B2B buyers want less sales contact by Mike Pastore

B2B buyers are shifting toward self-serve—around 61% don’t want to talk to sales reps unless it’s absolutely necessary. But right at those crunch-time moments, like choosing the best solution or weighing risk, they actually welcome sales’ help to simplify complex decisions. Sellers who step in with tailored insights during these key moments are 3x more likely to close deals than those who just stick to basic 1-on-1 conversations.

Stop Segmenting Like It’s 2015: Why B2B Marketers Are Still Struggling to Reach the Right Buyers by Sonia David

B2B marketers are still stuck in the past, using outdated firmographic and account-based segments instead of focusing on real humans and their actual behavior. They’re often targeting companies instead of the decision-makers, influencers, blockers, or users inside them. To do better, teams need to shift toward dynamic, behavior-driven segmentation that maps out who’s involved and what they’re actually doing.

Forrester: AI search is reshaping B2B marketing by Mark Brohan

Forrester’s report shows that AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are shaking up B2B marketing by delivering “zero-click” answers—2–6% of organic traffic now comes from AI, and that share is growing over 40% each month. Instead of browsing vendor websites, buyers are getting smarter insights straight from AI, arriving at sites more informed, sticking around longer, and asking deeper questions. Marketers need to rethink their playbook and craft bold, AI-friendly messaging, optimize for generative search, and create clear, quotable content that AI systems love to surface.

Influencer marketing best practices for B2B brands by Tim Murphy

Influencer marketing in B2B is most powerful when it’s interactive and collaborative, like hosting polls, challenges, or user-generated content campaigns with influencers rather than just handing them scripted posts. Webinars aren’t dead, but they should educate and entertain with dynamic formats, polls, and Q&A rather than dry slide decks. In short, successful B2B influencer campaigns lean into co-creation, meaningful engagement, and authentic content that respects both your brand goals and the influencer’s voice.

Why B2B Sales And Marketing Need To Stop Aligning And Start Unifying by Sarah Goodall

Sales and marketing teams in B2B are past the “alignment” stage. It isn’t enough anymore. Instead, unification is about building shared priorities, programs, and success metrics from the ground up. Right now, sales blames marketing for low-quality leads and marketing blames sales for letting leads go cold, but that back and forth just slows everything down. Treat sales and marketing as one unified engine that collaborates from planning to results, showing up together for buyers and measuring performance as a team.

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for reading!  If you have B2B news sources you rely on we’d love to hear about them.  Please share them with us.  

The post B2B Reads: Buyers, Out-Dated Segmentation, AI Search, Influencer Marketing, and More appeared first on Heinz Marketing.

If you read our B2B Reads, then you know I have been digging into custom GPT-building for some of our internal operations.  This post is a compilation of the lessons learned on properly structuring these things for customer marketing.  The goal is to speed you up in getting to a workflow that integrates better AI tools.  Before we get too far into it, here are a few other things to note:

1. If you are unfamiliar with custom GPTs, I will try to sum it up. They are essentially modules within ChatGPT (or other option) that you can load with prompts and knowledge-base documents, and instructions for how to use them.  They are great for repeatable processes such as persona creation, campaign planning, messaging design, and plenty of other functions.
2. This is not a guide on the mechanics of building them, if you need that I recommend you check out Andy Crestodina’s excellent guide. He has lots of other practical ideas and advice on this too.
3. I am still pretty new to this function, but we are on this journey together.
4. This is from doing “customer-led growth” work, but the concepts could easily be adapted to other areas of marketing.
5. Know your AI usage policies before uploading data/templates/materials into ChatGPT. Proper care should be taken to avoid any sensitive data being divulged.

There is a lot of trial and error in building these tools.  I have gone back and tweaked/adjusted GPTs that we have used for campaign development, persona creation, and others.

While not an agent, this is closer to the concept than just talking to ChatGPT.  Access to targeted information, templates, and docs brings it much closer to a purpose-built function.

And it can all be built in plain English.  Sweet.

