2026 Is a Reset Year for B2B Marketing—Here’s What That Really Means

Let’s be honest: B2B marketing has felt harder than it should. 

Budgets are tighter, buying groups are bigger, and decision-makers are doing more research on their own—often without ever filling out a form or clicking a link. At the same time, AI is reshaping how discovery happens, while pressure to prove real business impact has never been higher. 

If it feels like the old playbook isn’t delivering the way it used to, you’re not imagining it. Our newest survey conducted on behalf of The Harris Poll to better understand how B2B marketers are responding to these shifts confirmed what many teams are experiencing firsthand: this isn’t about chasing the next shiny tactic—it’s about recalibrating. Marketers are returning to the fundamentals like brand, trust, and loyalty, while using AI and data more intentionally to influence complex buying decisions and drive measurable outcomes. 

That research, combined with what we’re seeing across the market, points to one clear conclusion: 2026 is a reset year for B2B marketing—not because everything is broken, but because the environment has fundamentally changed. The following five trends are shaping what comes next. Together, these shifts redefine how trust is built, how strategy is executed, how influence is earned, how attention is captured, and how performance is measured in an AI-first buying environment.

1. Brand, Loyalty, and Trust Are Back—and They’re Now Revenue Drivers 

As buyers self-educate earlier and independently, brand trust and familiarity now determine shortlist inclusion—making brand a measurable driver of revenue, not an abstract investment. 

For years, brand was treated as a “nice to have” while performance marketing carried the weight of revenue. But that distinction is now collapsing. As buying groups grow and members conduct more independent research, brand, loyalty, and trust are no longer soft metrics—they’re decisive commercial advantages. 

Consider today’s buyer research behaviors. Decision-makers now conduct extensive research independently, often long before sales engagement. They consume content asynchronously, across channels and moments that sit well outside traditional demand paths. In this environment, trust is no longer built in a single interaction. Instead, trust accumulates over time through repeated exposure, consistency, and credible signals. 

That shift—from guided sales engagement to self-directed buyer discovery—is forcing marketers to rethink growth. Scale alone is no longer enough in a crowded marketplace flooded with information. When discovery happens independently, familiarity and trust determine who makes the shortlist. 

Our Harris Poll research reflects this recalibration. Nearly half of marketing leaders plan to prioritize customer experience and retention in 2026 (45%), while 43% are doubling down on brand building and long-term differentiation. These investments acknowledge a critical truth: when buyers self-educate early, the brands they recognize and trust gain a meaningful advantage. 

In crowded markets where products look increasingly similar, buyers default to what feels credible, familiar, and low risk. The brands that win aren’t just the loudest or the most targeted—they’re the ones buyers already trust before a sales conversation ever begins. 

What This Means in Practice 

• Brands must show up earlier—and more consistently—across the buying journey. High-performing teams are investing in always-on brand presence across channels buyers actually pay attention to—audio, connected TV (CTV), high-quality sponsorships, and trusted media environments—so they’re shaping perception long before demand is declared. 
• Loyalty extends beyond individuals to buying groups. With more stakeholders influencing decisions, loyalty is being built with entire buying committees—not just champions. That means messaging designed to resonate across roles, functions, and levels, reinforcing a shared narrative rather than role-specific point solutions alone. 
• Trust is operationalized through proof, not promises. Marketers are leaning into customer validation, third-party research, and credibility signals (analyst perspectives, earned media, peer benchmarks) to reduce perceived risk and accelerate consensus within buying groups. 

Tactical Implications for 2026 

In 2026, brand, loyalty, and trust aren’t abstract concepts—they’re force multipliers for revenue. The teams that recognize this are building advantage before the buying journey even begins. 

• Shift from campaign bursts to sustained presence: Prioritize always-on brand programs that complement demand efforts rather than competing with them. 
• Design account-based marketing (ABM) programs around perception, not just engagement: Measure lift in awareness, consideration, and account-level trust alongside pipeline impact. 
• Integrate brand signals into performance measurement: Track how brand exposure influences downstream conversion, deal velocity, and win rates. 
• Invest in credibility at scale: Use research, audio, and premium placements to build authority in environments buyers trust.

2. AI Adoption Is No Longer a Differentiator. Execution Is.

AI is now core marketing infrastructure—but competitive advantage comes from disciplined execution, governance, and human accountability, not adoption speed. 

AI doesn’t just sit alongside marketing strategy—it operates inside it. More than half of marketing decision-makers (55%) surveyed by our Harris Poll believe AI will reshape both the development and execution of marketing strategy, signaling a fundamental shift in how strategy itself functions. 

Marketing plans are becoming adaptive systems rather than static documents. AI enables teams to interpret intent signals in real time, dynamically adjust messaging, continuously optimize channels, and proactively shift budgets. Strategy behaves less like a calendar and more like an operating system. 

But as AI scales, so does risk. 

Industry data shows rising legal exposure, reputational harm, and operational risk tied to ungoverned AI use. Forrester reports that more than four in 10 marketing and sales leaders say their AI efforts have increased legal investigations or litigation in the past year, while a quarter cite reputational harm tied to AI-driven decisions. Adoption has outpaced accountability—and the consequences are becoming harder to ignore. 

The next phase of AI maturity won’t be defined by speed, but by discipline. The strongest organizations will embed AI across strategy, execution, and measurement while ensuring humans remain accountable for outcomes. 

What This Means in Practice 

• AI is embedded into how strategy is built, executed, and optimized. High-performing teams are using AI to interpret intent signals in real time, dynamically adjust messaging and channel mix, and continuously optimize performance—treating strategy as a living system rather than a static plan. 
• Decision-making shifts from planning cycles to continuous orchestration.
  Instead of relying on fixed calendars and quarterly plans, marketers are using AI to proactively shift budgets, sequences, and experiences based on live buyer behavior and emerging signals. 
• Accountability becomes a leadership mandate, not a technical one.
  As AI influences revenue-driving decisions, organizations are establishing clear ownership, governance, and human oversight to ensure outcomes—not just outputs—remain accountable. 

Tactical Implications for 2026 

In 2026, the real competitive advantage isn’t intelligence—it’s accountability at scale. 

• Treat AI as core marketing infrastructure: Move beyond pilots and point solutions by embedding AI directly into strategy, activation, and measurement workflows. 
• