to 90 million by 2027.

It’s not a surprise to us marketers. When was the last time YOU tabbed away from ChatGPT to ask a search engine something? Same.

We’re here to break it all down: what’s changing, why it matters, and what you need to do right now to stay visible.

Search Used to Be Linear. Not Anymore.

Remember when SEO was just about keywords, metadata, and a technically sound site? Same. But now, the “top of the funnel” often starts inside a chat box and ends with zero clicks. Your audience is asking questions, getting AI-powered answers, and sometimes not even seeing your beautifully optimized landing page.

Keyword-and-tech specs are still crucial. But AI is changing how your content gets surfaced.

1. Search engines are pushing AI-generated answers to questions ahead of traditional results and paid ads.

Search engines—especially Google—are flooding the top of the page with AI-generated answers. A 2025 report from Authoritas discovered these “AI overviews” are appearing in 30% of searches and nearly 75% of problem-solving queries. Your potential buyer asks a question, and boom! An AI box delivers the answer. No scroll, no click, and almost no chance to gain some sweet brand recognition unless you’re in that box.

2. Users are asking more conversational, complex questions.

Thanks to voice-to-text and NLP interfaces, people are more comfortable asking long, layered questions (“What’s the best CRM for mid-sized B2B teams that already use HubSpot?” compared to yesteryear’s “Best B2B CRM”). It’s basically a step back to when search engines first rolled onto the scene (“Where can I buy Phish tickets?”).

3. Generative models are citing sources (sometimes) and influencing what gets visibility.

Models like Gemini, Perplexity, and even ChatGPT (via Bing or plug-ins) are starting to call the shots on who makes it into the AI spotlight. But how do you earn a spot? Structure, authority, and intent. These tools reward content that’s technically clean, semantically aligned, and genuinely helpful. Educational, research-driven, and high-E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) content rises to the top. Thin, brand-first fluff gets filtered out (yay!).

How SEO Pros Are Navigating the AI Complexity

Let’s be real: AI didn’t toss the old SEO playbook. But it did scribble in the margins and rip out a few chapters. What’s left requires sharper thinking and a new set of tools.

So how are the best SEO teams stepping up? They’re using AI as an SEO accelerator (vroom vroom).

✅ Identifying semantic relationships between keywords.

Keyword matching is table stakes. Real SEO power is in knowing what your audience means. Semantic analysis helps AI understand the context and intent behind search queries, grouping terms like “customer onboarding software,” “user activation tools,” and “time-to-value metrics” into one clear use case.

This makes it easier to build content that ranks for clusters of related queries, not just one term. It’s how you capture traffic and guide users toward fewer dead ends.

✅ Spotting new intent patterns before they trend.

Traditional SEO waits for data to show up in search volume reports. AI doesn’t. It can help uncover emerging queries and intent signals before they spike in volume, giving you a head start on content the rest of the market hasn’t even thought about yet.

For example, if AI tools surface a growing search pattern around “AI tools for revenue teams,” you can create value-first content that stakes your claim before the competition catches on. Cool, right?

✅ Generating outlines, summaries, and ideas at scale.

AI can handle the heavy lifting so your team focuses on the big swings. It can spin up briefs, titles, and content calendars in minutes. Clear H1s and H2s, bullet lists, straight-to-the-point intros, and author bios that signal real expertise are crucial.

If you show it your content library, AI can also spot content gaps, help you repurpose what’s working, and move faster from idea to publication.

✅ Automating site audits and backend fixes.

Tedious but essential SEO tasks—crawling for broken links, janky redirects, and slow load times—are essential for performance and rankings. AI tools can flag issues fast, but they’re also helping SEOs get ahead by automating structured data implementation.

Want to show up in AI Overviews or snag a featured snippet? You’ll need clean markup. FAQ, how-to, article, and breadcrumb schema using JSON-LD are your new best friends.

What AI Still Fumbles (and Why Strategy Still Wins)

For all its speed and scale, AI isn’t a magic wand. It can supercharge your SEO, but only if you know when to hit the gas and when to take the wheel.

AI can hallucinate facts, misalign with your brand voice, or churn out generic content. It's great at summarizing, but not at storytelling. It mimics your tone, but doesn’t understand your POV. It knows what’s trending, but not what your ICP needs at the decision-making stage.

That’s why strategy still wins. Google knows it, too: they’re doubling down on E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust. In a sea of AI sludge, E-E-A-T is the credibility check that decides who floats to the top. It’s the difference between being “just another result” and the trusted voice AI pulls from.

What Actually Works for SEO in 2025?

So no, AI isn’t the enemy. But it’s not autopilot either. To actually win in this new era of search, you need a strategy that knows when to lean in and when to push back.

Here’s what you should consider doing differently in 2025:

🔍 Optimize for “Share of Model.”

SEO teams can boost Share of Model by publishing authoritative, well-structured content and building topical depth. We rely on clear headlines, structured data, schema markup, and plainspoken, fact-based language.

Educational content (like frameworks, how-tos, and explainer pieces) often wins here. If the model sees your content as the most useful, you'll be the brand it pulls into the spotlight.

But there’s a path for commercial keywords to show up, too. Especially through product comparisons and competitive breakdowns that help buyers evaluate their options in the consideration phase.

🧠 Think in topics, not just keywords.

Keyword-stuffing has been long dead, and good riddance! In 2025, winning SEO is about building intent-driven content that mirrors how people naturally search. That means moving past robotic keyword repetition and leaning into thoughtful topic clusters, internal linking, and structured content that solves problems.

Build around how users think, not just what they type. The payoff? Stronger engagement, better rankings, and a site that earns trust from readers.

✍️ Speak to people. Signal to search.

If it reads like a bot wrote it, no one’s sticking around. SEO content today needs to do more than check boxes. That means building pages that answer real questions with clarity and confidence. Think: frameworks, visuals, POVs, and practical advice tailored to decision-makers.

A page on “B2B SaaS onboarding” shouldn't just define the term. It should speak directly to the SaaS leader evaluating new tools. It should outline the onboarding journey, highlight friction points, and help readers understand what success looks like.

The more specific and helpful your content is, the more likely buyers are to fill out a demo form, click a CTA, or bring your brand into the consideration set.

Fuel for Thought 🚀

AI won’t kill SEO. But it will kill lazy SEO. If your strategy hasn’t changed since SGE launched (or worse, since ChatGPT launched) you’ve fallen way behind.

2025 is about building content that’s discoverable, trustworthy, and aligned with how real people (and machines) search. It’s not about more content. It’s about the right content, built for humans and optimized for discovery.

Toys vs. Tools: the B2B Marketer’s Guide to Evaluating AI Brand Monitoring Tools

Remember this old chestnut? AI is only as good as the data it’s hoovered up. Aargh!

As AI tools fast become the first place prospects turn to learn about our companies, we’re reminded yet again: What they say about us depends on the data they’re feeding on.

Which brings us to the million-dollar question: What do AI search engines (think Perplexity) and LLMs (think ChatGPT) know about our brands? What are customers going to discover about our brands, offerings, and product categories when they look us up using AI? And where on earth are they getting information from?

Helping marketers answer these questions is fueling a burgeoning industry, one that’s growing faster than NVIDIA became a household name. Just a few months ago, there were only a handful of tools. Today, there are over 20. These include SEO old timers—like Semrush, BrightEdge, Conductor, seoClarity, and Ahrefs (to some extent)—to buzzy start-ups—like Airank, AthenaHQ, AmIOnAI, Bluefish AI, BrandLight, Evertune, ModelMonitor, Peec AI, Profound, RankScale, Scrunch AI, ShareOfModel, Waikay, Yext, and Xfunnel.

It feels like everyone’s rushing into the brand-visibility-in-AI market like it’s the last roll of toilet paper during the pandemic.

So that’s the rub. How's a B2B marketer supposed to work out which one to use? To separate the good from the gobbledygook?

Here are 6 questions to set you on the right path.

AI Search Optimization: Six Questions to Ask Before You Buy

Q1. First, what are you inputting? Is it just your domain? Or can you also track product names, categories, competitors, and personas?

Why it matters: Some tools only let you enter a domain, but enterprise marketers need more. We need to know if our products and brand categories are being picked up in AI search—and how they’re showing up. A domain-level result is fine for a vibe check. But that’s about it.

Q2. Which AI search engines does it check? Is it just ChatGPT? And does it differentiate between models, say GPT-4o vs. GPT-3.5?

Why it matters: Our buyers aren’t loyal to one LLM—they bounce between platforms. And within each platform, multiple models treat your brand differently. In a multi-model world, we need multi-model visibility.

Q3. Does it support semantic search—or is it stuck in 2012? This is a big one: Can it understand the meaning behind queries and the context of who’s asking?

Why it matters: AI search isn’t a CTRL+F for brand words. It’s semantic. That means its answers change based on who’s asking, how they ask, and what they’re really trying to figure out. Tools that treat every prompt the same ignore the nuance of user profiles (like a CISO vs. a junior dev) and context (buying mode vs. casual research). This is maybe the most important question you can ask.

Q4. Does it show you citations—and flag the fake or outdated ones? Can you see where it is pulling info from? And does it check if those sources are real, current, and still live?

Why it matters: Citations are your breadcrumb trail—they show where the AI is getting its info about you, your products, and your competitors. That’s gold, because it’s how you reverse-engineer influence. But here’s the catch: LLMs often cite outdated content, dead links, or just hallucinate sources like they’re fresh off a week at Burning Man. Choose tools that show citations—and verify if they’re valid.

Q5. Does it help you improve your AI search posture? Does it actually tell you how to show up more often (and better) in AI search?

Why it matters: Data is nice. Direction is better. The best tools don’t stop at telling you what’s wrong—they help you figure out where to publish, what to say, and which keywords and story angles will actually move the needle.

Q6. Is it easy to use? Does it use visualizations and summaries?

Why it matters: If your team can’t use it, it’s not valuable. Usability, clarity, and at-a-glance insights are what separate a high-impact tool from a very expensive doorstop.

A final thought: Remember how we asked ourselves what our prospects might discover about our brand through AI search—not Google (no offense, Bing)? Well, in the near future enterprise buyers won’t merely as ChatGPT, they’ll delegate discovery almost entirely to autonomous digital assistants.

In that world, AI search won’t just influence buyer shortlists—agentic AI systems will build them. And with every new LLM release, we’re getting closer to that reality—fast. The upshot? Elbowing your way into a shortlist won’t depend on what human buyers read on ChatGPT. It’ll depend on what AI agents find, know, and say about you—on AI search.

Which makes brand visibility in AI a whole new kind of competitive advantage. The AI tide is rising, time to grab a paddle.

Catch our next issue out on 28 May 2025!

Powered by Hotwire & ROI•DNA

Welcome to The B2B Marketing Brief! Your front-row seat to the ever-evolving world of B2B marketing. Where we keep it real—sharing wins, tackling pain points, and uncovering growth opportunities. Each edition is packed with stories, tips, and the latest trends to help you master the art of B2B engagement. Get your cup of coffee, and let’s get marketing!

In this issue:

• Don’t Boil the Ocean: We’ve Built the Tool to Understand and Influence AI Search

• Back to the Future: What the Past Reveals About the Future of AI in B2B Marketing

• AI Ambition vs. Readiness: Bridging the Gap or Falling Behind?

• The Future of AI in B2B Marketing

Don’t Boil the Ocean: We’ve Built the Tool to Understand and Influence AI Search

AI Search is Coming of Age

This feels like it’s been a long time coming, but Search is threatened. Ever since the first opening of ChatGPT to the public, when it became the fastest app to reach the 100 million user mark, marketing and PR professionals knew it would change the Search domain in a big way.

By observing our clients, the audience, and chatbot adoption data it’s becoming clear that AI Search isn’t just another trend—it’s a fundamental shift in how users access information. With Generative AI solutions stepping in as direct answer engines, traditional search methods are being reshaped, forcing companies to rethink their marketing strategies. As Louis Dreyfus of Le Monde recounts, AI search is on track to become the primary gateway to information for future generations. The question isn’t if businesses should adapt, but how quickly they can take control of this new landscape.

We didn’t know back then exactly where or when AI-powered search would be reaching a pivotal moment, but we were sure it would completely transform how we reach B2C and B2B audiences. Despite being 2025 today and seemingly AI overtaking everything, we as an industry all still have time to prepare. Albeit not much.

How Did Hotwire Get Here

Keeping up with consumer research trends, brands now need to understand how AI chatbots are talking about them and their competitors to develop strategies that influence these conversations. Since Hotwire is part of the tech industry, we are continuously redefining our approach through advanced tech in marketing and communications, therefore it made sense to create such a tool. Adding to those 25 years of building brand reputations, we can discern that this is the moment it is for brands to take control of their AI narrative, providing AI Search visibility, insights, and strategy.

When we started exploring this topic in 2023, the first MVP focused on extracting structured, believable data from LLMs. By 2024, our teams at Hotwire were convinced—AI Search was speeding toward us, and clients needed to understand what was happening under the hood. More importantly, they needed ways to steer it in the right direction.

The idea was simple: ChatGPT, as an interface to LLMs, is one of the best sources for understanding what influences AI decisions—and, in most cases, it’s willing to show its cards. Of course, responses can vary, hallucinations are a given, and some data is entirely restricted by OpenAI. But if you ask the right questions, crafted in a specific way to minimize inconsistencies, you can extract useful insights to act on.

Of course, making sense of this data requires seasoned PR and marketing expertise—which, we have plenty of at Hotwire. After testing the tool with our clients, we confirmed our core hypothesis: LLMs can be explored, analyzed and influenced. This wasn’t just an internal experiment—it was relevant to others, and we could make it work.

The only limitation? The prototype’s tech stack. So, for the rest of 2024, we focused on building a new and improved MVP, which we are going to unveil end of March 2025.

How Does It Work?

Hotwire’s proprietary tool is an AI search discovery platform that helps brands understand how they appear on AI chatbots—and what they need to do to improve their presence.

Built on an agentic AI framework, the tool automates interactions with LLMs, streamlines the path to better results, and corrects data flow to reduce hallucinations, incorrect citations, and logical inconsistencies.

It requires the touch of experienced PR professionals, and with their oversight, it enables companies to tap into millions of questions and answers posed to LLMs like ChatGPT, providing insight into what’s being said about their brand.

With this tool and 25 years of PR and communications expertise, Hotwire delivers the most relevant insights and recommendations to influence a brand’s AI presence. Sign up to be the first to learn more.