If you are looking for ideas on what to do with a new CLG GPT, here are a few relevant posts from our blog:

• Rethinking the Account Development Growth Model
• FAQ: CLG Metrics
• Practical Tips for Precision Customer Marketing Campaigns

Let’s get into it.

Give it mixed data

For purposes like designing campaigns, generating user personas, or identifying opportunities, custom GPTs function best when given access to both quantitative and qualitative data sets.

This is an old soapbox for me: LLMs really open the doors for marketing to embrace mixed-methods analysis.  With clean and compliant data sets, ChatGPT is great at digging through qualitative data like survey responses, call transcripts, and account notes.  This stuff is time-consuming and often subjective.

Link this with nice, objective, quantitative data about things like product adoption, usage, and churn, and your GPT gets a great grasp of the behavioral patterns and the context that triggers them.

Admittedly, this one is tough to activate.  Cleaning is the challenge here.  How much time this takes depends on the policies, volume, and types of data you are working with, but expect to spend a lot of the time on this part.  The good news is you don’t have to do this very often.

I imagine it is good to update this data on a regular interval (like yearly or 6 months depending on cycle length), but I haven’t gotten there yet.

Use the GPT to troubleshoot itself

This one was pretty fun.  Obviously you don’t want a front-facing GPT to reveal its inner workings, but while working internally on it, I find it is helpful to have it analyze its own actions.  More specifically, I found that if I built some troubleshooting specifications into the instructions, that was a great way to get to answers faster.

I would then go through my campaign strategist GPT.  Each time an answer was wrong or different, we would dig in together.  In fact, the most useful thing I found to do was to have the GPT write instructions for itself on how to reach and replicate the desired outcome.

It is a pretty meta thing to have it writing itself when the outcome is incorrect, but it makes sense.  Who knows you better than yourself?

You can also take this one step further and even have it optimize its own prompts and instructions.  Andy suggests this in his guide, and I found that to be an excellent tip.

Don’t have it make decks

Ok, this one I decided wasn’t worth the troubleshooting time.  Making decks seems like a low ROI activity.

A custom GPT can read decks and pull out information, but I have had a real bear of a time trying to get it to input information into a deck template.  Some solve must exist, but I have not found a time-efficient way to make it consistently produce a template-correct deck.  My lesson is to just avoid it altogether.

Technical difficulties aside, converting to the deck yourself is a good exercise to review the work that the GPT did.  It forces some critical thought. If you remove too many of these human checkpoints, things get real same-y, real fast.

Be specific in defining template usage

“Be specific” was something my high school teachers said when search engines were just getting started.  Some things never change.

Even though it struggles to fill out slide templates, it can still use templates quite effectively.  Specificity is important to effective usage.  For example, I want our GPT to put out information that is relevant to our campaign template, without going too far astray.  However, I don’t want it to make a deck since future users won’t know to expect it to mess that up somehow.  So I got specific, and now the responses are structured in a way that aligns with my needs, and are faster to be review-ready.

Give it supporting information

Think about what all you ultimately need from why you are using the GPT, and give it support documents.

For example, on a whim I fed our CMO’s Guide to Marketing Orchestration into the knowledge base of our Campaign Strategist GPT.  Now, when it spits out campaign strategy thoughts, it includes next steps that are aligned with our orchestration processes and workflows.  I did not ask for this, it just did it.

Operational documents are really solid adds to the knowledge base as the GPT will naturally look to connect the dots.

Here are some other ideas that will help get you further, faster:

1. High performing ad-creative. You could target this by customer segments, with ads named according to the segments they performed well in.
2. Project plan templates. This will help it suggest immediate next-steps.
3. Your org chart.  This helps it assign roles for next steps.  It misses the boat here sometimes, but it has gotten me more than halfway most times.
   1. You can specify that it assign next steps to a role rather than an individual, it does this pretty well.
4. Email/report templates if you want it to suggest points to add to your next QBR or whatever.

Conclusion

So there we go, 5 lessons I have learned from build custom GPTs to help with customer marketing.  Happy to talk through this with you, if you want to schedule a conversation please reach out to us.

