Marketing Strategy

Analyst relations is one of the larger fixed costs in an enterprise B2B marketing budget and one of the least examined. As buyers begin vendor research in AI assistants, and the analyst firms put generative interfaces over their own research, the path by which analyst opinion reaches a buying committee has changed. The briefing matters less than what ends up in writing. Here is how to evaluate the program honestly before the 2027 renewal, and where to move the effort.

Q4 paid plans are locking now, and most of the levers marketers used to pull are gone—targeting, placements, bid adjustments, and increasingly creative are all decided by platform AI. What is left is the conversion signal you send back, and in most B2B programs that signal is a form fill of unknown quality. The algorithm has spent a year learning to buy more of exactly that. Here is how to fix the signal before the quarter’s budget compounds the error.

Autonomous AI agents are beginning to do the work of B2B buyers—discovering vendors, building shortlists, comparing options, and screening out non-compliant suppliers before a human is ever involved. This shifts a portion of the buying journey from persuading people to being selectable by machines, and most B2B marketing is not built for it. Here is what changes, what doesn’t, and how to prepare without overreacting to the hype.

Traditional annual planning cycles are collapsing as market velocity accelerates. B2B marketing organizations at mid-year 2026 are discovering that rigid annual plans are becoming liabilities rather than guides, forcing a fundamental shift toward continuous strategic adaptation that balances direction with flexibility.

Traditional quarterly competitive analysis is obsolete. AI-powered competitive intelligence systems that monitor markets continuously are enabling marketing teams to respond to competitive moves in days rather than quarters, creating sustainable strategic advantages.

From AI-native campaigns to the death of vanity metrics, here are five marketing shifts that will separate leaders from laggards in 2026.

As 2024 ends, marketing leaders are planning for 2025. Here’s guidance on priorities that will matter versus trends that will disappoint—based on what we’ve seen work this year.

In a tighter economic environment, growth from existing customers often outperforms new acquisition. Here’s how to build customer marketing programs that drive retention and expansion.

Account-based marketing has evolved significantly since its early days. Here’s what’s actually working for ABM programs in 2024 and what outdated practices to retire.

B2B influencer marketing has matured beyond early experiments. Here’s how to build programs that deliver measurable business impact rather than vanity metrics.