The Deciding Factors

As important and challenging as the technology is, the most crucial element isn’t the tech itself. Just like a paintbrush, our tool is only as powerful as the hand that wields it. The flexibility and ambiguity of LLMs make it too easy to generate completely different and incohesive results, even with similar prompts and strict guardrails. Here are some deciding factors that will make or break your AI search discovery & strategy.

1. Human Behind the Wheel
   While the upcoming release and further development will make it a state-of-the-art agentic AI tool, the real value of AI search discovery lies in superb analysts, marketers, and PR professionals. Their expertise ensures that AI-driven insights are actionable, strategic, and aligned with real-world brand objectives. At Hotwire, we’ve seen firsthand how nurturing talent drives real results. If you need comprehensive support, let’s connect.

2. Quality, Unique Creative
   When it comes to content, it's becoming clear that LLMs will prioritize human-written, reputable, and quality content. After all, who better to identify poorly written, generic, or repetitive content than large models trained on literal terabytes of text from the internet?

3. Trust and Public Relations

   There are some notable experts in marketing who consider PR a future for the industry. Why? LLMs are becoming more sophisticated and smarter in detecting the reputability not just from the database with trusted links on their servers, but from active discussions on Reddit, in nuanced snarky comments of journalists and hints from corporate reports. In short, you can’t expect to easily game the algorithm as with SEO over the last 2 decades.

If we can leave you with just one insight at the end of this article, it’s to invest in AI search discovery today. Start by dedicating time to understanding the topic, using your team’s resources, and then following up with financials. It’s no longer an abstraction set in the distant future—it’s here now, on your clients’ devices, and they are using it more with each passing day.

Back to the Future: What the Past Reveals About the Future of AI in B2B Marketing

You have to feel bad for history. It’s been sitting there for centuries, waving its arms, yelling, “Hey! We’ve seen this movie before! Maybe don’t make the same mistakes?”

But who’s listening?

Now, it’s sounding the alarm again—about AI. Like every groundbreaking technology before it, AI is charging ahead, unlocking incredible possibilities. But if the past has taught us anything, it’s that innovation comes with a side of unintended consequences.

Looking back, there are some clues about where AI might be heading. The patterns are familiar—big breakthroughs, rapid adoption, and then the inevitable growing pains. By recognizing these cycles, B2B marketers can sidestep some of the tripwires that snagged those before us. Here are three.

From VM Sprawl to AI Agent Sprawl

TL;DR: Virtualization made spinning up servers a breeze. But that same simplicity fueled a VM sprawl wildfire. Could the same happen to B2B marketers with AI agents?

The Ghost of Tech Past: When enterprises embraced virtualization in the mid-2000s, it felt like IT had unlocked god mode. Costs dropped, disaster recovery improved, and provisioning became effortless. It was all upside. Until it wasn’t. The ease of creating virtual machines led to an explosion of them. VMs were popping up everywhere with no real plan, no oversight, and no one bothering to decommission them. Resources were wasted and management became a nightmare. It got ugly. Fast.

Future AI Pitfalls: Now, as AI gains traction in B2B marketing, we could see history repeat—only this time with AI agents. No-code platforms make it easier than ever to deploy standalone AI agents and agentic AI workflows. And the market for off-the-shelf AI-powered B2B marketing solutions is booming. Tom in customer support? He’s built an agent to upsell. Sasha in account management? She’s got one cranking out proposals. Before you know it, you’ve got agentic AI sprawl—a tangled mess of shadow AI agents, duplicate bots, and AI with unauthorized access to customer data. Yikes!

From Social Media Walled Gardens to AI Lock-In

TL;DR: Businesses poured time and money into social media, only to realize they were building on rented land. Agentic AI workflows could be going down a similar path.

The Ghost of Tech Past: When organizations jumped into social media, it was all sunshine and rainbows. Brands engaged directly with audiences and drove visibility, loyalty and growth. All that juice made it worth the squeeze. And there was plenty of squeezing. Companies poured time, money, and effort into building communities, setting up analytics, and tailoring content strategies. But there was a catch: These weren’t their platforms. When algorithms changed, features disappeared, or platforms shut down, businesses realized they couldn’t migrate all their investments to another platform easily; the switching cost was just too high.

Future AI Pitfalls: Fast forward to today, and B2B marketers are making the same kind of investments—this time in AI-driven workflows. Platforms like Lindy AI, Gumloop, and n8n lure marketers in with user-friendly interfaces and seamless automation tools. Soon, teams have poured countless hours crafting complex, production-ready AI workflows—deeply embedding themselves into platforms that don’t offer portability. Classic Hotel California.

From Mobile Overload to GenAI Fatigue

TL;DR: Mobile apps once felt like magic—until every brand launched one, and users went from excited to exhausted. GenAI-powered B2B marketing experiences could be heading in the same direction.

The Ghost of Tech Past: When mobile took off, it changed everything. B2B brands found new ways to create personalized touchpoints, from customized tradeshow apps to AR and VR demos. On the B2C side, businesses pushed geo-targeted deals straight to customers' pockets. Everyone wanted in. Companies scrambled to launch apps like it was the last chopper out of Saigon. Soon customers were overwhelmed. Downloads stalled, opt-outs soared, and digital exhaustion set in. Freshness faded to fatigue.

Future AI Pitfalls: Now, GenAI is the next frontier, and businesses are diving in, racing to build AI-driven experiences. Chatbots, AI-powered panelists, and immersive AI experiences—we can’t get enough. And this is just the beginning. No-code platforms are making AI more accessible than ever, paving the way for mass adoption. Which is a problem. When we all use the same democratized AI tools to generate the same kinds of interactions, everything starts to feel... the same. Customers tune out. Engagement fizzles. You know the saying about a rising tide lifting all boats? That’s right. Everyone’s certainly floating, but no one’s ahead. If we aren’t careful, GenAI-powered experiences could go from magical to meh in no time.

None of this is meant to be a downer. AI is the future. And it will transform B2B marketing in remarkable ways. But every big leap in technology comes with side effects, and if we aren’t paying attention, we might just find ourselves singing along with Britney: Oops!... We Did It Again.

AI Ambition vs. Readiness: Bridging the Gap or Falling Behind?

AI is the buzzword dominating boardrooms and water coolers, with leadership eager to integrate the tech and coworkers sharing their latest ChatGPT prompts (or is that just us?). The excitement is palpable: large language models (LLMs) and other “Deep Research” reasoning models can help with faster decision-making, new lines of revenue, and slicker sales motions. The tools exist, the potential is undeniable, but the execution? That’s where the proverbial you-know-what hits the fan.

Strategy stalls, infrastructure gaps emerge, and internal know-how falls short. Fears of AI unreadiness are a growing sentiment, as well. A recent Cisco study surveying 2,503 Global CEOs reveals a striking disconnect between ambition and readiness:

• 97% of CEOs plan to integrate AI into their operations, convinced of its transformative power.

• 80% believe AI will drive process efficiencies and spark breakthrough innovations.

And yet…

• Only 1.7% feel their organizations are fully prepared to implement AI successfully.

• 53% feel they’re already losing ground by not investing enough in the right technologies.

• 70% fear an eroding competitive edge due to insufficient IT infrastructure that can handle AI initiatives

The takeaway? AI isn’t coming. It’s already here. The question is whether your team is adapting to take advantage of this brave new world.

AI Adoption: A Climb, Not a Destination

Let’s take a step back. Is it realistic to expect full AI readiness overnight? We don’t think so.

AI isn’t a departing train that businesses either catch or miss, even if some surveyed CEOs feel as much. We see it like Miley Cyrus in her 2009 Hannah Montana movie mega-anthem: it’s the climb! (and not just because that song is still stuck in our heads). AI adoption requires constant adaptation to new altitudes. Every challenge tackled, every workflow optimized, and every experiment tested prepares your organization for the next step.

As with any major industry shift, AI presents as much opportunity as it does challenge. The key is looking not at the summit, but the next hand- or foothold in front of you. Small AI workflow wins get you that much closer to AI integration mastery.

How AI is B2Being Leveraged Today

The good news is that the tools to bridge the AI readiness gap are already here. It’s not about if you should integrate AI into your marketing strategy. It’s about how. Check out some of the ways ROI·DNA is leveraging AI’s power.

Streamlining Research? Tap into Reasoning Models

Some of the most time-consuming marketing tasks involve sifting through massive amounts of data — finding the right journalists for outreach, identifying high-value PPC targets, or pinpointing competitive content gaps.

Reasoning models like OpenAI’s o1 can step in to:

✅ Analyze past coverage, social profiles, and interest areas to surface the best journalists or influencers for your pitch

✅ Generate a curated list of the most relevant YouTube channels, websites, or publishers to maximize reach and results

✅ Pinpoint content and keyword gaps you can exploit to outmaneuver competitors

We’ve used o1 to identify keyword use, topic coverage, and even tone of voice of dozens of competitor pages. Those insights help us determine where a client can stand out and swing big to capture attention on their own site.

Too Many Recurring Tasks? Try AI-driven Workflows

From industry news tracking to competitor monitoring, AI can turn your endless task list into automated intelligence.

OpenAI’s “Scheduled Tasks” function can:

✅ Set up a daily news summary so you never have to visit five different blogs before 9 AM

✅ Flag newly published content from your key competitors, eliminating the need to manually check their blogs and press releases

Our Senior Manager of Content Strategy, Blake Calamas says, “There’s a lot of great publications talking about content and GenAI these days, and a few digital watering holes I usually return to. Setting up a daily summary means I can catch the highlights on a busier morning, or click through to read more when I have time.”

Want to Supercharge AI marketing? Enter Custom GPTs

If the journey to AI mastery is like a certain Disney Kid-turned-Grammy winner’s summer song, think of AI tools themselves as super-powerful Swiss army knives you can bring on the climb. What’s more: we can customize them in seriously creative ways (not to brag, but we’ve done it).

Custom GPTs can:

✅ Offer UX feedback in real-time, helping marketers refine their approach without formal UX expertise (like Intellimind’s Roast My Landing Page custom GPT)

✅ Act as a training tool, guiding new and existing employees through product knowledge, FAQs, and best practices

For instance, if you wanted to ‘quiz’ your sales team on their understanding of a competitor's offering, provide just a handful of inputs (like solution page URLs) and you're good to go.

Fuel for thought 🚀 The real AI advantage isn’t just about automation. It’s about knowledge enablement. Teams that harness AI for internal learning accelerate their growth curve exponentially.

And, it’s worth noting that the GenAI tools we love using are just that: tools. They don’t replace the expertise or professional intuition that comes only from (in our case) 15 years of marketing wins. Like all tools, AI can only do what it was designed to do. And that means, sometimes, what AI provides is like a loose handhold that crumbles…you probably should have tested it before using it. It’s why we rely on human-in-the-loop QA to make sure that AI’s output conforms to what we know is true.

AI in B2B Marketing: The Tipping Point is Here

The findings from the Cisco study make at least one thing clear: nearly every CEO sees AI as a game-changer, but only a small fraction are ready to make it work. Those who move beyond the hype to leverage AI-powered reasoning models, automation, and custom GPTs one step at a time? They’re setting the foundation for mountain-climbing and ballad-belting success.

The Future of AI in B2B Marketing

How AI-powered Insights can Unify Sales and Marketing Like Never Before - if Applied Correctly.

Can you confidently say your sales and marketing teams are working seamlessly together? Many clients still find it challenging to create a true partnership between these teams—one that drives unified programs and a continuous flow of insights from both sides. So, it’s hard to optimize programs. It’s an age-old blocker. And the financial (and mental) strain of this disconnect can be significant. Cracking that continuous flow of insights is the game-changer… Has this finally been solved with AI? Or has AI made things even more complicated?

The Age-old Alignment Challenge AI Solves

If you’re feeling a disconnect between your sales and marketing teams, you’re not alone. A whopping 65% of sales and marketing professionals still believe there is a lack of alignment between their leaders (Forrester 2024). This means inconsistent messaging, poorly qualified leads, minimal feedback between teams and cross-functional friction. One key reason for this is a lack of actionable insights that block a collaborative feedback loop. The ‘actionable’ part comes from understanding how sales leads can leverage the insight in their outreach strategies. There has to be analysis and translation.

Fear not. 2025 is set to be a pivotal year for addressing these challenges. According to McKinsey, generative and agentic AI could unlock $0.8 trillion to $1.2 trillion in annual productivity value across sales and marketing functions. The reason? AI brings data-driven precision to targeting and engagement strategies, helping teams focus on high-value prospects and tailoring outreach and messaging more effectively.

A New Era of Communication and Collaboration

AI-powered tools can act as a 'universal translator' between sales and marketing. Through predictive analytics and real-time insights, AI creates a unified view of the customer journey. No more miscommunication. This transparency ensures that marketing campaigns align with sales strategies, meaning the transition from lead generation to conversion is seamless.

For example, AI-driven platforms can analyze engagement data to identify which marketing assets lead to the highest conversion rates. This data can then be shared with sales teams to refine their pitches, ensuring that both teams are speaking the same language when engaging with prospects.

Efficiency Reimagined: Optimizing the Feedback Engine

Another big pain that AI takes away is repetitive tasks. Through automation, AI frees up teams to focus on strategic initiatives. AI-driven sales and marketing automation can reduce admin by up to 30% (McKinsey 2024), allowing teams to focus on building relationships and closing deals.

Beyond efficiency, AI enhances the notorious but critical feedback engine between sales and marketing, creating more intimacy between teams. By continuously analyzing data from CRM systems, email campaigns, and sales interactions, AI provides real-time insights into what’s working and what isn’t. It allows teams to be more agile in pivoting strategies and responding quicker to market changes.

Cracking the New AI-driven Alignment Challenge: Strategies for Success

However, AI is obviously not without its challenges. The new alignment challenge to watch out for is mainly around data interpretation and decision-making consistency. While AI offers powerful insights and automation, it also introduces complexities in how teams interpret and act on the data. If sales and marketing teams aren’t aligned on how to use AI-driven insights, it can lead to conflicting strategies, miscommunication, and a disconnected customer journey. It’s important to have the right strategy in place and to collaborate every step of the way to prevent any misinterpretations.

Another key thing to keep in mind…

The. Human. Touch. Is. Still. Crucial. An over-reliance on AI-powered research and content creates diluted insights and a diluted brand voice. Buyers want to feel recognized through authentic communication. You need to ensure all teams are using AI to enhance their processes - not to completely replace them. AI content without human refinement is shallow and can be spotted a mile off. An AI tool without constant injection of human data and feedback is like a junior member of staff without any training. The more you feed the engine, the more depth you get from the insights and the more effective your results are.