The post Lessons from Structuring GPTs for Customer-Led Growth appeared first on Heinz Marketing.

The Cure for AI Brain: 7 Summer Reading Recs by Ann Handley

Ann masterfully points out the absurdity and nuance of how we’re navigating AI’s promise and pitfalls with a study that warns AI like ChatGPT might be making us lazier thinkers, while a US judge ruled that training AI on copyrighted books is fair use. How can you have it both ways?

The CMO’s Comeback: Aligning the C-Suite to Drive Customer-centric Growth From McKinsey.com

McKinsey analysts propose that repositioning the CMO as the “custodian of the customer” and forging tighter ties with the CEO and CFO can turn marketing from a cost center into a strategic growth engine. Who wouldn’t want to see this happen?

A B2B CMO’s Imperative To Drive Growth: Champion Revenue Process Transformation by Mavis Liew

B2B CMOs should check this out because it explains why sticking to old lead-focused playbooks just isn’t enough —and how shifting to manage full buying groups can really boost conversions and growth. This piece lays out some clear steps to actually make it happen. Music to my ears.

Nilesh Deo Of Omnissa: 5 Tips for Your B2B Marketing Strategy An Interview with Rachel Kline

Get practical, approachable advice—like thinking deeply about buyer roles, using AI to scale efficiency, and tailoring content to entire decision teams—to sharpen strategy and outpace competitors. #Classic

B2B Marketing Leaders Overhaul Strategy Amid Economic Pressure & AI Transformation From The B2B Marketer

Give this a read to see why almost every marketing leader out there is rethinking their strategy thanks to economic shifts, AI, and changing buyer habits. It’s full of ideas on how to realign teams, invest smarter in tech, and keep your go-to-market plan sharp in a fast-moving world. Get after it!

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for reading!  If you have B2B news sources you rely on we’d love to hear about them.  Please share them with us.  

The post B2B Reads: CMO & CLG, Driving Growth, Economic Uncertainty and The Cure for AI Brain appeared first on Heinz Marketing.

8 Best B2B Marketing Campaigns And What They Teach Us by Valerie O’Connor
This Filestage article showcases seven standout B2B marketing campaigns built on three core principles: idea-driven creativity, audience-centric storytelling, and multi-channel execution. Campaigns like HubSpot’s persona builder, IBM’s AI storytelling, and Salesforce’s Trailhead platform are highlighted in the article.

B2B Marketing Measurement Done Right by Christopher Van Mossevelde
This Funnel.io article emphasizes the importance of a centralized and automated marketing measurement strategy that consolidates cross-channel data, defines clear KPIs, and delivers insights through tailored dashboards, empowering B2B marketers to make informed, strategic decisions rather than drowning in vanity metrics.

How AI is Shaping B2B Marketing Recruitment by Lina Vaz
This B2B Marketing article highlights how AI is revolutionizing marketing recruitment, from intelligent sourcing and automated screening to predictive matching. It emphasizes that human judgment must remain central for assessing creativity, cultural fit, and ethics in hiring. It showcases real-world examples of AI scaling hiring efficiency and reducing bias, yet stresses the need for ongoing oversight to ensure fairness and maintain the human touch in selecting the right talent.

Report Finds B2B Marketing Shifting from Tactics to AI-Enabled Strategy by James Hickey
This Demand Gen Report article reveals a significant shift in B2B marketing, as 72% of CMOs now regard AI-driven campaigns as a top priority, reflecting a strategic move from tactical execution to AI-enabled approaches. With marketing budgets growing by 5–10% while teams remain lean, many organizations are reallocating budget toward AI and outsourcing in order to maximize ROI and scale with efficiency.

26 Best AI Marketing Tools I’m Using to Get Ahead in 2025 by Omid G
This article showcases a range of AI-powered marketing tools, organized by function. It includes creative generation (for content and visuals), ad optimization, social media automation, email personalization, analytics, and chat-based customer engagement.

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for reading!  If you have B2B news sources you rely on we’d love to hear about them.  Please share them with us.  

