Forrester: AI search is reshaping B2B marketing

Want to dive deeper on lead generation and how to drive measurable success with your marketing? What makes LinkedIn particularly powerful for B2B marketers is the ability to measure impact across the full buying journey. In this space, you can include a URL to download your asset, register for your webinar or reach another destination. Over half of marketers (53%) running a Lead Gen Form ad use a LinkedIn Marketing Partner for CRM integration and campaign optimization, ensuring no potential customer slips through the cracks. And with the right partner integrations, marketers can make the most of every lead.

An overwhelming 93% of marketers plan to increase their video spending, according to HubSpot’s marketing statistics. It creates a more strategic approach where video length matches buyer journey stage and platform context. 52% of B2B marketers cite video as their highest ROI content format, according to Vidico’s research. By 2026, video won’t be optional for serious B2B marketers. Specialized industry platforms are gaining importance, especially in regulated industries where vertical-specific networks offer compliance-friendly environments. Check out my guide on YouTube Shorts for business if you’re considering this channel.

This specialisation leads to higher quality and more innovative products and services. Instead of trying to do everything, they can focus on their specific strengths. When businesses thrive and grow, they hire more people. This creates a network of interdependence that fuels economic activity. This order lays out what they want, how much, and what kind of products or services.

Create content for all stages of the marketing funnel

A B2B product or service is typically more complex, involves a bigger investment and offers more robust features than B2C solutions. With strong B2B marketing, personalised outreach and efficient B2B sales strategies, businesses can build profitable and sustainable growth models. B2B involves companies selling products or services to other companies, often with long-term relationships, high-value deals, and strategic marketing. This is the core process behind what is b2b sales are and how major brands grow.

• Your customer lifetime value (CLV) helps predict long-term revenue and shows how happy people are with your business.
• Today, it’s nearly impossible to find and act on sales leads without the help of technology — unless you’re purchasing a list.
• ☐ Test send times strategically – For B2B, Tuesday-Thursday between 10am-2pm typically performs best, but test your specific audience's patterns to maximize engagement
• Horizontal models can expand quickly and serve a larger customer base without starting from scratch in every new industry.

Talk to your sales team about what helps them connect with customers. SEO (search engine optimization) is what helps audiences find your content in the first place, but nobody’s going to stick around if that content is subpar. Account-based marketing is a B2B marketing strategy that focuses on specific customers or accounts and targets each as a market of one with highly personalized, 1-to-1 experiences and content.

Audiences prompting ChatGPT and Google AI with professional-related questions are less likely to be in the buying process or maybe just starting it. Hristo explains that it pulled from several parallel buckets, including chronological activity, geography, industry, and what people with similar titles and seniority were engaged with. Many marketers still optimize for the old system. The data backs them up, and so do LinkedIn’s engineers. LinkedIn has always been a playing field for B2B marketers.

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Assuming your brand is already posting short-form video to platforms like LinkedIn, you can probably squeeze even more out of those same assets on TikTok. These B2B influencer ads are great for telling authentic customer stories while also expanding the reach of your ad targeting. It’s important to make sure that whatever you choose doesn’t clash with your brand’s voice or values. Chances are, their most recent videos will primarily feature real people in the real world. But your content strategy ultimately boils down to your goals for growth. Humanizing your company is crucial to reach buyers today and stand apart from competitors.

Marketing automation bridges the gap between real conversion and the engaged audience that inbound marketing creates. While inbound marketing is a great strategy for creating brand awareness, it doesn’t result in sales or move prospects along the buying journey all by itself. Inbound marketing helps build that perception among your target audience, day by day and click by click. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, you can be a thought leader in your field. Sooner or later, they’re going to start looking for answers — and your inbound marketing content could be just the resource they need. The people you want as your customers what is b2b marketing are out there right now with questions.

Last year, we expected deeper personalisation driven by data and automation. Buyers are learning, comparing, and validating solutions before visiting your website. According to our own data, self-reported attribution from AI/LLM sources increased by 9.25% year-over-year. ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity influence buying decisions before buyers ever reach your site.

Create precise targeting to drive more engagement and more conversions. Power fast, precise lead scoring and routing with Clearbit data, so reps spend more time on qualified leads — and less time on bad fits. Shorten forms — without sacrificing data — to capture more qualified leads. B2B marketing and revenue teams rely on Clearbit to power go-to-market motions, workflows, and insights across the customer lifecycle.