Use AI to speed up the ‘busy’ work, like the hours of account research, and free up time to add more human value - the personal touches and tailored outreach that get deals over the line.

So, to summarize, yes. AI can transform the connection and cohesion between sales and marketing teams. But it is not a silver bullet. You need a robust AI-enablement strategy to avoid data misinterpretation, misaligned strategies, and the risk of widening existing gaps.

Key Takeaways

• Sales and marketing misalignments still exist

• AI bridges alignment gaps

• AI transforms the feedback engine

• But AI brings its own misalignment challenges

• The human touch is still crucial

• A proactive AI strategy is key

Catch our next issue out on 30 April 2025!

Powered by Hotwire & ROI•DNA

Welcome to The B2B Marketing Brief! Your front-row seat to the ever-evolving world of B2B marketing. Where we keep it real—sharing wins, tackling pain points, and uncovering growth opportunities. Each edition is packed with stories, tips, and the latest trends to help you master the art of B2B engagement. Get your cup of coffee, and let’s get marketing!

In this issue:

• Navigating the Digital Labyrinth: Unraveling B2B Marketing Challenges in 2025

• Dirty Data? This AI Solution Leads to Polished Campaigns

• How to Embrace the Future with Video Content?

Navigating the Digital Labyrinth: Unraveling B2B Marketing Challenges in 2025

Marketing in the Age of Paradoxes

B2B marketing today is like navigating a bustling street in Old Delhi—thrilling, chaotic, and full of unexpected detours. One moment, you're savoring the aroma of possibilities—AI-powered personalization, data-driven insights, and seamless automation. The next, you're dodging a street vendor (or in this case, yet another generic LinkedIn post) trying to sell you "the ultimate guide to B2B success."

The paradoxes are everywhere. We have more data than ever, yet struggle with insights. We have more digital tools, yet find it harder to engage meaningfully. We preach personalization, yet resort to mass email blasts. We chase the latest shiny platform, only to find our core message diluted and our audience fragmented. In this labyrinth of contradictions, B2B marketers must do more than just “keep up”—they must rewrite the rules altogether. They must become architects of meaningful experiences, curators of valuable content, and builders of lasting relationships.

So, where do we begin? Let’s explore the biggest challenges shaping today’s B2B marketing landscape—and more importantly, how to turn them into opportunities for growth and differentiation.

1. The Digital Deluge: The Urgent Need for Strategic Consolidation

Challenge: The Overwhelming Complexity of Digital Marketing

The digital landscape has exploded. What was once a manageable set of channels has become a sprawling ecosystem of platforms, touchpoints, and technologies, demanding synchronized execution. B2B marketers are not just juggling—they're performing a complex circus act with:

• Platform Proliferation: LinkedIn, Google Ads, WhatsApp for Business, industry forums, regional social networks, niche B2B platforms—each with its own nuances and algorithms, demanding different content formats and strategies. The sheer number of options can be paralyzing.

• Data Overload, Insight Drought: Multiple analytics tools generate mountains of reports, but finding the right signal in the noise, the actionable insight that drives decisions, is increasingly difficult. Data becomes a burden rather than an asset.

• Inconsistent Brand Messaging: A brand might sound polished in email campaigns but robotic on chatbots, confusing prospects and eroding trust. This disconnect creates a fragmented brand experience.

Solution: Mastering the Art of Strategic Simplification and Integration

The key isn’t more tools; it’s smarter integration and a focus on strategic simplification. It's about building a cohesive digital strategy, not just reacting to the latest trend.

1. Build a Unified Data Ecosystem: A Customer Data Platform (CDP) like Segment, Tealium, or a marketing cloud solution like Adobe Experience Platform or Salesforce Marketing Cloud can stitch together data from various touchpoints, creating a 360-degree view of the customer and enabling seamless audience segmentation and personalized experiences.

2. Adopt an Omnichannel Approach with a Focus on Consistency: Brands like Zoho and Freshworks have made strides in this area, but the real challenge is not just being on multiple channels, but ensuring communication remains consistent, relevant, and personalized across LinkedIn, webinars, email, and even WhatsApp-based sales conversations. Consistency builds trust and reinforces brand identity.

3. Use AI to Bridge the Gaps – and Automate the Mundane: AI-driven platforms like Drift, Intercom, or Marketo can personalize website experiences dynamically based on visitor behavior, automate lead nurturing, and free up marketers to focus on strategic initiatives. AI is not a replacement for human creativity, but a powerful tool to augment it.

A simple rule: Less frantic platform-hopping, more intentional audience nurturing.

2. The Trust Deficit: Fighting Skepticism in the Digital Age – The Power of Authenticity and Transparency

Challenge: The Erosion of Trust in B2B Relationships

In an era where deepfakes can make anyone say anything and AI-generated content floods inboxes, skepticism is at an all-time high. Buyers, who were already cautious, now second-guess everything—from online reviews to cold emails promising “unparalleled ROI.” And with evolving data privacy laws across regions, businesses must navigate compliance while building credibility.

Solution: Radical Transparency & Community-Driven Trust

1. Show, Don’t Just Tell: Move beyond generic testimonials. Share:

   • Live dashboards showcasing product performance and uptime.

   • Customer video stories with unscripted insights, highlighting both successes and challenges.

   • Third-party audits or security compliance badges (ISO 27001, GDPR alignment) prominently displayed.

   • Case studies that delve into the process of problem-solving, not just the end result.

2. Turn Leadership into Thought Leadership – with Humility: Encourage executives to be vocal on LinkedIn, sharing informed opinions, behind-the-scenes insights, and even failures. Vulnerability and authenticity humanize brands and build trust. Avoid self-promotional fluff; focus on providing genuine value to the community.

3. Leverage Community-Led Growth: Indian SaaS brands like Razorpay and Postman have thrived by fostering active user communities where customers answer questions, troubleshoot issues, and act as evangelists. Create spaces for open dialogue, feedback, and collaboration.

Trust isn’t built overnight, but authenticity beats hyperbole every time.

3. The Content Tsunami: The Rise of Value-Driven Content Experiences

Challenge: Content Fatigue & Declining Engagement

Every day, thousands of blogs, whitepapers, and webinars flood the internet. The problem isn’t just producing content; it’s ensuring it:

• Feels fresh, not regurgitated.

• Is deeply relevant to the audience’s context and pain points.

• Engages rather than overwhelms.

• Provides genuine value and actionable insights.

Solution: Smart, Intentional Storytelling and Interactive Experiences

1. Less Volume, More Depth – Focus on Quality over Quantity: Instead of churning out a dozen generic blog posts, invest in one high-quality, research-backed long-form piece, a comprehensive guide, or an original research report each month. Become a trusted source of information, not just another voice in the noise.

2. Interactive Content for Engagement:

   • Polls & Quizzes: "Which Martech Stack Suits Your Business?"

   • ROI Calculators: Interactive tools that help prospects justify a purchase decision.

   • Bite-Sized Video Explainers: Instead of 30-minute webinars, try 90-second LinkedIn videos.

   • Personalized Content Recommendations: Use AI to suggest relevant content to individual users based on their behavior and interests.

A rule of thumb: If your content doesn’t make your own team excited, it won’t excite your audience either.

4. The ABM Imperative: Precision Over Spray-and-Pray

The Challenge: Scaling Personalization in a Mass-Marketing World

ABM is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity in today’s competitive landscape. However, delivering truly personalized experiences at scale can be daunting.

The Solution: A Three-Tiered ABM Strategy

• One-to-One ABM (Hyper-Personalized): For your highest-value accounts, invest in a dedicated approach with custom microsites, dedicated sales reps, and hyper-personalized experiences.

• One-to-Few ABM (Industry-Specific): Create custom content and webinars for clusters of similar industries (e.g., SaaS companies vs. manufacturing firms). This allows for a higher level of personalization while maintaining efficiency.

• One-to-Many ABM (Scalable Personalization): Leverage AI-powered personalization to deliver relevant messages and offers to a wider audience. AI can analyze customer data and behavior to tailor content and experiences in real-time, ensuring that each interaction feels personalized even at scale.

Successful ABM requires a deep understanding of your target accounts, their unique needs and challenges, and the ability to deliver personalized experiences that resonate with each individual.

Brands mastering ABM treat their top prospects not as leads, but as long-term partners—and that changes everything.

5. The Buyer Shift: Self-Serve or No Serve – Empowering the Independent Buyer

Challenge: The Death of Traditional Sales

McKinsey's 2024 B2B Pulse Survey reveals that customers' comfort with remote and self-service purchasing has increased, notably for orders exceeding $500,000. They prefer self-research, relying on product reviews, peer feedback, and competitor comparisons before engaging with a vendor.

Solution: Embracing Self-Serve Buying Journeys

1. Make Everything Discoverable:

   • Pricing, product demos, and technical documentation should be readily available without requiring a sales call. Transparency builds trust and empowers buyers.

   • Use AI chatbots to guide visitors to relevant content instead of forcing them into lead forms. Offer assistance, not obstruction.

2. Create Social Proof at Scale:

   • Encourage customers to leave reviews on G2, Capterra, and Gartner Peer Insights. Actively solicit feedback and address any concerns.

   • Spotlight user-generated content where customers show real-life product applications. Authentic testimonials are more powerful than marketing copy.

3. Offer Guided, But Not Forced, Engagement:

   • Self-guided product tours and interactive demos.

   • Free trials or freemium versions of your product.

   • Interactive sandbox environments where users can test features before buying.

The brands that reduce friction and increase transparency will win.

6. The Talent Crisis: Finding & Retaining B2B Marketing Expertise

The Challenge: A Widening Skills Gap

With AI automating tasks, strategic thinking and creativity are more valuable than ever—yet harder to find. The skills gap isn't just about technical expertise; it's about the ability to integrate technology with human-centric marketing strategies.

The Solution: Rethinking B2B Marketing Teams

1. Invest in Upskilling: Companies must prioritize AI literacy, data analytics skills, and storytelling abilities. This includes training on marketing automation platforms, data visualization tools, and content creation software, as well as fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills.

2. Hire for Adaptability, Not Just Experience: The best hires are problem-solvers who can navigate change. Look for candidates with a growth mindset, a willingness to learn, and a proven track record of adapting to new technologies and market trends.

3. Rethink Agency-Brand Collaboration: Many brands are shifting towards hybrid agency partnerships to stay agile. This allows companies to tap into specialized expertise on demand while maintaining a core internal team focused on strategy and brand building.

4. Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning: The marketing landscape is constantly evolving. Create a culture where learning is encouraged and supported, with opportunities for professional development, mentorship, and knowledge sharing.

Marketing’s greatest asset is human creativity—but only if nurtured.

7. The AI Dilemma: Balancing Automation with Authenticity

The Challenge: AI is Transforming Marketing—For Better or Worse

AI can automate campaigns, personalize content, and even generate basic content—but it can’t replicate human connection, empathy, or nuanced understanding of context.

The Solution: AI as an Assistant, Not a Replacement

1. Use AI for Efficiency, Not (Yet) Creativity: AI should handle data analysis, email sequences, social media scheduling, and content repurposing, but strategy, messaging, and core creative elements must remain human-driven.

2. Maintain Brand Voice and Human Oversight: AI-generated content needs human oversight to ensure it aligns with brand voice, tone, and messaging. It should be edited and refined by human marketers to maintain authenticity and avoid sounding robotic or generic.

3. Focus on Ethical AI Implementation: As AI becomes more prevalent in marketing, it's crucial to address ethical considerations like data privacy, bias, and transparency. Marketers must use AI responsibly and ensure that it benefits both the business and the customer.

AI is a tool—not a marketer. Use it wisely and ethically.

Conclusion: The New B2B Playbook – Embracing Agility and Authenticity

B2B marketing in 2025 and beyond is a test of agility, authenticity, and strategic thinking. The brands that thrive will be those that cut through digital noise, build trust authentically, and make buying effortless. They will be the brands that understand the evolving needs and preferences of their target audience and adapt their strategies accordingly.

So, as you map out your 2025 strategy, ask yourself:

• Are you engaging buyers the way they want to be engaged, not the way you think they should be engaged?

• Are you marketing in a way that you would respond to if you were in their shoes?

• Are you building genuine relationships with your customers, or are you just chasing leads?

• Are you leveraging technology to enhance your marketing efforts, or are you letting it overwhelm you?

If the answer to any of these questions isn’t a confident “yes,” it’s time to rewrite the playbook. It’s time to embrace a customer-centric approach, prioritize value over volume, and build a marketing organization that is both agile and authentic.

The future of B2B marketing belongs to those who are willing to adapt, innovate, and put the customer at the heart of everything they do. Just like navigating the dynamic streets of Old Delhi, successful B2B marketers must be adaptable, resourceful, and always ready for the unexpected turn. They must listen carefully to the whispers of the market, anticipate the changing tides, and chart a course that leads to sustainable growth and lasting relationships.

Dirty Data? This AI Solution Leads to Polished Campaigns

Picture it: you’re working on your yearly planning and strategy. You roll up your sleeves and as you begin to dive deep into the data, you discover what can only be described as a marketer's worst nightmare.

Data discrepancies, a messy CRM out of sync between Sales and Marketing, and no real way for you to gauge performance, because the data is unreliable. The struggle is real, and affects organizations big and small alike. That clocks “poor data hygiene” as one of the top challenges marketers face.

Here's the good news: there are cutting-edge solutions like Qualified’s AI SDR (sales development representatives) “Piper,” and 6sense’s predictive modeling that offer automated ways to keep data current and fuel high-performing campaigns. There are also companies (like us!) that can help audit your systems, identify key issues, and prioritize a roadmap to help get you back on track. First, let’s dive into some of the biggest dilemmas dirty data can bring on:

Five Sneaky Ways Data Hygiene Impacts Results

Account-based experience (ABX) strategies thrive on precision. If your CRM is cluttered with outdated contacts, duplicate accounts, or incomplete lead information, every downstream marketing effort suffers.

1. Wasted budget

   When audience lists include outdated or incorrect contacts, campaigns target the wrong people, driving up costs and tanking ROI. Strategies built on incorrect or incomplete data can lead to misaligned messaging and poor performance over the lifetime of the campaign, leaving unsuspecting marketers scratching their heads as to what went wrong.