The post B2B Reads: Top AI Marketing Tools, Best B2B Marketing Campaigns, and Recruitment with AI appeared first on Heinz Marketing.

Innovative Ways to Transform Your B2B Sales Strategy by Cube Creative

This article explains how B2B sales prospecting has shifted to a digital-first approach, requiring sales teams to use advanced techniques like personalization, value-based selling, and AI-powered tools to effectively engage modern buyers who complete most of their research online.

Go-to-market Intelligence: The Future of B2B Sales by Joe Barron

GTM (Go-to-Market) intelligence combines clean B2B data, real-time buyer signals, and AI-powered automation to help sales and marketing teams identify in-market prospects, personalize outreach at scale, and drive faster revenue growth by replacing outdated, disconnected systems with unified, actionable insights.

The B2B Content Marketing Playbook: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore by Neil Patel

Most B2B content marketing fails because it lacks revenue focus. You need a strategic approach that starts with real buyer pain points, collaborates closely with sales teams, and regularly tests and optimizes content based on actual deal outcomes rather than vanity metrics.

7 B2B Marketing Ideas & Strategies (With Examples) by Tom Peyton

This blog presents 7 B2B marketing strategies from free (personalized outreach, blogging) to paid (summits, omnichannel campaigns). The key advice is to implement only one strategy at a time for at least 6 months rather than juggling multiple approaches.

Brand vs Demand: How to Balance Pipeline and Long-Term Growth in B2B Marketing by The B2B Playbook

Most B2B marketers are stuck in short-term “demand marketing” – chasing immediate MQLs and tweaking ads – instead of true demand generation that builds long-term brand awareness. This reactive approach eventually fails as costs rise and conversions drop, trapping marketers in a cycle of short-term wins without sustainable growth.

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for reading!  If you have B2B news sources you rely on we’d love to hear about them.  Please share them with us.  

The post B2B Reads: B2B Sales Strategy, Content Marketing, and GTM Intelligence appeared first on Heinz Marketing.

Best Email Marketing Tools for B2B Leads in 2025 by Konsyg

Email marketing remains one of the most cost-effective and high-impact ways to generate B2B leads. Review the best email marketing tools to understand which is best for your B2B email strategy.

The State of B2B Marketing in 2025: What’s Actually Working Right Now? by Kristavja Caci

This survey-based post from Surfer reveals that B2B marketers’ biggest pain point is visibility—not budgets—so SEO and content marketing are taking the lead as the most trusted channels. It also highlights how AI is a time-saving workhorse for lean teams, helping them output more without growing headcount.​

B2B marketing strategies: Strategies, trends, and insights for 2025 by Georgie Walsh

This post covers everything from the difference between B2B and B2C to B2B buyer behavior. The post stresses key tactics like thought leadership, ABM, first-party data, video, webinars, and a careful balance of AI vs. human trust.

From lead generation to revenue marketing: What every B2B CMO needs to know by iCrossing

​There’s a crucial shift in B2B marketing where leaders can no longer rely solely on stacking up MQLs and webinar signups—they must clearly connect marketing efforts to actual revenue. This article outlines a strategic framework that uses unified data, AI-driven touchpoints, and optimized customer journeys to turn marketing into a revenue-driving machine.​

Why Buyer-First Selling is the Future of B2B: Lessons from Humantic AI & CRO School by Amarpreet Kalkat, George Coudounaris, and Adem Manderovic

This article (and podcast) argues that buyers are now doing 70% of the work before sales even speak up, so it’s crucial to realign motion accordingly. It offers tactics like profiling your buyer, syncing with marketing, and using buyer-first tech (no AI crutches!) to build trust and relevance.​

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for reading!  If you have B2B news sources you rely on we’d love to hear about them.  Please share them with us.  

The post B2B Reads: Email Marketing, State of B2B Marketing, and Buyer-First Selling appeared first on Heinz Marketing.

The Who Cares Era by Dan Slinker
This one hits hard. Dan Sinker calls out the growing apathy in content creation—especially with AI churning out soulless copy. If you care about creating meaningful marketing (and not just checking a box), this is a thoughtful, motivating read on why real storytelling still matters.

