B2B marketing moves quickly, and each year brings its own challenges, innovations, and changes. As 2025 approaches, we’re seeing more shifts on the horizon, all of which can help B2B marketers achieve more success. But to shape the right marketing strategies, you need to understand what the future looks like—and how you can blend your intelligence with the right tools to get the best results for your brand. That’s why we’ve done the research, reviewed the data, and broken down the biggest B2B marketing trends of 2025 that you need to know about.
The Top B2B Marketing Trends of 2025
In 2025, true success will come to marketers who know how to build the right strategies, infuse AI into their marketing operations, and nurture their entire marketing ecosystem. That said, these are the top trends you should adopt if you want to stay ahead of the game.
1) Do less content—but better.
Too many B2B marketers are trapped in a cycle of content creation, focusing more on production than actual results.
As Robert Rose of the Content Marketing Institute says, “Many marketing challenges are caused by institutional momentum. One company I worked with created 250 PDFs for thought leadership in a year — only 63 of them earned more than 20 downloads. Teams increasingly focus on task-based outputs rather than meaningful outcomes.”
Now that Google’s AI Overview has taken a toll on SEO, it might be time to reimagine your content approach by producing less content—but content that provides more value.
Tip: To realign your content strategy, re-examine your brand heart (aka purpose, vision, mission, values), ensure your core messaging is aligned, and focus on creating stronger, more valuable content that converts.
2) Increase personalization with generative AI.
Personalization can drastically reduce your customer acquisition cost, making it easier to attract and convert your audience.
According to McKinsey research, good personalization can lift revenues by up to 15% and increase marketing ROI by up to 30%.
New AI tools make it even easier to generate personalized content, automate lead scoring, and gather insight from predictive analytics. In 2025, tailoring your marketing messages to your audience’s individual preferences will become more sophisticated, especially with the help of AI.
Tip: From email campaigns to social media insights, there are so many ways you can incorporate personalization into your marketing operation. See our roundup of 50 AI tools to boost your efforts, and see our guide to create a more personalized email marketing experience with AI.
3) Pursue account-based marketing (ABM).
With marketers being asked to do more with less and budgets tightening, there is a renewed focus on ABM efforts, supported by AI tools. By targeting fewer accounts with a higher value, you can better align marketing and sales, allocate resources, and focus your efforts on generating the highest ROI.
Not only does this strategy increase conversions but it also allows you to build stronger relationships with decision-makers—helping you increase sales even more.
According to Forrester, 75% of marketers say ABM improves upselling and crosselling opportunities thanks to account-specific insights.
Tip: Focus 80% of your efforts on the top 20% of your accounts (according to your ICPs and account scores). For that 20%, use highly personalized and highly targeted outreach.
4) Get first-party data.
With privacy regulations tightening and third-party cookies on the decline, prioritize first-party data (aka information collected directly from customers through owned channels like websites, apps, and email). First-party data offers a compliant and reliable way to deliver personalized experiences while building direct, trusted relationships with your customers.
According to a study by Twilio Segment, 82% of marketers report that first-party data strategies drive better customer engagement.
Tip: To make the most of this shift, invest in tools like customer data platforms (CDPs) to centralize and activate your data. Provide high-value content (e.g., gated content, webinars, or personalized resources) to encourage prospects to willingly share their information.
5) Use a hybrid customer engagement model.
While digital channels are always important to maintain brand awareness, face-to-face interactions at trade shows, conferences, and events are vital to build trust and grow relationships.
Adopting a hybrid model can help you strengthen your efforts on both fronts. (Note: Focusing on doing less but better also helps free up resources to strengthen key areas of this model.)
Tip: For digital marketing, refine campaigns to target high-value accounts with personalized content. For in-person efforts, invest in hosting or attending smaller, more intimate events that encourage meaningful conversations. (This may also include webinars or online panels, which still allow for client face-time.) By integrating the two, you can create a cohesive strategy that enhances engagement, builds relationships, and drives results.
6) Take advantage of LinkedIn video.
Video content has been one of the biggest B2B marketing trends for years, but we’re not just talking about things like traditional explainers. Vertical video on LinkedIn is one of the best ways to share thought leadership and connect with B2B buyers. Brands that take advantage will notably boost their reach.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, 76% of B2B marketers are using video in their content strategy in 2025.
Tip: Video can include a lot of moving parts, so you want to make sure you’re covered. Download our free Content Marketer’s Guide to Brand Video, and get inspired by how other brands are putting video to work (including these 10 clickworthy SaaS videos that got our attention).
7) Craft deeper human thought leadership.
AI-generated content has also been one of the top B2B marketing trends in the last two years, but that tsunami of content has prompted an understandable backlash. People are increasingly skeptical of AI-generated thought leadership, as it tends to be unoriginal fluff that offers very little insight or interesting perspective.
If AI can write your thought leadership, it’s not good thought leadership.
People crave authentic content from real people’s experiences, so if you want your thought leadership to resonate, you need to infuse it with as much personality, perspective, and credibility as possible.
Tip: Use internal or external data to validate claims, chat with industry experts to get fresh perspectives, or share lessons from your own experience. Your other team members can be a great source of ideas, expertise, and inspiration. Find out how to turn your team into content creators.
8) Help executives build their personal brands.
Your company’s brand used to be the only thing that mattered to buyers. But now, leaders’ personal brands matter just as much—if not more. Frankly, buyers trust people much more than corporate social accounts (again, due to the proliferation of AI-generated content coming from company accounts). In this era, your CEO’s LinkedIn or podcast is a powerful tool for authenticity and transparency.
According to Edelman, 82% of people are more likely to trust a company whose CEO is active on social media.
Leaders who share their expertise, values, and vision online don’t just build their own credibility—they amplify their company’s authority, too.
Tip: As you build out your 2025 strategy, look for more ways to put your leadership front and center. Build them an editorial calendar, get them on podcasts, or host a few webinars to increase their visibility and cultivate trust.
9) Use micro-campaigns.
Micro-campaigns are a great way to increase precision and maximize your ROI. This approach enables you to strategically focus resources on opportunities with the highest potential impact—and create a scalable, repeatable playbook for success in the process.
Tip: Use AI tools like Clay for dynamic list generation, then you can build campaigns that leverage specific filtering criteria—such as funding signals, tech stack changes, or competitor displacement opportunities—to identify prospects at critical decision-making moments. This ensures your outreach aligns perfectly with their needs, increasing the likelihood of engagement.
10) Use chatbots and conversational marketing
As marketers look for more ways to incorporate personalization, chatbots and conversational marketing will become more common. Whether you’re using AI tools to engage with prospects, answer questions, resolve issues, qualify leads, or provide product recommendations, you can drastically enhance your buyer’s experience. And as the tech evolves, the experience will only continue to improve.
Tip: See Zapier’s roundup of the best chatbots to figure out which tools are right for you.
How to Win in 2025
No matter your industry, the best thing you can do as a B2B marketer is focus on strategy and education.
- Get your content strategy right. Use our free content strategy toolkit to ensure you have a well-documented strategy that keeps your whole team aligned.
- Prepare for the new year the right way. Find out what you can do now to create better results next year.
- Stay up-to-date on the latest B2B marketing trends and best practices. Start by subscribing to Column Five’s Best Story Wins podcast, where we interview industry pros about the ways they’re winning hearts, minds, and market share.
And if you know you’re going to need more support in 2025, focus on finding the right partner. See our tips to find an agency with the right expertise, or learn more about working with us. Either way, we hope your next year is your best year yet.