2. Poor lead quality

   Duplicate leads, inaccurate status updates, and incomplete records create chaos for sales teams. Without clean data, even the most advanced predictive models struggle to surface high-value prospects. Imagine the horror of a high-intent prospect sitting in Salesforce purgatory for weeks not being engaged when they should have gone into a nurture track to help close a deal.

3. Broken customer journeys

   When data is inaccurate, customers receive irrelevant, repetitive, or even contradictory messaging. Nothing is more annoying than being on the receiving end of an ad that misses the mark entirely, especially when you’re ready to take action and expect brands to get it right. When personalization falls flat, and your brand’s credibility takes a hit.
   

4. Compliance and security risks

   Somebody get Elle Woods on the line! Data regulations like GDPR and CCPA require businesses to maintain accurate records, honor consent preferences, and protect customer data. Dirty data (outdated opt-in records or unsecured databases) can put companies at legal and financial risk.
   

5. Faulty attribution and misalignment

   Inaccurate data skews performance metrics, making it seem like some channels or campaigns are under-(or even worse, over-) performing when they are not. Marketing strategies built on flawed insights will impact your pipeline for quarters to come.

Consider this: according to AccuData, bad data costs U.S. businesses over $3 trillion per year. And Forbes has found that B2B data decays at a rate of 70% per year. Yikes! In short, without accurate, up-to-date, and secure data, even the most advanced martech tools won’t help you. Building upon a foundation of bad data will doom even the most sophisticated strategies.

How AI SDRs Fuel Clean ABX Campaigns

When it comes to clean data solutions, we’re especially pumped for AI SDRs like Qualified’s Piper. Piper ensures that inbound engagement is always data-driven and timely by leveraging up-to-date Salesforce records and real-time visitor insights.

Here’s how Piper contributes to cleaner, more effective marketing and sales efforts:

1. Real-time lead intelligence

   Piper does more than surface inbound leads—it qualifies them with a combination of field data, behavioral patterns, keyword usage, and ICP fit. By analyzing these factors, it identifies sales-ready prospects and notifies the right team members instantly.
   

2. Accurate lead statuses for smarter engagement

   No more outdated MQLs sitting untouched in the CRM. Piper ensures sales teams engage the right leads at the right time based on their latest interactions, reducing misalignment and lost opportunities.
   

3. AI-driven prioritization of high-Intent leads

   While the underlying IP-matching system enriches account data, Piper applies AI-powered scoring to assess visitor quality. This means sales teams aren’t wasting time chasing low-value prospects.
   

4. More effective paid media and targeting

   Piper keeps inbound interactions in lockstep with live account data, making the transition from marketing to sales effortless. The payoff? Sharper audience targeting and higher match rates on Google Ads and LinkedIn—less wasted spend and missed opportunities.

Clean Your Data to Boost Your ROI

When data hygiene improves, so does our ability to understand and optimize performance. AI-powered lead verification ensures that ad platforms are working with the most up-to-date audience segments, improving match rates and reducing wasted spend.

If you’re investing in channels like LinkedIn and Google Ads, the impact can be huge:

• Higher match rates for account-based targeting so that ads reach the right accounts

• Increased engagement with decision-makers who have already shown intent signals

• Better pipeline velocity by ensuring sales teams follow up with the most relevant leads

Sounds like a win, right? According to insights from Forrester’s B2B Summit, companies that integrate AI-powered data solutions into their martech stack experience an average 20% increase in conversion rates due to better lead scoring and segmentation.

Data Hygiene: From Compliance to Competitive Advantage

B2B marketing is only as good as the data it runs on. And as third-party cookies continue to fade, now isn’t the time to cut corners where your first-party data is concerned.

Don’t set yourself up for dirty data dealings. Solutions like Qualified’s AI SDR and 6sense’s predictive intelligence set the standard for clean, actionable data. Sit back, relax, and watch your paid media campaign, ABX strategy, and sales outreach deliver killer growth.

How to Embrace the Future with Video Content?

In 2025, the B2B marketing landscape is undergoing a significant transformation. Traditional tactics are rapidly becoming outdated as video content emerges as the dominant medium for engaging and influencing decision-makers. Recent data indicates that 53% of B2B marketers are prioritizing investments in video, recognizing its unparalleled ability to capture attention and drive action. As digital engagement becomes a critical aspect of marketing strategies, video is increasingly seen as the key to connecting with audiences.

Why Video is Taking Center Stage

B2B audiences have changed. They expect content that is engaging, digestible, and interactive—just like the experiences they enjoy as consumers. Whitepapers and lengthy webinars no longer capture attention the way they used to. Businesses need to rethink how they communicate, and interactive video is proving to be a game-changer.

Here’s why:

• It keeps people engaged: video naturally captures attention, but interactive elements take it further by inviting participation. This leads to higher retention rates and deeper brand connections.

• It simplifies complex ideas: B2B solutions are often technical and layered. Interactive video breaks down these complexities through visual storytelling, making information easier to absorb and act on.

• It builds trust through authenticity: the demand for raw, unfiltered content isn’t limited to B2C. Decision-makers also prefer brands that feel human, transparent, and relatable. Interactive video allows brands to create more personal, unscripted experiences that foster trust.

Leading Brands Embracing Video in B2B Marketing

Forward-thinking companies are using video to enhance their marketing strategies and connect with audiences in a more engaging way. International companies with a strong reputation are leading the way in this shift:

Atlassian, “The Contract" Campaign

Atlassian launched a tongue in cheek campaign featuring actor Zach Woods, known for his roles in "The Office" and "Silicon Valley." In the video, Woods discusses his "tech money royalty" contract with Atlassian, highlighting the benefits of their Jira project management software. This approach effectively showcases the product's value while entertaining viewers.

Spotify, "Spreadbeats" Campaign

Spotify developed an innovative B2B campaign called "Spreadbeats," featuring a vibrant music video that emerges from a spreadsheet. This creative concept was designed to engage media planners, showcasing Spotify's advertising capabilities in a memorable and engaging manner. The campaign was awarded the Digital Craft Grand Prix at Cannes 2024.

These examples illustrate how leading brands are leveraging video content to create engaging and effective B2B marketing campaigns. By using creativity and storytelling, brands can connect with their audiences in a more impactful way. But it’s not just the big names making waves—user-generated content (UGC) is playing an increasingly important role.

The Power of UGC in B2B marketing

Brands don’t need million-dollar campaigns to establish thought leadership and credibility. Executives and business leaders can leverage UGC to create authentic, insightful content that resonates with their audience. Take Shelly Zallis, for example—her approach to thought leadership has positioned her as a key voice in business and gender equality discussions. Companies can do the same by empowering their teams to create video content that highlights their expertise, shares insights, and engages their community.

Looking Ahead

As we move further into 2025, integrating video into B2B marketing strategies is no longer optional—it’s essential. Companies that embrace video will be better positioned to capture attention, communicate value, and differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Moreover, businesses can enhance engagement, improve information retention, and present their brand in a more authentic and compelling way by ensuring they stay relevant in the evolving digital world. At Hotwire, we can help you build your content from scratch with the right strategy. Let’s connect!

Catch our next issue out on 26 March 2025!

Powered by Hotwire & ROI•DNA

Welcome to The B2B Marketing Brief! Your front-row seat to the ever-evolving world of B2B marketing. Where we keep it real—sharing wins, tackling pain points, and uncovering growth opportunities. Each edition is packed with stories, tips, and the latest trends to help you master the art of B2B engagement. Get your cup of coffee, and let’s get marketing!

In this issue:

• Data as Your Competitive Advantage

• What I Learned About Data-Driven Marketing from a Himalayan Forest Trek

• The Only Guide You’ll Need to Understand Marketing KPIs

• Leveling Up Your Marketing Game with CRM Integration

With audiences having so much choice on when, where, and how to consume content, marketers face unprecedented challenges. However, utilizing data effectively can be your competitive advantage. Data gives marketers opportunities to transform their ability to plan, develop, execute, and measure campaigns with precision.

Planning: Building a Data-Driven Foundation

Data-driven planning helps to deliver hyper-targeted plans to reach your audience where they are, with the right messages, to maximize connection and deliver value to external and internal stakeholders. Here are some key data sources to leverage to deliver more effective marketing plans:

• Firmographic Data: Gain a clear picture of your target companies, including size, industry, revenue, and location. This data helps in segmenting and prioritizing accounts based on fit and potential.

• Technographic Data: Discover the technologies your prospects are currently using. If your product integrates seamlessly with a specific CRM system or competes against a particular tool, technographic insights are invaluable in developing effective, personalized content.

• Wallet Data: Understand tech budget allocations and spending across different providers to help prioritize accounts, aid segmentation, and feed into messaging strategies to emphasize integration possibilities or competitive advantage.

• Optimized Ideal Customer Profiles (ICP): Leverage the combination of firmographic, wallet and technographic data to refine, optimize and build detailed Ideal Customer Profiles. These profiles help define the characteristics of your best customers, guiding targeting and messaging efforts.

• Intent Data: Understand what your audience is actively researching or considering. Intent data provides insights into potential customers' online behavior, such as search terms, content consumption, and engagement trends. For example, a surge in searches for “cloud migration services” might indicate interest in a cloud solutions provider.

Look to utilize multiple sources of data together to build a detailed understanding of both audience and messaging to take forward into developing effective go-to-market strategies.

Strategy Development: Personalization and Positioning

With a data-driven plan in place, the next step is crafting a strategy that resonates with your audience. Here’s how data comes into play:

• CRM Data: Utilize customer relationship management (CRM) systems to analyze historical interactions, purchase behaviors, and customer feedback. This information helps identify patterns and predict future needs.

• Audience Segmentation: Combine intent, firmographic, and CRM data to create highly tailored audience segments. For example, you might design different messaging for small startups and enterprise-level organizations within the same industry.

• Competitor Analysis: Leverage a variety of data points, such as: technographic and firmographic data, SEO insights, performance data (digital advertising for example) to benchmark against competitors, positioning your product or service as the superior solution.

Effective use of data empowers you to deliver personalized and targeted campaigns, ensuring your messaging aligns with the unique needs of each segment.

Campaign Activation: Turning Insights into Action

Data informs not only what you should say but also where, when, and how you should say it. During campaign activation, the following data sources prove invaluable to effectively reach your audience:

• Paid Media Data: Use insights from paid campaigns (e.g., Google Ads, LinkedIn, Facebook) to optimize targeting and budget allocation. Analyze metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and cost-per-click to refine your strategy in real-time.

• Content Performance Metrics: Monitor engagement data from blogs, videos, webinars, and other content assets. Identify what topics and formats drive the most interest and replicate their success.

• A/B Testing Data: Test variations of your campaigns, such as different subject lines, visuals, or calls-to-action. Collect data on performance to identify the most effective elements.

• Iterative Optimization: Continuously analyze data to learn what’s working and what’s not. This iterative process ensures your campaigns improve over time, maximizing ROI and relevance.

By integrating real-time data with pre-existing insights, you can maximize the efficiency and impact of your campaigns.

Measurement and Reporting: Proving Impact

The final step in leveraging data is measuring outcomes and utilizing data to refine your strategies. Consider these approaches:

• Attribution Models: Use data to track the customer journey and attribute success to specific touchpoints. Multi-touch attribution provides a comprehensive view of what’s working.

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Define metrics aligned with your objectives, such as ROI, customer acquisition cost (CAC), or lifetime value (LTV). Data from CRM systems and paid media platforms can inform these metrics.

• Reporting Dashboards: Build real-time dashboards to visualize campaign performance and continuously track performance to gain clarity on the aspects of the campaign performing well, whilst identifying opportunities to optimize. Reporting dashboards can help to demonstrate campaign impact back to senior leadership and improve data storytelling.

• Predictive Analytics: Leverage data from historical campaigns and programs to predict and plan for future events or opportunities. This helps to create optimized go-to market strategies, optimize resource allocation, and enhance decision making.

• Learning and Optimization: Use measurement data to identify successful strategies and areas for improvement. This feedback loop ensures your campaigns evolve based on data-driven insights.

Regular reporting not only showcases the value of your efforts but also identifies areas for continuous improvement.

Conclusion: Making Data Your Competitive Advantage

Successful marketing isn’t about guessing; it’s about knowing. By incorporating data into every stage of marketing—from planning to measurement—allows you to make informed decisions, optimize performance, and achieve greater ROI.

What I Learnt About Data-driven Marketing from a Himalayan Forest Trek

“Slowly, slowly catch the monkey.”

Perched on an unsteady rock in the middle of a dense Himalayan forest, Hem Joshi thrust his makeshift wooden trekking pole—a repurposed Oak branch—into the moss-covered earth and beamed at us. “Repeat after me,”, he said, “Slowly, slowly catch the monkey.”

My friend and I looked at him, then at each other weary, parched, and slightly annoyed, wondering what we’d gotten ourselves into. It was only day two of our six-day trek in the Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary at the foothills of the Himalayas of Uttarakhand, India. We’d been hiking uphill for four hours and our backs were giving way. We were in no mood to solve strange riddles.

Hem, our guide, realized we weren’t amused. “In Kumaoni—one of the many languages of the mountains—we say this when someone’s close to giving up. It means: Walk at your own pace, with intention, and you will achieve everything you set out to”, he said.

The monkey, of course, could mean anything: the challenge of trekking up a mountain, pausing to catch your breath, or the persistence needed to tackle something overwhelming. It wasn’t just about endurance, it was about strategy, taking one deliberate, intentional step at a time.

It reminded me of how, as marketers, we are constantly trudging through the rugged terrain of data, gathering the right tools and strategies, and conquering the steepest challenges of Account Based Marketing (ABM)—one deliberate, intentional step at a time.

A Mountain of Data

As arduous as it was, our trek in the Himalayan forest was equally rewarding. When we neared the top, our guides asked us to take a breath and turn around. Staring back at us, across the valley, was the majestic Nanda Devi. At 7,817 m, the Nanda Devi is the second highest mountain in India—and the only mountain range located entirely within the country. At one point, it was presumed to be the highest mountain in the world.

It was beautiful, intimidating, and daunting all at once. Just like a mountain of data for an effective ABM strategy, full of gorgeous insights and opportunities, can dwarf marketers. It’s true, we share a love-hate relationship with data. Overwhelming volumes, fragmented silos, and irrelevant metrics create more frustration than clarity.

But a mountain of the good kind of data—intent, wallet and technographic—paves the trail for personalization, precision targeting, faster—and more relevant—conversions, and higher ROI.