Mastering the Art of the Cold Open in Storytelling by Ann Handley
You know that feeling when you open a blog or email and instantly feel drawn in? That’s the power of a killer cold open, and Ann Handley shows you exactly how to do it. This is a quick, actionable read that’ll help you hook your readers instantly—whether you’re creating content, emails, or even ad copy.

Breaking Silos: Why Sales and Marketing Must Align for CX-Driven Campaign Success by Shannon Majumdar

If you’re serious about aligning sales and marketing, start by agreeing on the numbers. This article makes the case that shared metrics—especially those tied to pipeline, conversion, and customer impact—are the glue that holds GTM teams together. Once the data’s aligned, you can focus on the workflows and messaging that create a seamless customer experience.

The New Dynamics of B2B Buying Behavior 2025 by Namita Tiwari

This article breaks down new Gartner research on how B2B buying is shifting—and spoiler: your old playbook probably isn’t cutting it anymore. Buyers expect a more personalized, trust-driven experience, and they’re spending way more time in self-guided research before ever talking to sales. If you’re still relying on traditional nurture tracks or one-size-fits-all messaging, this is your cue to rethink how you’re meeting buyers in today’s landscape.

Marketing’s Credibility Crunch: How CMOs Can Prove Their Strategic Value on ADMA

This article is a must-read if you’re a CMO who’s ever felt misunderstood—or undervalued—by your peers in finance or the C-suite. Based on Gartner research, it reveals that only 27% of CEOs and CFOs think CMOs are exceeding expectations. If you want to close that gap, this piece makes a compelling case for shifting your metrics from activity-based to outcome-based, so you’re speaking the language of revenue, retention, and real business impact.

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for reading!  If you have B2B news sources you rely on we’d love to hear about them.  Please share them with us.  

The post B2B Reads: AI Prompts and Addiction, Growth Tactics, LLM SEO, and More appeared first on Heinz Marketing.

B2B Marketing Prompt Library by Andy Crestodina
The always excellent Andy Crestodina presents his work on a prompt library. This excellent resource is a great read for those of us looking to explore building our own GPTs and workflows.

Confessions of an AI Addict by Tim Metz
Ok, so maybe it isn’t strictly B2B, but as we dig in to using AI to augment everything, it is important to stay grounded. This post helped us remind ourselves how to keep our heads on straight.

Growth Tactics from OpenAI and Stripe’s first marketer | Krithika Shankarraman by Lenny Rachitsky
Lessons from some high powered folks. Not so much a read as a listen, but still well worth the time. Lenny does a great interview.

LLM SEO: 8 honest tips for how I rank high in AI search by Omid G
A year ago, we had a discussion about “AIO” as a likely new angle for marketing (just like SEO). A year later, and here we are. While still a frontier, it is worth thinking about how people may come to find you in AI tools. Next, we need to think about how people convert out of AI, if at all. While you are at it, check out his APTK framework.

How tech workers really feel about work right now by Noam Segal and Lenny Rachitsky
Another of Lenny’s posts, but it is important. For many of us, tech workers are our customers. For even more, they are our friends. Empathy is a crucial part of being a human (not just being a marketer). At the very least, this will help you know where your customers are at, but I hope you find some catharsis in here, too.

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for reading!  If you have B2B news sources you rely on we’d love to hear about them.  Please share them with us.  

The post B2B Reads: AI Prompts and Addiction, Growth Tactics, LLM SEO, and More appeared first on Heinz Marketing.

Mastering B2B Sales In 2025: From Proven Strategies To Future Trends by Besnik Vrellaku, Forbes Business Council

With sales teams facing rising expectations and compressed buying cycles, staying relevant means rethinking strategy. This article breaks down the proven tactics that are still working in 2025—like deep customer listening and intent-based selling—alongside newer shifts like tighter RevOps alignment and AI-enhanced personalization.

