Think like a human, not like a lemming
Over recent years, many B2B marketers have fallen into the trap of always chasing the latest new tool (hello AI), trialing the ‘greatest’ new strategy (think GenAI content), or grasping at the never-ending expansion of martech (enter chatbot responses). Time to stop and think!
We aren’t saying AI won’t continue to reshape the B2B marketing landscape, or that cultural and political influences won’t change how consumers see brands. But these are just tools – not ends in themselves.
A fresh look on the marketing fundamentals
Recently, marketing has centered around algorithms, AI, and data optimizations, leaving behind pillars that remind B2B marketers of their real role – building connections, filling the sales funnel. But no more! There’s a new love language to building connections, and marketing pros need to catch up!
Enter the relearning of marketing fundamentals, and here are the top ones that will reign supreme heading into 2026:
- Not clicks or bounce backs – relationships start with real connections
The premise of knowing your customers has become slightly confused over recent years. Now, many B2B marketers look at click-through rates, bounce backs, and lead conversions. But what happened to building a deeper, authentic connection with your customers, and understanding why they care or choose your brand?
B2B marketers in 2026 need to treat their customer relationships like a friendship, connections won’t be judged by the number of messages they send, but rather by the emotional connection. The same must apply here, after all, customers are humans too, so building a heartfelt connection is key. It’s important to tap into emotional appeal, understand the different buying personas, be consistent with your content delivery, and use brand values as the key to a successful relationship – it’s all part of building your brand equity and understanding the customer value.
- In a busy B2B landscape, it’s time to reconnect with your brand’s roots
The amount of paid content on our screens is on the rise, and over 80% of B2B marketers are using paid channels to distribute content – but is this what customers want to see? No, they want authentic and credible content, and this starts with knowing your brand!
B2B marketers not only need to know their brand, but they also need to revisit their brand’s story – the belief system that informs everything from how they innovate to how they present themselves. Once an understanding of the brand story has been established, it needs to become a key part of a company’s content strategy, it’s what turns a brand’s UVP into reality. Customers want to know more than just what the brand is selling, they want to understand what a brand stands for, especially in the B2B world, with the emergence of larger buying groups, including the hidden buyer.
- Build muscle memory through content consistency
In today’s digital era, we hear lots about SEO in B2B marketing, but what about revisiting the oldest search engine, the human brain? Before entering any online search, a B2B customer’s mind will have already performed an off-the-top-of-the-head search. The aim for B2B marketers is to build muscle memory in the mind of the customer.
Mental cues are crucial, much like keywords in SEO, when they are connected mentally with a brand, they trigger a recall of the brand in the customer’s mind. These cues can be established through industry pain points and how a product or solution can resolve them.
Once these have been established, then comes the consistency aspect, remember signal theory? The pattern and frequency of a brand’s content and messaging will build muscle memory and repeatedly refresh mental cues. Consistent delivery of thought leadership in different places can provide a steady stream of brand messages to the customer, and the more a brand is seen, the more trustworthy and recognizable it becomes.
- With great collaboration comes great creativity
People are trusting other people more now than ever before, and we discussed this recently from a media perspective. But what about from a B2B marketing perspective, how can marketers gain customers’ trust? The answer is very much the same, collaboration has and always will be key, but now it’s time to be creative with it.
Creativity in B2B marketing is no longer a soft brand value, it is essential to turn leads into customers and build trust. When it comes to creative collaboration in B2B marketing, there is a plethora of options, whether it’s tapping into subject matter experts and their longstanding industry experience, exploring the world of influencer marketing and their established industry respect, or utilizing customer case studies to demonstrate how a product has helped a customer overcome an industry problem or achieve a goal.
Going back to basics in 2026
In a time when everyone is chasing the latest tactic, technology, and tool, the B2B marketers that pause to take a breath and realize the latest doesn’t always mean the greatest, and who instead start to think and relearn the fundamentals of marketing will prosper in 2026.
Whether it’s knowing your customer, knowing your brand, being consistent, or being creative, these are all key pillars that are routed in the foundations of marketing that will keep us on a steady path in an ever-shifting B2B marketing landscape!
Sam Walker is PR Executive at IBA International.
