What’s fueling B2B growth in 2025—and what’s falling short? At our recent Get in Front panel in Milwaukee, four marketing trailblazers shared unfiltered insights into what’s shaping the next wave of strategy.
Many of the themes—B2B sales and marketing alignment, AI acceleration, and full-funnel analytics—reflect the pressures shaping next-generation B2B growth. Here are the takeaways that matter now and how to act fast.
Forget "alignment." True performance comes from shared ownership, not side-by-side functions. Panelists emphasized that terms like "customer," "contact," and "site" must mean the same thing across teams. When they don’t, reporting fractures and ROI stalls. A unified data model isn’t optional—it’s foundational.
Merchandising also emerged as the sleeper growth engine. One panelist called it "the third leg of the stool" alongside marketing and sales. Bringing merchandising into campaign strategy makes demand efforts more targeted, scalable, and effective.
Wins with national accounts are great—but often come with blind spots. Deals can close without complete contact coverage, leaving marketing unable to extend awareness across roles and regions. That’s why upstream collaboration with sales is critical.
Cross-functional synergy needs more than good intentions. It’s dynamic, especially when leadership changes or market conditions shift. The takeaway? Reinforce alignment consistently—not just at quarterly check-ins.
Adding more channels doesn’t guarantee more impact. The game-changer is a unified strategy that coordinates audience segments, message cadence, and creative depth across every touch.
Yes, really. Catalogs, postcards, and folded formats are driving impressive results—especially when they include digital bridges like QR codes. Marketers who integrate mail into omnichannel flows are seeing a lift in both engagement and ROI.
Post-pandemic, email remains a top B2B performer. But its real power shows when paired with direct mail and paid campaigns, unified by a consistent audience logic.
B2B brands are diversifying. While LinkedIn remains central, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are gaining ground for niche and experimental plays. Just remember: adapt message depth to the medium. Sometimes your audience wants the full story. Other times, they just want the headline.
AI is revolutionizing production—but strategy still needs a human brain. Tools like ChatGPT and Synthesia are helping marketers generate content faster, test more, and scale smarter. One panelist shared their team’s AI tool: they named it "Frank."
But with speed comes responsibility. Governance is patchy. Some teams have policies and training in place. Others are playing catch-up. And there’s concern that newer marketers may lean too heavily on AI without mastering fundamentals.
Interestingly, smaller organizations may have an edge—fewer layers, more urgency, and faster pivots.
Attribution is table stakes. The next-level metric is incrementality: what impact happened because of a tactic, not just with it? Panelists noted big differences in analytics maturity. Large orgs have siloed BI teams. Small teams rely on power users fluent in SQL and Google Analytics.
One standout story: a team built a "Promotional History Database" (PHDB) spanning back to 2012. That dataset connected campaign touches to sales behavior with precision.
Another example? Weekly PPC readouts delivered to the CEO. That’s transparency—but it also means pressure. Marketers must set expectations around optimization cycles to avoid premature reactions.
With 2026 on the horizon, building better ROI models is urgent. Hard metrics, not anecdotes, will shape budget decisions.
Explore how high-growth teams are mastering full-funnel performance in our 2025 B2B Marketing Edge Report. Download it now and stay in front of your next customer.