The New B2B Marketing Playbook: What’s Working In 2025 by Kelly Starman, Forbes Councils Member

In 2025, top B2B marketers are reengineering their strategies by deeply integrating AI—not just to automate tasks, but to transform how they analyze performance, engage audiences, and outpace competitors in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Success now hinges on pairing this AI-driven precision with disciplined budget optimization and a sharp eye on emerging consumer trends, turning uncertainty into a competitive advantage.

In B2B, It’s Brand or Bust by Digge Zettenberg-Odh

Procurement, finance, and legal teams— sometimes overlooked in B2B marketing—heavily rely on brand familiarity to evaluate risk and vendor reliability. Inconsistencies in messaging, design, or tone across touchpoints can damage credibility and quietly push your company out of the consideration set.

The Disappearing Divide: Why B2B And B2C Marketing Are Starting To Look A Lot Alike by Kobi Ben-Meir

B2B and B2C marketing are merging—and it’s changing everything. B2B marketers are adopting tactics like personalized content, influencer partnerships, and short-form video to better engage real people behind buying decisions. Meanwhile, B2C brands are focusing more on long-term relationship-building—blurring the line between the two and reshaping what modern marketing looks like.

‘Embrace the change or get left behind’: Inside the rise of B2B influencers by Amrit Virdi

B2B influencer marketing is accelerating as brands tap into credible voices to reach niche audiences with authenticity and relevance. No longer a nice-to-have, influencer partnerships are now a strategic tool for building trust, humanizing brands, and driving high-value engagement across the funnel.

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for reading! If you have B2B news sources you rely on we’d love to hear about them. Please share them with us.

The post B2B Reads: AI Strategy, Sales Agility, Brand Trust, and Influencer Momentum appeared first on Heinz Marketing.

20 Challenges B2B Companies Face In Scaling (And How To Overcome Them) by Expert Panel®, Forbes Councils Member

Scaling a B2B company isn’t just about growing bigger—it’s about growing smarter. Many businesses hit roadblocks like messy internal processes, misaligned sales and marketing teams, and outdated tech stacks that slow everything down. The good news? With the right strategies—like streamlining operations, aligning your teams, and investing in scalable tech—you can overcome these challenges and set your company up for sustainable growth.

How SMS Marketing Will Rebuild Trust and Drive Engagement for B2B Brands by Josh Rosenheck

SMS marketing is evolving from basic transactional messages to a more engaging, trust-building channel for B2B brands. Instead of spamming users with generic texts, companies are now focusing on sending meaningful, personalized messages that foster genuine connections. By balancing automation with a human touch and delivering real value, SMS can become a powerful tool for deepening customer relationships and boosting long-term loyalty.

Navigating The Future: Adapting To B2B Sales Disruption by Forrester

B2B sales are undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the integration of AI and automation, which are reshaping how companies interact with buyers. Sales teams are moving away from traditional methods, embracing smarter, faster, and more adaptive approaches that align with the evolving expectations of modern buyers.

Customer Loyalty in the Experience Economy — the CMO’s Perspective by Ian Truscott

In today’s experience-driven economy, B2B marketers are shifting focus from merely acquiring new customers to nurturing existing relationships, especially as SaaS models make it easier for clients to switch providers. Building strong brand loyalty involves engaging all users—not just decision-makers—through consistent, positive experiences that foster trust and advocacy. By aligning marketing efforts across the entire customer journey, companies can enhance retention and drive sustainable growth.

AI in B2B Marketing: Connecting Adtech and Martech for Full-Funnel Growth by StackAdapt

B2B marketers are increasingly turning to AI to bridge the gap between adtech and martech, aiming for a seamless, full-funnel marketing experience. By breaking down data silos, AI enables real-time personalization, smarter targeting, and dynamic campaign adjustments across various channels. This integration not only enhances customer engagement but also provides clearer insights into ROI, making marketing efforts more efficient and effective.

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for reading! If you have B2B news sources you rely on we’d love to hear about them. Please share them with us.

The post B2B Reads: Customer Loyalty, Scaling Challenges and Sales Disruption, SMS Marketing and More! appeared first on Heinz Marketing.