B2B marketing is evolving rapidly; shaped by shifting buyer behaviours, emerging technologies, and changing expectations. To help navigate these complexities, we recently hosted a webinar led by onebite’s Head of Client Services, Jamie McDowell, with insights from Managing Partner Kiri Craig and Michelle Boland, Fractional CMO & Founder of Pink Umbrella Marketing. Drawing from our 2025 Year of Opportunity report, the panel explored the biggest challenges facing marketers today and the strategies needed to stay ahead.
From engaging the ever-expanding buying committee to balancing AI with authenticity, here are the key takeaways. Read on for insights or watch the full recording on-demand here.
Engaging the extended buying committee and the dark funnel
As B2B buying decisions become more complex, marketers must rethink how they engage accounts. Jamie opened the discussion by highlighting the growing influence of younger decision-makers, longer sales cycles, and the increasing importance of the dark funnel. How can marketing teams adapt?
Kiri Craig explained that traditional lead-focused approaches are no longer effective: “The buying committee is getting ever bigger. We all already know, or should know, that we shouldn’t be focusing on individual leads. We need to be engaging the full account. But what’s changing is the demographics within that buying panel. 71% of B2B buyers are now Gen Z and millennials. These decision-makers want detailed, engaging content that builds trust, delivered in a way that feels relevant to them.”
Adding to this, Michelle Boland reinforced the need to meet buyers where they are, explaining how purchasing decisions have shifted: “Buying decisions used to be made on the golf course. Now, they happen across LinkedIn DMs, WhatsApp groups, and community forums. Buyers are seeing our ads, hearing recommendations from peers, watching YouTube reviews, and all of that sticks in their minds long before they reach out.”
Kiri emphasised the importance of demand creation, not just demand capture. Many marketing teams focus their efforts on engaging buyers who are already in-market, searching for a solution. But by that stage, the battle is often already lost. She explained: “80% of B2B buyers already have a vendor or supplier in mind when they go to market. If you’re only focusing on the 5% actively searching right now, you’re too late.”
To counter this, brands must think long-term and build awareness earlier in the buyer’s journey. This means investing in content, brand storytelling, and thought leadership that nurtures trust before prospects even realise they need a solution. Those who wait until a buyer is actively comparing vendors risk being overlooked in favour of competitors who have already established credibility.
Personalisation – expectation vs. reality
Personalisation is one of those terms that has been around for years, but what does it actually mean in practice? With increasing pressure to deliver personalised experiences at scale, many marketers struggle to live up to the promise of true personalisation.
Michelle Boland reflected on how personalisation has evolved: “Personalisation used to be adding a ‘First Name’ field to an email. That’s not enough anymore. Buyers expect relevant content at the right time, in the right place, and tailored to their challenges.”
But achieving this level of relevance isn’t easy. Many brands try to personalise at scale but struggle with fragmented data, inconsistent messaging, and a lack of clear strategy. Michelle highlighted that personalisation should start with the fundamentals: understanding audience needs, refining data quality, and ensuring messaging resonates across channels.
She also stressed the importance of starting small and getting the data right: “If your personalisation strategy is overwhelming, start small. Get your data right first. I’d rather have a smaller, high-quality dataset than a massive, messy database I can’t segment properly.”
By focusing on quality over quantity, brands can build more meaningful connections with their audience rather than relying on superficial personalisation tactics that fail to make an impact.
AI in marketing, a solution or threat?
With AI and automation offering opportunities to scale content production and improve targeting, brands face a choice: embrace it openly or risk losing trust.
Michelle Boland urged marketers to embrace AI transparently: “We’re all using AI, so let’s own it. Customers aren’t naive; they know brands use AI to streamline workflows. The key is transparency. Show how you’re using AI to improve efficiency so you can focus on what really matters – building relationships, telling great stories, and delivering value.”
Beyond just acknowledging AI’s presence, brands must actively manage its role in their marketing strategies. AI should serve as an enabler rather than a replacement for human insight.