On our trek, I came to understand the true value of data, how it kept us from missteps, guided us through uncertainty, and revealed the hidden wonders of the forest that we might have missed. Here are three lessons the trek taught me about the power of data-driven marketing.

Intent Data: Reading the Moods of the Forest

Lesson: Just as reading the forest’s hidden cues led us to safety and rare discoveries, marketers must rely on intent data to navigate uncertainty, avoid wasted effort, and uncover high-value opportunities.

In the dense Himalayan forest, the trails are not always clear. They often disappeared into thickets of trees. The looming threat of a storm, chance encounter with a leopard or even missing the sighting of exotic birds—all kept us on edge.

We knew our trekking poles shouldn’t lean on guesswork. We would’ve been lost in a maze of towering Pine and Oak trees if not for our guides who could read the signals of the forest.

They could sense the likelihood of rain by the warmth of the sun, hear a leopard’s rumble and know if it was prowling or resting. And predict the appearance of the elusive Crested Kingfisher or the rare Collared Owlet and decipher if it was thirsty or calling for its mate. Without these signs, we’d have spent our trek aimlessly wandering, investing time and energy, possibly missing both the dangers and the wonders of the forest.

In the marketing jungle too, accounts don’t light up hairpin bends with neon signs screaming: “Here I am, this is me,” in true Bryan Adams style. They leave breadcrumbs—a search for hybrid cloud solutions, repeated visits to your pricing page, or whitepaper downloads on data privacy gaps. These are ‘sounds’ of their intent. Intent data deciphers these signals, showing you where accounts are in their buying journey, whom to target, when to act, and how to engage. It’s your compass in the wilderness, pointing you straight to the accounts ready to engage—instead of wasting time, effort, and costs running around in circles. Because in this jungle, ALL those who wander are lost.

Why Intent Data Matters:

• Precision: Intent data eliminates wasted effort, guiding you to high-value accounts already signaling interest.

• Timeliness: It helps you engage at the right moment, before competitors.

• Relevance: By knowing what accounts are researching, you can craft personalized messages that resonate.

Wallet Data: Carrying Only What You Can Sustain

Lesson: Just as trekking with unnecessary weight drains your energy and slows your progress, marketers must rely on wallet data to focus on accounts with the capacity to invest.

On a trek, “always take a couple of extra pairs of everything” said no one ever. But everything is an essential when you are certain of scarcity. As a result, our backpacks spilled over like pinecones covering narrow trails.

As the trail steepened, the weight of what we carried began to wear us down. Backpacks bulged awkwardly, straps cut into shoulders, exhaustion set in early, and inclines got harder to climb. We had to sacrifice some of the ‘essentials’ mid-journey. Carrying too much can grind you to a halt.

Turns out, marketing isn’t very different. If all your accounts, irrespective of their spending capacity—or worth their weight in gold, yes, we are greedy (but in a good way)—are essential, then none of them is essential.

Wallet data is what helps you from lugging dead weight up the ABM mountain. It is your packing guide and it shows you which accounts have the financial strength to make the journey with you. Financial reports, third-party tools, CRM insights, sales conversations—this checklist saves you from stuffing your pipeline with low-budget leads that stall out halfway.

It’s really ok to make it all about the money because, let’s admit it, ABM is expensive. Targeting accounts with high budgets not only improves conversion rates but also fosters long-term relationships that can grow over time, offering higher lifetime value. What’s not to like?

Without wallet data, marketers risk carrying the burden of accounts that lack the budget to invest, overloading themselves with low value leads that will never convert. Lighten up and go farther faster.

Why Wallet Data Matters

• Clarity: Helps you focus only on accounts that have the capacity to invest, avoiding wasted effort on low-potential leads.

• Maximized ROI: Channels your time, budget, and energy into high-value opportunities that drive meaningful results and growth.

• Smarter Decisions: Prevents overloading your pipeline with leads that stall, ensuring every campaign is deliberate and impactful.

Technographic Data: Following the Natural Rhythm of the Forest

Lesson: Just as understanding the forest’s interconnected ecosystem reveals the best paths forward, technographic data helps marketers seamlessly align their solutions with an account’s existing tools.

On day three of our trek, we had to cross the dancing streams of the Binsar river. If that wasn’t adventurous enough, our curiosity tempted us to chase a waterfall, where I slipped and fell twice (that’s a story for another day, suffice to say I lived to tell this one!).

The water was shallow but rapid and rocky. One misstep and we’d literally be in the lap of the Himalayas. Our guide pointed to a series of rocks, designed by the forest, that created a stepping-stone path that allowed us to pass with some effort. What also helped was our gear: trekking shoes, waterproof attire, and light-weight backpacks. We were able to merge seamlessly with the forest’s terrain, its ecosystem, and adapt to the rigors of the trails. Without all of that paraphernalia, you’re like a fish out of the water.

Now, nobody likes to be a fish out of the water, flailing and out of their depth. As a marketer, that’s exactly how it feels when you’re pitching a solution that doesn’t fit an account’s tech stack. Yes, we’ve all been there. Maybe they already have a shiny CRM, or maybe your cloud offering is as useful to them as a life jacket in a puddle. You’d know if you had technographic data that reveals the tools and platforms that an account already uses, from their CRM, and cloud providers, to cybersecurity and collaboration solutions.

An account’s technology stack defines the terrain you must navigate to offer a solution that fits seamlessly. Save your next big pitch from floating downstream.

Why Technographic Data Matters

• Seamless Integration: Technographic data ensures your solution fits naturally into an account’s existing systems, reducing friction and accelerating adoption.

• Solves Real Problems: Address inefficiencies in their current setup, positioning your solution as a game-changer.

• Strategic Positioning: Build trust by demonstrating that you understand and respect their existing ecosystem.

Delivering what customers need—when, how, and even before they need it—is a factor of how well we gather, analyze, and leverage intent, wallet, and technographic data.

Getting there is not always easy. But as a great man once said, “Slowly, slowly catch the monkey.”

The Only Guide You’ll Need to Understand Marketing KPIs

How to Choose The Right KPIs for My Business?

Every brand’s growth follows a journey. From capturing attention to earning loyalty, each step mirrors the stages of a relationship, moving from a spark of interest to a deep and lasting connection. At the heart of this journey are KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), the metrics that guide you, revealing what’s working and what needs improvement.

Tracking the right KPIs at each stage of the customer journey helps you go beyond numbers. It fosters loyalty, deeper engagement, and stronger retention by building trust and delivering value. The results? Customers who not only stay but also advocate for your brand, creating lasting growth.

Let's imagine you need to prepare KPIs for a B2B accounting app called "Rejoice Invoice." We can explore their application with real examples at each stage.

Make A Strong First Impression: Awareness

When your brand steps into the spotlight, it’s like going on a first date. The goal isn’t just to be seen; it’s to make an impression that lasts. KPIs help you gauge whether your message is reaching the right audience and whether it’s being noticed.

In B2C, this might mean a bold social media campaign or a memorable ad, while in B2B, it could involve targeted LinkedIn outreach or industry-specific content.

Key metrics to track:

• Reach and Impressions: How many people are seeing your content?

• Website Traffic: Are they curious enough to explore further?

• Social Media Followers: Are you growing your visibility?

At this stage, quality matters as much as quantity. It’s not just about how many people you’re reaching, but whether you’re reaching the right ones and resonating with them emotionally. Your audience should walk away with a sense of what makes your brand unique.

Build Engagement and Trust: Interest

Once you’ve captured attention, it’s time to nurture that initial spark. At this stage, your audience starts leaning in—they may follow you on social media, explore your website, or sign up for your newsletter. It’s your opportunity to engage them and start building trust.

For B2C brands, this often means having a content strategy that entertains, educates, or inspires. In B2B, it could involve offering valuable insights through whitepapers, webinars, or blog posts.

Key metrics to track:

• Click-through Rate (CTR): Is your audience taking action on your content?

• Bounce Rate: Is it staying to learn more, or leaving quickly?

• Engagement Rate: Is it commenting, liking, or sharing your content?

Use your KPIs to understand what’s working and double down on delivering value. The goal is to create content that speaks to your audience’s needs and keeps them coming back for more.

Nurture The Relationship: Consideration

Now that your audience is engaged, they’re seriously considering your brand. This is where you need to show why you’re the right choice. Whether you’re selling sneakers or software, your messaging should address their needs and concerns, building confidence in your brand.

In B2C, this might mean showcasing customer reviews, creating comparison guides, or running tailored promotions. In B2B, it’s about demonstrating ROI through case studies, product demos, or personalized proposals.

Key metrics to track:

• Lead Conversion Rate: How many engaged prospects are becoming leads?

• Email Open Rates: Are your messages cutting through the noise?

• Content Downloads: Are decision-makers engaging with in-depth resources?

This is the phase where you shift from broad attraction to personal investment. Tailor your approach to your audience’s challenges and use your KPIs to refine your messaging for maximum reach.

Turn Interest into Action: Conversion

This is the moment of truth—where interest turns into action. Whether it’s a purchase, a sign-up, or a signed contract, this is where your efforts pay off. At this stage, KPIs help you measure how effectively you’re moving prospects from consideration to commitment.

In B2C, it’s about optimizing the customer journey, ensuring a seamless checkout process, or running limited time offers. In B2B, this might mean closing deals with compelling proposals or negotiation strategies.

Key metrics to track:

• Conversion Rate: How many people are completing the desired action?

• Cart Abandonment Rate: Are there obstacles in your purchasing process?

• Sales Growth: Are you scaling your efforts successfully?

The conversion phase is all about confidence. Your audience needs to feel secure in their decision to choose you. Use KPIs to identify friction points, smooth out the process, and make the leap to conversion effortless.

Turn Customers into Advocates: Loyalty

The journey doesn’t end with a sale. In fact, this is where the real work begins. Loyal customers not only come back—they become advocates who champion your brand to others.

In B2C, this might involve creating loyalty programs or exceptional customer service. In B2B, it’s about maintaining relationships through dedicated account management, ongoing support, and value-added services.

Key metrics to track:

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV): Are your clients/customers staying with you over time?

• Net Promoter Score (NPS): How likely are they to recommend your brand?

• Repeat Purchase Rate or Renewal Rate: Are you retaining your audience?

Loyalty isn’t built overnight. It’s about consistently delivering value and delighting your customers. KPIs at this stage show how well you’re meeting their expectations and ensuring your brand remains their go-to choice.

In both B2B and B2C, KPIs are more than numbers—they’re a reflection of your relationships. They reveal if your audience feels seen, valued, and understood at every stage of their journey.

By focusing on the right KPIs and aligning them with your customer acquisition funnel, you can ensure your brand becomes more than a product or service—it becomes a trusted partner or an emotional touchpoint your customers return to time after time.

Enhance Campaign Performance With CRM Integration

The key to closing more deals lies in smarter, data-driven buying journeys that deliver maximum value for every dollar spent. Looking to level up? Enrich your ad platform data by connecting it directly to your CRM (think Salesforce). Setting up this connection is straightforward and can quickly result in big wins.

Connecting Your CRM Data for Impactful Optimizations

When you connect CRM data to platforms like Google Ads, LinkedIn, or Meta, you can optimize campaigns based on meaningful business metrics like SQLs, opportunities, and closed deals. Our Head of Marketing Gina Inks noted, “Optimizing campaigns to the lower-funnel actions that directly align with our clients’ goals—rather than outdated marketing metrics that fail to reflect true performance—can mean the difference between a high-performing campaign and one that drains your budget with no bang for your buck.”

Google’s CRM integration process is seamless and simple to connect. LinkedIn and Meta’s are in earlier stages and require a bit more involvement. That said, if a full connection cannot be established on these channels, similar results can be achieved by enriching audience sets with back-end CRM data. Unlike top-of-funnel optimizations focused on clicks, impressions, or even form fills, CRM data helps ad algorithms prioritize prospects with the highest intent.

So What’s The Catch?

No catch here, but some organizations are hesitant about leveraging CRM data in their ad platforms due to security concerns. Let’s break them down:

• Security Concerns: Every company has different compliance rules that govern the viability of this solution, but modern integrations are built with the safety and security of proprietary or sensitive data in mind. Platforms like Salesforce, Google Ads, and LinkedIn offer robust protections and compliance with industry standards like GDPR and CCPA.

• Internal Competition: Some companies are hesitant to input their data as they feel it competes with a core area of their business (think bigger tech companies who have their own data solutions).

• Cost Fears: Others feel like inputting data will be used to drive up advertising costs (spoiler alert: it won’t). While these concerns pop up occasionally, they’re more the exception than the rule. Still, we’ve seen a few groups drag their feet, letting hesitation slow their progress.

It’s helpful to think of connecting CRM data as providing anonymized signals that allow ad platforms to optimize for meaningful business outcomes without compromising security.

Three Areas to Drive Performance with CRM Data

When precision targeting and lead quality matter most, integrating CRM data into ad platforms is most impactful for mid-to-lower funnel campaigns. The added visibility is ultra-useful no matter the channel. This is true for targeted demand gen campaigns to sophisticated ABX plays.

1. Google Ads & Paid Search

CRM integrations enable strategies like offline conversion tracking and value-based bidding to optimize bids toward leads that drive actual pipeline value. By syncing Salesforce signals with ad platforms, you train the algorithm to prioritize high-quality conversions, not just clicks.

• Best For: Targeting decision-makers or high-intent searchers with optimized messaging and CTAs.

Our Senior Team Director of SEM Aaron Woolway explains, “Offline conversion tracking is imperative in B2B search marketing. It gives automated bidding algorithms high-intent signals to optimize effectively to improve lead quality, opportunities, and pipeline velocity.”

2. LinkedIn & Paid Social

LinkedIn and Meta thrive on precise targeting. While establishing a direct connection to your CRM might be more intensive on these channels, it is entirely possible. In lieu of this, a lot of clients will opt to map back-end lower funnel data to enrich audiences and connect with high-value prospects.

• Best For: Engaging specific personas like decision-makers and influencers with tailored ad copy and offers.

3. Retargeting & Nurture Campaigns

When you leverage CRM data for retargeting, you get to focus ad spend on accounts and users that have shown prior engagement or intent. That amounts to better efficiency and a lower CPA.

• Best For: Accounts already in your pipeline that need additional touches to convert.

The Impact of CRM-Integrated Campaigns

Our Associate Team Director of Media Strategy Hope Waggoner notes the upgrade that CRM data brings to the table. “An integrated CRM takes the guesswork out of performance and helps us succeed or optimize faster. The level of confidence that comes from it is unmatched.”

