Buying cycles are longer. Budgets are smaller. And let’s not even start on the AI-generated content sludge. Sound familiar?
B2B marketing in 2026 isn’t broken. But it is being stress-tested.
The old playbooks and channels? Under pressure.
Attribution models? Struggling to see in the dark.
Martech stacks? Getting heavier without pulling harder.
Pressure to show impact? Growing.
Change with new channels – such as AI models – meaning sitting still is going backwards
Yet, in the middle of all this, some things stay reassuringly simple:
- Buyers still trust recommendations over everything else.
- 73% say word of mouth is their most trusted source.
- 78% only shortlist three vendors.
- 90% buy from that shortlist.
It is not about marketing being harder. It’s about whether your marketing is built for how buyers actually behave now. The good news? There’s a way through it.
Below, our team shares insights we’ve seen first-hand, and they explain more in our Christmas Crackers festive scene. Some are strategic. Others are sleeves-rolled-up tactical. All are drawn from work with niche category leaders who are learning to thrive, not just survive, in a landscape where certainty is rare, and attention is a precious commodity.
It’s not easy. But if you’re still reading, we suspect you’re built for this too.
B2B marketing is hard and will get harder, says Lottie O’Donoghue
Long buying cycles, niche audiences, AI disruption, declining Martech effectiveness, and shrinking budgets. The solution isn’t more noise – it’s more recommendations. When times get tough, buyers default to trust. Be the brand people mention in meetings you’re not in. Invest in reputation, not reach. Turn customers into advocates. The brands that win tomorrow are the ones recommended today.
Recommendations win shortlists, says Paul Crabtree
73% trust word of mouth most. 78% shortlist three vendors. 90% choose from that list. Recommended brands convert 69% better, deliver 71% higher value, churn 37% less. Engineer recommendations. Mobilise customers, partners, champions. Get on the shortlist before you arrive.
Recommendations are everywhere, says Lottie O’Donoghue
Trust is earned across many small moments. Certifications, reviews, spec sheets, analyst mentions, LinkedIn chatter, ChatGPT outputs—all recommendation signals. Buyers validate and shortlist before sales. Case studies and logos are social proof. Show, don’t tell. Bake recommendation into every touchpoint.
Fear drives decisions. CEPs are where they start, says Helena Phillips
No one gets fired for picking safe. Show up at Category Entry Points (CEPs) where fear meets urgency. “We’re scaling fast.” “We’ve been breached.” “Our supplier failed.” Map your CEPs. Create content for them. When buyers are unsure, they look sideways for validation.
Creative is a multiplier, says Shaun Ramsey
Standout creative gets you remembered and recommended. Emotional, intelligent, distinctive creative gets shared and reused internally. It fuels enablement and drives reach. Invest in creativity like strategy or media. If competitors play safe or produce slop, be bold.
AI slop will break attention if we let it, says Matt Scutt
AI floods buyers with bland content. The answer isn’t more. It’s better. Build distinctive, human-led work that creates emotional connection. Recommendation thrives on memory. Memory comes from creativity, not conformity. Don’t be the slop. Be what cuts through it.
ABM is the only way to market complex B2B, says Helen Beeby
The deal hinges on many decision-makers, not one. ABM personalises in insight and precision. It builds relationships, not just messages. Done right, it’s commercial strategy. It aligns teams and builds trust across buying committees. People recommend partners who get it, not strangers.
Out-of-market doesn’t mean out-of-mind, says Libby Barnes
95% aren’t buying now. But when they are, they’ll only pick brands they remember. Brand activity isn’t luxury. It’s future lead generation. Seed recommendations before intent shows. Stay visible and useful. Be the brand they trust and their network recommends.
GEO is the new battleground, says Mark Gillam
Buyers use ChatGPT and Perplexity to shortcut research. AI search is the new front page. These tools summarise, compare, recommend. If you’re not cited, you’re not surfaced. Make your story distinctive enough for AI summaries. Optimise for quotability, not keywords. Bots recommend winners.
Track indirect revenue. Stop obsessing over attribution, says Mark Gillam
Modern buying is messy. Dark social, conversations, self-research. Linear attribution can’t keep up. Channels are ecosystems now. Track influence, not clicks. Measure target company penetration, engagement and revenue development. Makes everything clearer.
Martech for the super niche is never off the shelf, says Diwakar Redhu
Niche buyer journeys don’t look like anyone else’s. Off-the-shelf tools lack precision and nuance. Their costs aren’t geared to small audiences. Many aren’t worth it. We’ve built a stack for different budgets and super-niche audiences.
How your team should use AI. And shouldn’t, says Paul Crabtree
AI speeds up slow work, not dumb down smart work. Automate low-value tasks. Explore directions. Summarise data. The best teams blend human judgment with AI efficiency. Define scope. Upskill on prompts. Protect creative edge. Humans at start, middle and end.
Nothing is certain. Act anyway.
2025 rewrote the rules. AI changed how buyers research. Dark social killed attribution. Budgets shrank. Scrutiny rose. “Good enough” stopped being enough.
But this remains true: trust wins deals. Recommendations drive shortlists. And brands built to be recommendable will outperform those chasing visibility.