Kiri Craig highlighted the long-term shift AI is bringing: “AI is not a flash in the pan. It’s not going anywhere. Brands have two choices: view it as a threat or an opportunity. The smart ones are embracing it openly, using it for efficiency while keeping the human touch front and centre.”
Building brand trust in the AI era
AI’s rise raises another challenge – maintaining brand authenticity. With AI generated content becoming more common, brands must work harder to differentiate themselves with genuine human connection.
Michelle Boland pointed out the risk of AI-generated content feeling impersonal: “It’s harder than ever to be authentic when synthetic content is everywhere. Buyers are seeing AI-generated fluff all the time, and they can tell when a brand isn’t genuine. The solution? Be human. Use real employee stories, real customer experiences, and transparency about your process.”
She also stressed the importance of thought leadership, explaining that AI alone can’t create meaningful, original insights. Brands that rely solely on AI to churn out content risk blending into the noise. Instead, they should focus on adding unique perspectives and showcasing deep expertise. She summarised: “If your content is just summarising trends everyone already knows, it’s not thought leadership. The best B2B brands stand out by sharing fresh perspectives, not regurgitating the same talking points.”
The future of marketing KPIs
Finally, the panel tackled measurement. With buyers conducting so much research before engaging with sales, do traditional lead-based KPIs still tell the full story?
Michelle Boland challenged marketers to rethink how they measure success: “Marketing isn’t just about MQLs anymore. If we’re only measuring direct conversions, we’re undervaluing all the invisible touchpoints that build demand over time.”
Instead of relying solely on lead-based metrics, she urged brands to look at indicators of brand awareness, engagement, and influence. Metrics such as share of voice, content engagement, and community growth provide a more accurate picture of long-term demand generation.
Kiri Craig reinforced that marketing’s role extends beyond generating leads: “Marketing’s job isn’t just to hand over leads, it’s to create awareness, trust, and demand. If you only measure pipeline conversions, you’re missing the bigger picture.”
She highlighted the need for businesses to adapt their measurement frameworks to reflect today’s buyer journey, where brand exposure and credibility play a crucial role in shaping purchase decisions.
Key takeaways
The webinar highlighted significant shifts in B2B marketing, along with key insights that every marketer should be aware of to stay ahead:
- Understand the dark funnel to engage the full buying committee
B2B buying decisions are increasingly made by larger, more complex committees. Buyers conduct extensive research in the dark funnel before engaging with vendors. To stay top of mind, marketers must show up consistently across multiple channels. As Kiri Craig noted, “We need to be consistently popping up in multiple places in the dark funnel, to drive awareness and ultimately convert hidden buyers into leads.” - With personalisation, start small and get the foundations right
Overcomplicating personalisation can lead to inaction. Instead, focus on ensuring data accuracy and using segmentation effectively. Michelle Boland highlighted, “I would prefer far smaller data sets that are correct than massive databases that are unwieldy and a nightmare to segment from.” - AI can assist, but we crave human insight
Companies need to go beyond self-promotional content and provide real insights, opinions, and expertise to establish credibility. Industry trends, original research, and expert perspectives are more valuable than generic AI-generated content. As Kiri said, “People don’t want static content any more, they want engaging insights and expertise. That’s how you cut through the sea of sameness.” - Be honest about using AI
In a world filled with AI-generated content, standing out requires authenticity. AI is a powerful tool, though, and brands shouldn’t shy away from acknowledging its use. Customers value transparency, and leveraging AI for efficiency can signal innovation, not deception. Michelle summed it up: “If you’re doing things with AI, own it, talk about it, and focus on the human connection.”
If you found the webinar insights valuable, dive deeper into the topic by downloading our 2025 Year of Opportunity report to explore the full findings.
Annabel Lander, Senior Account Manager
Annabel Lander is a Senior Account Manager at onebite, and specialises in evolving the relationship between PR and marketing. This blended approach helps to create higher value, harder-working content that’s more aligned with brand values and messaging and ensures a consistent brand voice.
Annabel also enjoys the creative side of the agency and believes that B2B marketing doesn’t need to be bland, there is bounds of space for stand-out creativity and innovation.