We’ve seen that optimization in real-time for clients who leverage CRM data in their paid media campaigns. Here are anonymized highlights from real clients across industries and channels:

• A 10% decrease in cost per lead (CPL) year-over-year, leading to an increase in leads on less budget

• A 20% reduction in cost per MQL year-over-year

• A 20% increase in opportunities and a 75% pipeline boost

• A 40% increase in lead-gen form conversion rate

• A 60% increase in MQL conversion rate while decreasing CPA

The Bottom Line

When done right, CRM data integration can supercharge your campaigns, turning them into revenue-generating machines. It’s a straightforward, secure way to give your campaigns the fuel they need to perform at their absolute best. With ever-increasing costs and competition in the market, it’s more critical than ever to leverage the right data at the right time to give your campaigns the competitive edge they need to succeed.

Catch our next issue out on 26 February 2025!

Powered by Hotwire & ROI•DNA

Welcome to The B2B Marketing Brief! Your front-row seat to the ever-evolving world of B2B marketing. Where we keep it real—sharing wins, tackling pain points, and uncovering growth opportunities. Each edition is packed with stories, tips, and the latest trends to help you master the art of B2B engagement. Get your cup of coffee, and let’s get marketing!

In this issue:

• Get ABM Accolades with Precision Targeting: A Case Study

• FARTSS: Why So Much B2B Technology Marketing Stinks—and What We Can Do About It

• Why Bother with Awards?

Account-based marketing gives companies the power to engage high-value accounts with laser-focused precision. Forget casting a wide net; a well-executed ABM strategy should make your key prospects feel like they’re the only ones in the room.

It’s what hybrid IT service provider Flexential had in mind when they partnered with ROI·DNA in 2023 on a sharp new marketing strategy. The “Let ‘er Rip” ABM campaign — a dynamic shift from static account targeting to intent-based precision with the power of 6sense data — did more than hit new leads. It helped Flexential connect with the right prospects and seriously leveled up their pipeline.

And spoiler alert! It was nominated for ABM Program of the Year at the 2024 Breakthrough Awards. Read on to see why multi-channel intent-driven ABM reinvents what it means to speak your prospects’ language.

A Dynamic, Intent-Driven ABM Model

Flexential needed help reinventing the traditional approach. That meant abandoning the old static target account lists that weren’t cutting it. So, we introduced a dynamic intent-driven model.

Enter “Let ‘er Rip” — an ABM strategy that flipped the script on targeting. Instead of blanket approaches, Flexential’s prospects were segmented by real-time intent signals, focusing on two key solutions: colocation and cloud data protection.

We helped Flexential leverage 6sense's predictive model, categorizing accounts by their place in the buyer journey. That opened the door to engaging key accounts when it mattered most—during critical decision points—with tailored messaging that moved the needle on conversions.

Targeting the Right Audience with Intent-Driven Insights

No more guesswork! Flexential’s target accounts weren’t just random names on a list. The power of intent data lies in the ability to segment by buying signals — meaning every touchpoint was backed by real-time, meaningful data.

This dynamic segmentation helped Flexential cut through the noise and invest resources where they mattered — accounts deep in the colocation and cloud data protection funnels. No more wasting dollars at the top of the funnel; the team received coordinates on high-intent, middle-of-funnel prospects and doubled down. That’s the power of dynamic ABM.

Multi-Channel Execution for Maximum Reach

Executing this type of strategy requires more than good data — it needs multi-channel mastery. So, we worked with Flexential to deliver the strategy across multiple platforms, blending owned and paid media.

• Owned Channels: Flexential’s own ecosystem got a revamp with a redesigned website, targeted webinars (FlexTalk), an optimized SEO strategy, and a sophisticated email nurture flow.

• Paid Channels: We helped drive the strategy through 6sense Advertising, LinkedIn, content syndication, and laser-targeted Google Search ads.

In a successful ABM strategy, blending paid, owned, and earned channels is crucial for a holistic approach. Paid channels like LinkedIn and 6sense ads drive targeted awareness, while owned assets — such as your website and email nurtures — offer deeper engagement with tailored content. Earned media, like press mentions or user-generated content, builds credibility and trust.

Record-Breaking Results

The first full quarter of the “Let ‘er Rip” campaign was a game-changer:

• 48% increase in Account CTR, hitting a 12.69% CTR across the board

• 60% boost in influenced form fills quarter over quarter

• 251% to the annual pipeline target and 100% to close one target with one-quarter of performance

It bears repeating: a well-executed ABM strategy isn’t just about hitting new leads. It optimizes resources, reduces wasted spend, and shifts the focus to prospects that matter the most.

Demandbase vs. 6sense: A Clear Win

Our ABM plan included a switch from Demandbase to 6sense, and Flexential was on board. Compared to Q1 2023 on Demandbase, Q1 2024 on 6sense showed:

• 127% more accounts reached, with 44% less spend

• 10,674 accounts reached through 6sense, compared to just 2,379 on Demandbase

• A 56% drop in cost-per-click, leading to a 105% increase in influenced form fills

6sense brings real-time intent data and predictive insights to the ABM table. That means strategic decision-making (like ad spend) based on actual behaviors, not assumptions.

Flexential’s Next Steps

We’re proud to have had the opportunity to continue working with Flexential. In April 2024, we helped launch the “Scaled Buyer” program to target new markets outside their traditional ICP. Using 6sense intent signals and optimizations learned from “Let ‘er Rip,” Flexential exceeded its pipeline goals by 321% of the annual target just two quarters into the year.

Conclusion

The Flexential “Let ‘er Rip” campaign highlights the powerful synergy between a robust ABM strategy and 6sense's capabilities. By leveraging real-time intent data and predictive insights, Flexential achieved laser-focused targeting, better engagement, and stronger pipeline growth.

For any marketer looking to sharpen their ABM efforts, the key takeaway is clear: ABM goes beyond simply targeting accounts—it’s about leveraging powerful tools like 6sense to reach those accounts at exactly the right stage in their buying journey, ensuring engagement is both timely and effective. Take note: precision targeting drives success.

FARTSS: Why So Much B2B Technology Marketing Stinks—and What We Can Do About It

You’ve probably heard of the legendary physicist Richard Feynman. He’s known for a lot of things—winning a Nobel Prize in physics, and even pioneering fields like quantum computing and nanotechnology. Some count him among the top 10 physicists of all time.

But perhaps, his most enduring legacy is the cataclysm sentence.

“If, in some cataclysm, all of scientific knowledge were to be destroyed, and only one sentence was passed on to the next generation of creatures, what statement would contain the most information in the fewest words?”

His answer?

It’s a mouthful, but it gets the job done.

What happens if we try his thought experiment? If all B2B tech marketers were wiped off the earth, in a The Leftovers-type event, what pithy sentence could we leave behind? What single statement would capture the essence of B2B tech marketing so clearly that future marketers could find their way back to us?

In the end, we went one step further than Feynman. We distilled it down to a single, if rather unpalatable, word: FARTSS.

And, in the process, we uncovered one of our biggest problems.

The Flat-ulence of the FARTSS Formula

FARTSS stands for flexibility, agility, resilience, transparency (in pricing), scalability and security. Don’t you just love a good acronym? More seriously, have you noticed how so much of B2B technology marketing—across all stages of a customer journey and asset types—uses these words?

The FARTSS formula touches nearly everything in B2B technology. From IaaS to connectivity, and from application modernization to data management tools, we keep coming back to the same well-worn set of promises when persuading audiences.

Whether it’s tech giants with decades of history or born-in-the-cloud SaaS startups, global companies or local ones, whether they serve a swathe of industries or just one, or offer a range of solutions to just a few, marketers of all stripes seem to obey the golden law of FARTSS.

Whatever happened to differentiation? Wasn’t it supposed to be at the heart of marketing?

An ill, Ahem, Wind That Blows No Good

The faint funk of flatness—one that FARTSS represents—wafts into other areas, too.

Let’s take a closer look at how we approach our audiences, and we’ll likely see the same two-sizes-fits-all thinking at play. Most of us have a good handle on the CIO persona, and that of their immediate teams (CIO-minus-1 personas). And we can speak to them well. But beyond that, it’s often a wash of titles lumped into one big bucket. The result? We end up marketing everything from observability tools to databases to CI/CD solutions to the same set of “IT managers.”

We could argue that we’ve gotten better at segmentation, especially as budgets have shifted from CIOs to other business leaders. And we have. But then we recycle the same old FARTSS messaging to business audiences, as if the only thing distinguishing CEOs, CFOs, and CMOs—from CIOs—were their middle initials.

This lack of differentiation also shows up in the words we use: Achieve, leverage, enterprise, efficiency, and initiative. The same monochrome voice, from brand to brand. The use of emotion, humor, satire, and storytelling is either banned, or employed tentatively, as we look over our shoulder, waiting to be pulled up.

None of this is to belittle the challenges we face as marketers. In an era when it’s easy to offend—or have what we say distorted—what used to be guardrails (read: old school brand guidelines), can be seen by some as prison bars, caging empathy and differentiation. (The living Brand Guideline — which is updated as the brand, and world changes around it, is alive and well. In fact it’s something we create for clients. But that’s a story for another day.)

Going from Generic to Genuine

There are a few ways we can break the spell of sameness, but let’s focus on just one approach that can make a real impact: Having real human conversations.

What’s the best way to get here? By doing the basics, only better. We start by truly getting to know the people we are talking with: Who they are, and what matters to them.

Here’s an example. It’s tempting to view personas as broad job titles such as ‘network teams’. But there’s incredible value in drilling down further. Instead of approaching network teams as a monolith group, we could identify three distinct sub-groups: Network leaders, managers, and practitioners. Each of these have different aspirations, challenges, and key performance indicators.

Network Leaders are focused on the big picture, such as future-proofing enterprise IT by modernising networks to enhance customer, employee, and partner experiences.

Network Managers, on the other hand, are more concerned with overall operational efficiency, innovation, and team productivity. So they aim to retire technical debt; improve network security; support data-intensive, low latency applications that power competitive differentiation; simplify and automate network operations; and improve talent acquisition and retention, among others.

In contrast, Network Practitioners, such as Network Engineers and Administrators, are consumed by daily challenges like raising network uptime; accelerating mean-time-to-detect-and-respond to network outages; and improve network visibility, sizing, elasticity, latency, and bandwidth utilisation, among others.

By acknowledging these distinctions, we can speak to each in a way that feels specific and relevant. We create messaging that feels personal, contextual, and deeply aligned with their real challenges, aspirations and jobs. This approach helps avoid generic, one-size-fits-all messaging and creates stronger connections with audiences. 

FARTSS is fun, but it’s time to open a window. Here’s to being the spark that lights a match—and clears the room of hot air.

Why Bother with Awards?

There were points while preparing our most recent awards submissions where I thought, ‘I don’t have time for this!’ That wasn’t because I didn’t believe in the quality of the work, or its ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best our industry has to offer, but just because submitting awards can be difficult. So why do we bother?

The simple answer is that we do it because we want to win (of course). Award wins can be an incredible external validation of the expertise we have, and a much-deserved nod for the teams that work so hard to take our marketing programmes from an initial concept or idea all the way to hard, quantified results for the client.

But I’ve learned that there’s another answer: the process of developing award submissions can actually bring you just as much value as the fancy ceremony and (hopefully) trophy at the end of it all.

Gaining Perspective on What Happened

The work we’ve recently submitted for the B2B Marketing Awards was our ABM programme with the Honeywell Productivity Solutions and Services team. It’s been running for almost five years now. Over that time our approach has matured, scaled, and adapted to a market and a business that have been fast evolving.

Even though we had a clear sense of the recent phase of the campaign that we wanted to discuss, that history meant digging deep into the what, why, when, where and how of the decisions we made. When did our sense of the client’s challenges really click? How did boundaries emerge, and what gave us the drive to push them?

Key stakeholders (internally and externally) will remember critical elements differently, so it’s crucial to gain multiple perspectives. Talking to them through the awards lens, not just about today’s workback plan or tomorrow’s KPIs, makes you realise: oh, that’s what unlocked that insight. Or, that’s why we finally won buy-in for that idea.

As we build out a more holistic picture – and pull together the various outcomes in a really concentrated way that has the benefit of hindsight – it all starts to feel like a cohesive story.

Reflecting on the Marketing Challenge

It’s crucial to avoid looking back with rose tinted glasses. As you pull your programme narrative into the shape of the submission form, take the time to reflect on the roadblocks, delays and unseen complications that forced you to pivot.

When you lay out all the pieces of the puzzle, it’s much easier to spot the opportunities you might have missed along the way and think critically about how you could have done things differently and maybe better. Take these learnings and use them to evolve and enhance existing programmes or solve new client challenges to deliver even stronger programmes next time round.

Awards indisputably come down to results, and when you’re putting together a deep dive award entry, different ways to measure success above and beyond client targets will undoubtedly come to the fore. End of campaign reports tell us whether we met the targets we set out to achieve. However, there’s much more growth to be had from assessing your success through a story, with a healthy dose of criticism as well as praise. Take the opportunity to assess the bigger picture and true business impact of the campaign.

Investing in the Team

We’re delighted that our awards submission with Honeywell has landed us a shortlist position for Best Use of Account-Based Marketing at the B2B Marketing Awards. No matter what happens when we find out the winners at the end of the month, the efforts we spent on making the submission strong and cohesive and persuasive will have been worth it as a moment of team reflection, celebration and learning.

And that’s what I tell people: winning is the ultimate goal, but if you’re proud of the campaign and you want to do more like it, and better, it deserves that awards consideration.

Having said all that, and being a little self-indulgent, I do really want to win. Wish us luck?

Catch our next issue out on 22 January 2025!

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Welcome to the second edition of The B2B Marketing Brief! Your front-row seat to the ever-evolving world of B2B marketing. Where we keep it real—sharing wins, tackling pain points, and uncovering growth opportunities. Each edition is packed with stories, tips, and the latest trends to help you master the art of B2B engagement. Get your cup of coffee, and let’s get marketing!

In this issue:

• The ABM Mistake Every Marketer Makes: Calling Demand Gen ABM

• Crack the Code: Mastering 6sense & LinkedIn for Unstoppable ABX Success

• What Brand All Marketers of B2B IT Companies Need to Pay Attention To

The ABM Mistake Every Marketer Makes: Calling Demand Gen ABM

In B2B marketing, ABM (Account-Based Marketing) or ABX (Account-Based Experience) has become the go-to strategy for driving revenue, building relationships, and maximizing growth potential. But there’s a mistake many marketers make when they hit a revenue lull or get pressured to scale up quickly—they turn to ABM as the quick-fix solution. Let me be clear: this is a fundamental misunderstanding of ABM's role and value.

ABM is not a magic bullet for instant revenue generation. It’s a strategic play, designed for the long game, particularly in one-to-one and one-to-few ABM models. When clients rush to implement ABM with the hopes of rapidly boosting revenue, they’re missing the point. ABM is about building meaningful, personalized relationships with high-value accounts. It’s about protecting and expanding existing client relationships, while also exploring potential new opportunities. But it’s not a short-term lead-generation machine, and misdiagnosing it as such leads to wasted resources, unmet expectations, and damaged marketing credibility.

ABM vs. Demand Generation: The Core Confusion

Demand generation is an “always-on” marketing tactic. It's designed to drive awareness and keep your brand top-of-mind across a broad audience. Demand gen focuses on casting a wide net and being consistently present with relevant content that engages your target audience, even if they aren’t in the buying stage yet. Its goal is to fill the top of the funnel with prospects who will, eventually, enter the buying cycle—whether they’re up for contract renewal, issuing RFPs, or simply exploring solutions for future needs.

But demand gen isn’t ABM, and it certainly isn’t one-to-many ABM. Where demand generation works to attract a wide audience over time, ABM is about specificity and deep engagement with a targeted few.

The Purpose of One-to-Many ABM

A one-to-many ABM program targets a broader set of accounts than the more intimate one-to-few or one-to-one approaches. But this doesn’t mean it’s akin to demand generation. While demand generation focuses on brand awareness and filling the pipeline, one-to-many ABM is about deeper, more focused industry plays.

In a one-to-many ABM strategy, you’re targeting accounts with a shared problem that your product or service can solve in a very specific way. These prospects might not be existing customers, but they are high-value targets that have a pressing, identifiable need. The challenge in one-to-many is to deliver personalized, relevant messaging at scale—messaging that resonates deeply enough to establish your brand as the only viable solution to their problem. It’s not about reaching the largest possible audience; it’s about reaching the right audience with the right message at the right time.

Another key difference is that a one-to-many program focuses on preselected accounts that you’ve already vetted as having a strong propensity to buy from you or are actively looking for solutions you offer. There is much greater intention behind this list than you’d see in a typical demand generation persona. These accounts have been carefully chosen because they exhibit clear signals or market behavior indicating that they are primed for your solution.

Think of one-to-many ABM as a long-term investment: you’re laying the groundwork for meaningful engagements with potential clients who are primed for change. Yes, the approach is broader than one-to-few or one-to-one ABM, but the depth of engagement should still far exceed what you’d do in a standard demand gen campaign. You’re building relationships, trust, and advocacy—not simply collecting leads.

The Role of Demand Generation

This brings us back to the role of demand generation. Demand gen is essential because it keeps your brand relevant and visible. It’s the bread-and-butter work that ensures your business stays in the conversation, regardless of where a prospect is in their buying journey.

Demand generation fills your top-of-funnel pipeline, bringing in a wide range of leads that can be nurtured and eventually segmented into more targeted campaigns—such as one-to-many ABM. This is where the two strategies complement each other: demand gen brings in leads, while ABM focuses on deepening relationships with those leads to drive long-term growth.

Demand generation helps build an engaged audience, while ABM is where you establish trust, demonstrate value, and create the long-term partnerships that lead to sustainable revenue growth.

The Right Tool for the Right Job

ABM is not a short-term solution for revenue issues. If your marketing revenue is under pressure, rushing to implement ABM will only set you up for failure. ABM is a strategic, long-term play that requires careful planning, personalization, and a deep understanding of your target accounts. It’s about nurturing relationships with your most valuable customers and prospects—those with the potential to deliver significant revenue over time.

Instead of turning to ABM as a quick fix, marketers should first evaluate their demand generation strategy. Is your brand consistently visible to your target audience? Are you delivering relevant content that engages them, even if they’re not in a buying cycle? Demand generation is the engine that keeps your brand in front of the right people, day in and day out. It fills your pipeline with potential leads, from which you can hand-pick the most promising candidates for a targeted ABM approach.

When used correctly, demand generation and ABM are powerful, complementary strategies. But they are not interchangeable, and treating them as such will only lead to disappointment. Understand the role each plays in your overall marketing strategy, and you’ll be better equipped to drive long-term growth, instead of chasing short-term fixes.

Crack the Code: Mastering 6sense & LinkedIn for Unstoppable ABX Success

When it comes to ABX strategies, there’s no magic “set it and forget it” approach. From refining keyword strategy to segmentation and personalization, each component is critical in driving performance.

With 6sense and LinkedIn working together, you can create a powerful combination that optimizes targeting and maximizes reach. But to unlock their full potential, the devil’s in the details. Let’s see why.

Getting Started: Fine-Tuning 6sense Keywords for a Strong Foundation

Let’s talk 6sense keywords. The temptation is to cast a wide net—short, broad terms like “ransomware” or acronyms like “IoT”—but this can lead to a deluge of irrelevant data that skews results. The first rule? Avoid single keywords that could have multiple meanings.

Instead, focus on multi-word keywords that narrow down intent. Rather than just “cloud security,” use “cloud security solutions for finance” to get clearer, more targeted signals. Keyword length and specificity are critical because 6sense’s natural language processing (NLP) doesn’t prioritize word order. Phrases like “soar costs” can end up matching with “costs soar” — an outcome that could pull in irrelevant audiences.

When assessing your keyword setup in 6sense, always keep relevance at the forefront. A good rule of thumb: If a keyword generates tens of thousands of accounts in 6sense, it’s too broad.

Structuring Segments for Better Performance

Segmentation is where the magic happens in ABX strategies. Think of it as your roadmap to targeting the right accounts. Here’s how it works:

• Clean up segments and governance:

  Remove any overlap or redundancies to avoid segment sprawl and limit the users creating segments to mitigate strategy misalignment.

• Switch to dynamic lists:

  Ditch static lists in favor of dynamic lists that show real-time account movement. This provides more accurate tracking and reporting.

• Integrate with Salesforce fields:

  Segment by geo, employee size, persona, or vertical—the details of your ICP—with greater precision by leveraging Salesforce fields in 6sense.

• Sync with LinkedIn targeting:

  Push 6sense segments to LinkedIn audiences to optimize budget allocation and ensure LinkedIn data flows back into 6sense for robust reporting.

Exclusion Review: Cutting Out the Noise

Reviewing exclusions quarterly is crucial for maintaining high-quality engagement and preventing wasted budget. Common exclusions include company names, website URLs, and even specific ad inventory that doesn’t align with your targeting goals.

One overlooked exclusion type? Excluding irrelevant research categories or overly broad keywords like “phishing attack” or “ransomware email.” These terms can surface off-topic content and clutter your campaigns with false positives. Set up detailed exclusion lists and audit them routinely to keep your targeting tight.

Campaign Mapping and Orchestration

With optimized keywords, clean segments, and strong exclusions in place, it’s time to map out your campaign structure. Establish uniform parameters for campaign names, audience strategies, and ad types across platforms to maintain parity between channels. This makes reporting a breeze and gives you a clear view of performance.

Putting It All Together: Insights from Pure Storage

Let’s look at how this all plays out in the real world. Data storage and management provider Pure Storage faced segmentation and keyword issues that led to inconsistent campaign performance. After a comprehensive 6sense audit, we:

• Refreshed segmentation

  We removed redundant lists and established better governance.

• Optimized keywords

  We cut overly broad keywords and refined targeting to capture clearer signals.

• Aligned campaigns

  We synchronized 6sense segments with LinkedIn targeting, improving tracking performance and overall efficiency.

The results? A 175% increase in influenced form fills and a 28% reduction in cost-per-lead from June to July 2024. And that’s not all—by restructuring their campaign mapping and pivoting to dynamic lists, Pure Storage maintained 80%+ account reach and investment visibility.

The Power of Intent Data and Real-Time Insights

The future of 6sense and LinkedIn optimization is all about turning intent data into actionable gold. Imagine knowing exactly what your prospects are researching—before they even hit your site. With sharper insights and hyper-personalized campaigns, you’ll reach key accounts earlier, shepherd them through the sales stages, and close deals faster.

The Takeaway: Setting Up for Success

Optimizing 6sense and LinkedIn for ABX isn’t just about setting up campaigns—it’s about maintaining a solid foundation and making strategic tweaks that amplify your targeting and segmentation. Here are some final tips:

1. Slow down to go fast

   Take the time to set up keywords, segments, and exclusions correctly.

2. Pair channels for maximum impact

   Sync up your 6sense and LinkedIn strategies for consistent messaging.

3. Regularly audit and optimize

   Continuously review campaign performance and make adjustments.

4. Trust the process

   When built correctly, your ABX strategy will transform engagement and drive meaningful results.

With the right approach, 6sense and LinkedIn can become powerful engines that turn complex data into clear actions. Ready to dive in and fine-tune your own campaigns? Audit like the 6sense experts and get your ABX strategy rolling with our free audit template. 🚀

What Brand All Marketers of B2B IT Companies Need to Pay Attention To

In the fast-moving, sometimes downright confusing world of B2B IT marketing, marketers face the tricky task of juggling short-term revenue goals with long-term brand development. Sigh. While performance-driven marketing often hogs the spotlight, brand marketing is crucial to building trust, winning over those sneaky hidden stakeholders, and creating lasting emotional connections.

Why Pay Attention to Brand Marketing?

For many B2B marketers, the pressure to prove immediate returns has led to an obsession with the 'money in, leads out' model. But this laser focus on short-term gains can cost you brand equity, which is crucial when buyers aren’t actively looking for a solution. Investing in brand marketing helps create familiarity, trust, and recognition—key elements that influence decision-makers when they eventually start shopping around.

Simply put, brand marketing is all about being remembered when a need pops up. When in-market buyers start searching for solutions, they gravitate towards familiar brands—brands they’ve heard about, seen in articles, or noticed at events. Brand marketing ensures your company is top-of-mind during these pivotal moments. It’s about creating a presence so strong that when buyers think of your category, they think of you first.

In-Market Versus Out-of-Market Buyers

Let’s be real: Most of your Total Addressable Market (TAM) isn’t even thinking about buying right now. They might not even realize they have a problem you can solve! Some organisations are ready to purchase, but they're the minority. That catchy 95:5 rule of in-market versus out-of-market buyers? It’s way too simplistic. The ratio can vary a lot depending on the industry—marketing low-orbit satellites isn’t the same as selling SaaS subscriptions. If you’re only targeting in-market buyers, you’re missing a huge opportunity to build brand awareness and preference for when out-of-market buyers decide they need you.

A balanced marketing strategy needs to engage both in-market and out-of-market buyers. Out-of-market buyers might not respond immediately, but consistent messaging helps create a mental association that’ll be there when the time comes. Brand marketing is like planting seeds that will grow when conditions are right—your job is to make sure those seeds are planted.

The Hidden Buyers of the B2B IT Marketplace

Traditionally, B2B marketers have focused their campaigns on target buyers like IT decision-makers (ITDMs). But recent research from LinkedIn's The B2B Institute and Bain & Company shows that there are two types of buyers in buying committees: Target buyers, who are product experts; and hidden buyers, who are process experts—often from procurement, finance, or legal.

Hidden buyers are tricky—they don’t engage with typical B2B content. They’re not downloading whitepapers or attending webinars, but they have a ton of influence. Hidden buyers care about brand reliability, peace of mind, and trust—attributes that brand marketing directly impacts.

Deals often fall apart not because the product lacks innovation but because hidden buyers see risks. Investing in brand awareness that resonates with the entire buying committee—especially the hidden buyers—can significantly increase the chances of success by building a positive reputation that removes objections before they come up.

Hidden buyers are risk-averse and responsible for mitigating potential downsides. If your brand isn’t well-known to them, they’re more likely to say no, simply because they don’t want to take unnecessary risks. This is where brand marketing plays a massive role—building a solid, reassuring presence in the minds of all stakeholders, even the ones you don’t see.

But…Your Brand Is Not What You Think It Is

One of the biggest misconceptions about branding is thinking it’s all about the logo, the product, or even the promises made by advertising. A brand is not just a visual identity or a product; it’s the perception that lives in the minds of your customers. It’s their gut feeling about your company—formed by all the impressions and experiences you offer.

Brands are especially important in B2B, where the buying cycle is long and involves multiple stakeholders. A strong brand is one that buyers remember positively when it’s time to make a decision. It’s about being in that mental "consideration set" when they’re weighing their options.

Your brand isn’t just a logo or tagline—it’s what people say about you when you’re not in the room. It’s that gut feeling they get when they think about your company. In B2B, where relationships and reputations matter, branding is all about building positive associations that stick.

The Role of Emotion in B2B IT Decision-Making

Emotion is often misunderstood in B2B marketing. Many assume that B2B decision-making is purely rational, driven by data and ROI analysis. But let’s face it, emotions play a huge role—even if they’re different from those in consumer purchases. B2B buyers, especially in IT, tend to be risk-averse. The primary emotion driving their decisions is fear—fear of making the wrong choice, causing disruptions, or picking a vendor that could let them down.

This explains why many B2B buyers prefer to play it safe by choosing industry leaders or familiar brands. The fear of potential backlash leads decision-makers to go with the safe bet, offering them emotional comfort. B2B marketers must address both the rational and emotional sides of decision-making—the rational mind looks for ROI and tech specs, while the emotional mind needs stories of reliability, testimonials, and case studies that provide reassurance. 

Another emotion at play is frustration—especially when it comes to getting consensus from large buying committees. With more stakeholders involved, buyers struggle with internal politics, often delaying or derailing deals. By creating content that helps align and reassure all stakeholders, brand marketers can alleviate this frustration and make decision-making smoother.

And don’t forget emotions like pride and the desire to be seen as an innovator. These can influence certain buyers, particularly early adopters. While fear might be the primary emotion for some, others want to be part of something cutting-edge or are motivated by making a name for themselves. Understanding these different emotional drivers allows marketers to craft messages that resonate with all segments of their audience.

Bringing Reality Back to Brand Marketing

Too often, brand marketing in B2B is driven by fleeting trends like "brand purpose" or flashy creative campaigns that are more about winning awards than achieving real business goals. Let’s be honest—those awards are nice for the agency’s trophy shelf, but they don’t exactly pay the bills. Instead, brand marketing should focus on what really matters: Measurable outcomes and results.

Think of each ad as a purposeful message, not just a pretty picture or a clever line. Each outreach needs to serve a strategic purpose:

• Capturing and holding your audience's attention

• Creating durable associations between your brand and your product category

• Establishing recall triggers tied to key buying scenarios

• Differentiating your brand with a clear, memorable reason to choose you over competitors

If we take a more disciplined, outcome-focused approach, brand marketing can regain its credibility and deliver results that genuinely matter to the buying committee.

Forget chasing fleeting trends. Brand marketing should be about building something that lasts, not just impressing the creative community. Real impact beats a round of applause any day. When done right, brand marketing establishes your company as a leader, builds familiarity across stakeholders, and makes the buying decision so much easier.

So, the next time you’re planning your marketing strategy, don’t just think about leads and conversions. Think about the bigger picture—being remembered, creating emotional connections, and making sure your brand is the one they turn to when it really matters. Brand marketing isn’t just about awareness; it’s about making your company unforgettable.

Catch our next issue out on 20 November 2024!

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Say hello to the first edition of the B2B Marketing Brief! Your front-row seat to the ever-evolving world of B2B marketing. In this newsletter, we’re keeping it real—sharing wins, tackling pain points, and uncovering growth opportunities. Each edition is packed with stories, tips, and the latest trends to help you master the art of B2B engagement. Grab your coffee, and let’s get marketing!

In this issue:

• Mythical Beasts of B2B Marketing and How to Tame Them

• One-Size-Fits-None — Data-Driven Personalization in B2B Marketing 

• The Secret Mantra to Revenue Generation: Don’t Miss the Silver While Chasing Gold

Mythical Beasts of B2B Marketing and How to Tame Them

Have you ever wondered why so many B2B marketing strategies fail to deliver, despite all the buzz? Take concepts like ABM, intent data, and lead scoring, for example. These so-called “fundamental concepts” are often accepted as gospel, but do they really work? Let’s challenge four “irrefutable truths” in B2B marketing—and see if we can debunk them.

The Myth of Behavioral Lead Scoring

The Myth: The more content a prospect consumes, the higher their score, indicating a higher likelihood of purchase. By extension, each content interaction moves a buyer closer to a purchase.

The Reality: I call balderdash! B2B buying is anything but linear. Buyers zigzag through their journey, influenced by a hundred different factors, and often double back over our neat little buying stages. Gartner tried to trace the path of a B2B purchase and let’s just say that the result is not pretty.

A Better Strategy: Ditch the obsession with lead scores. Instead, focus on building trust and relevance by providing valuable content that consistently addresses customer questions and pain points. And then make sure our content is accessible on a prospect’s terms.

The Myth of Lead Generation and the B2B Funnel

The Myth: The funnel is an engine that spits out leads like a vending machine gone haywire. Toss in marketing dollars at the top, and out pop ready-to-buy prospects at the bottom. We believe it a funnel-shaped black box that converts prospects into customers.

The Reality: The funnel fails to account for the complex, often non-linear paths, that B2B buyers take rendering it less-than-effective for modern marketing. 

A Better Strategy: Let’s move away from the funnel mindset and coin-operated lead-producing practices. Instead, let’s focus on engaging with relevant audiences, nurturing genuine relationships over time, and being present when our prospects need support. This ensures that if and when they are ready to make a purchase decision, we’re not just a contender—we are the trusted partner they've come to rely on.

The Myth of Intent Data

The Myth: Intent data is a silver bullet that can pierce through the noise and pinpoint exactly who's ready to buy. It rests on the slightly shaky foundation (and "slightly" is an Olympic-level understatement) that content consumption is a proxy for buying intent. Wait, really?

The Reality: Intent data is nearly useless unless supported by other third-party signals—technographic, wallet data, budget insights—and blended with first-party data from CRM and marketing automation tools.

A Better Strategy: Let’s stop treating intent data like a magic wand. Instead, let’s use it as one piece of a larger puzzle. When we integrate intent data with a mix of internal and third-party insights, we form a more complete picture of our prospects' needs—and their readiness to buy.

The Myth of ABM

The Myth: ABM (Account-Based Marketing) Campaigns can be a short-term strategy that results in quick wins. Fire off a few personalized emails, set up a snazzy customized landing page, and watch customers lap it up.

The Reality: That’s a fairy tale. Real ABM is far from a short-term strategy; it’s a marathon, not a sprint. It requires sustained effort. More importantly, true success is achieved by taking an ABX (Account Based Experience) approach, which requires deep collaboration between sales and marketing, and a focus on building long-term relationships rather than chasing immediate returns. 

A Better Strategy: Let’s focus on creating a holistic experience for strategic accounts—one that’s seamless, cohesive, and consistent across all customer touchpoints. Getting this right demands an ABX approach, one in which our marketing and sales work in tandem. Success will come to those of us who change our mindsets and see ABX—not as a tactic—but as an overarching strategy that requires dedication and a long-term vision.

It's time we focus on what truly drives success: Integrating diverse data to discover the right audiences, engaging with them and building trust by providing relevant and valuable content, nurturing genuine relationships over time, and aligning marketing and sales to create holistic customer experiences.

By embracing these more thoughtful and sustainable—albeit longer-term—approaches, we can inject fresh air into our marketing efforts and boost their impact. And remember, those who chase unicorns, tend to find themselves on carousels. And you know what that’s like: It’s fun if you like to go in circles.

One-Size-Fits-None — Data-Driven Personalization in B2B Marketing

If you want campaigns to resonate deeply, spark attachments, and drive conversions, it’s time to get personal. The resulting connection — stories that readers will feel, remember, and respond to — is made possible with data-driven personalization.

Let’s get into it.

The Power of Data-Driven Personalization 

Personalization is not just another buzzword we’re throwing around for fun. It’s a data-driven, results-oriented, HOLY-MOLY-this-actually-works kind of game-changer. By leveraging the power of TAL analyses, ABX campaign segmentation, and good ol’ market research, we can create personalized experiences that speak directly to our target audiences.

It’s not just about sprinkling a few first names into email blasts. It’s about understanding who the customers are, what they want, and how they behave at every touchpoint. 

Why Personalization Matters More Than Ever 

When you personalize marketing, you’re not just saying, “Hey, we know who you are.” You’re saying, “Hey, we get you. We understand your business, challenges, and goals, and we’ve got the solution you’ve been looking for.” It’s what builds trust, fosters relationships, and ultimately drives sales.

And don’t just take our word for it. ON24's 2024 Digital Engagement Benchmarks Report found that B2B prospects are nearly twice as likely to engage with calls-to-action when digital experiences are personalized. The same report highlighted a 60% increase in requests for product demonstrations from personalized webinar experiences.

So, if you’re not personalizing, you’re leaving money on the table. (And who wants to do that?) 

The Tools in Our of Toolbox 

So, how do we make this magic happen? Let’s break it down:

1. TALs (Target Account Lists):

We start by zeroing in on the accounts that matter most to your business. We don’t just spray and pray—we focus on the buying committee and target each member with the right message. 

2. Market Research

This isn’t just any old research. We dive deep into your industry, competitors, buyer personas, and content library to uncover the insights that will drive your strategy. We want to know what makes your audience tick and, more importantly, what will make them click.

3. Data as an Enabler

Data, data, data. Analytics enable our teams to make better decisions for our clients every day, tactically and strategically. By continuously analyzing campaign performance, we optimize in real-time, ensuring your message stays relevant.

Scaling Personalization Without Losing the Human Touch 

With the right tech stack and a little creativity, you can scale personalization efforts without sacrificing quality. Automated workflows, AI-driven content recommendations, and dynamic email campaigns — we help deliver personalized experiences to key accounts no matter how big the audience gets.

Scaling doesn’t mean losing the human touch. It’s just the opposite. By using data and AI to automate the mundane, you free up time to focus on what matters: building genuine relationships with your customers. Because at the end of the day, people buy from people. And we’re all about making those connections.

The Not-So-Distant Future of Personalization 

Let’s take a peek into the not-so-distant future of B2B marketing personalization. Spoiler alert: it’s going to be mind-blowingly awesome.

1. Predictive Personalization with AI and Machine Learning 

We’ve already seen the power of AI in personalizing B2B marketing, but we’re just scratching the surface. Soon, AI and machine learning will take personalization to new heights with predictive capabilities that can forecast customer behavior and needs. Imagine predicting which content will resonate with a specific account before they even know they need it. 

2. Real-Time Personalization Across Channels 

The days of static content are numbered. The future is all about real-time personalization across every channel—email, website, social media, you name it. With advancements in technology, B2B marketers can deliver dynamic, context-aware content that adapts on the fly based on user behavior, preferences, and intent.

3. Personalization Powered by the Internet of Things (IoT) 

With IoT devices collecting data on everything from how a customer’s product performs to how often they interact with a particular feature, marketers will have unprecedented insights into customer needs and pain points. This data can create highly personalized experiences, from predictive maintenance offers to tailored upgrade suggestions.

4. Ethical Personalization with Privacy-First Approaches 

As personalization technology advances, so too will the need for ethical considerations. The future will see a strong emphasis on privacy-first personalization, where customers have more control over their data and how it’s used. Marketers must strike a balance between delivering personalized experiences and respecting customer privacy. 

Smart Personalization Sparks Connections

Digital marketing today has a responsibility to authentically connect with readers, visitors, and prospects. Individuals don’t want to feel that they’re hearing the same generic pitch when what they need is a solution. They want to feel seen — their unique challenges, stresses, and aspirations.

Thanks to the evolution of data-driven personalization, it’s become easier to meet these expectations. It does more than just improve conversions; it connects people with unique problems to companies with the unique capabilities to address them. And that leaves everyone more fulfilled.

The Secret Mantra to Revenue Generation: Don’t Miss the Silver While Chasing Gold

Are you missing the silver because you are chasing gold? If the answer is yes, good, at least you are self-aware. If it’s no, think again.

But, what’s the possible silver in marketing that you possibly are missing? Well, it is CRM—customer retention marketing, not the traditional customer relationship management—that is often overshadowed by its glamorous sibling customer acquisition marketing.

Consider this. It costs five times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. Loyal customers are not only more likely to purchase again, they are also more likely to recommend you. This not only leads to higher sales conversion rates, but also drives new customer acquisition.

Yes, retention marketing might not seem as attractive as acquisition marketing, and it might seem harder to demonstrate its impact and ROI. But, when you start thinking about growth differently and look at more meaningful performance metrics, customer retention becomes far more attractive.

4 Principles to Mine Marketing Silver

Typically, marketing effort drops off once a deal is signed. Job done, over to the ops team. It only starts ramping up as renewal time nears. Now, this is a costly mistake that many of us are guilty of making. Investing in your customer relationships should be always-on and consistent, and not dependent on deal closures and renewals.

So, how can we orchestrate an always-on retention marketing program? Here are 4 key principles.

1. Know Understand Your Customers

The foundation of any successful customer retention strategy is a deep understanding of customers. What resonated at acquisition, won’t necessarily resonate at renewal. We need to gain deep insights into their behavior, preferences, and pain points. Segment them based on industry, purchase history, and engagement levels. Use data analytics to gain the required insights.

Use surveys, feedback forms, and social listening tools to gather qualitative data. Combine them with qualitative insights derived from interviews and case studies. And understand what drives customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction to create tailored, targeted, and personalized retention campaigns that resonate with them to meet their specific needs.

2. Reach Out Engage Through Multiple Channels

Customers interact with our brands across various channels. A successful retention strategy must engage customers wherever they are. We must leverage a multichannel approach to engage customers with relevant content and updates.

Consistency across channels is crucial. It ensures that messaging and branding are cohesive, providing a unified experience, whether a customer is browsing our website, reading an email, or engaging on social media.

3. Invest In Relationship Partnerships

People want to do business with people not brands. So, we must build direct relationships with customers and invest in them to develop sustainable partnerships. Think about the benefits you can offer that they wouldn’t get elsewhere and how you can go the extra mile to enhance value. Invest in exclusive customer networking events centered around key topics of interest that create a sense of community and belonging.

Consider how you can make their lives easier, help them achieve their goals, and overcome their challenges. Be proactive and take the opportunity to surprise and delight whenever you can. So, when contract renewals come around, they happen organically without any need for additional marketing efforts.

4. Deliver Exceptional Customer Satisfaction Experiences

Customer experience (CX) is the sum of all interactions a customer has with your brand—from initial contact to post-purchase support. A positive CX is critical for customer retention. So, ensure that every touchpoint is seamless, consistent, and relevant is critical.

Actively listen to what customers are saying and use this information to make meaningful improvements to products, services, and experiences. Proactively address customer concerns and provide exceptional service that goes above and beyond their expectations. Acknowledging customer feedback—whether positive or negative—shows that you value their opinions. It also demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement, which can foster deeper customer loyalty.

The Fourth R of Marketing Reporting

Just as the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so is the proof of customer retention marketing in measuring its impact and ROI.

For this, we need to add the rarely reflected fourth R of marketing reporting—Retention—to the list of KPIs, which typically includes just reputation, relationship and revenue.

Net Revenue Retention (NRR) is a key indicator of that. It measures your ability to retain and expand business from existing customers by calculating total revenue minus revenue churn (contract expirations, cancellations, or downgrades) and is considered a qualifying metric to determine the health of a business.

Only when customers growing their business with you outvalues customers leaving you, can you genuinely achieve sustainable business growth. Hence, it’s important to measure business success deep into the customer relationship, not just at the point of deal closure.

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is another key metric to measure. It represents the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer throughout their relationship. Loyal customers tend to spend more over time, make repeat purchases, and are less sensitive to price changes. By retaining customers, businesses can increase their CLV, which directly contributes to both revenue and profitability.

As with any measurement framework, it’s important to look at both the qualitative and quantitative data. Increased usage of your products and services within existing customer accounts and successfully defending against competitor threats are equally important indicators of customer retention.

Customer retention marketing is not just about retaining customers, it's about building long-term relationships that drive sustainable growth. By understanding your customers, delivering exceptional, omnichannel experiences, investing in relationships, and continuously optimizing your efforts, you can create a robust retention strategy that fosters loyalty and enhances profitability.

Experiment with different retention tactics, track their impact, and learn from the results. A data-driven approach will allow you to refine your strategy over time and maximize its effectiveness. In a world where customer loyalty is increasingly harder to earn, focusing on retention is not just smart, it's essential.

So, if customer retention marketing isn’t a key focus of your marketing strategy, are you missing the silver?

Catch our next issue out on 25 October 2024!

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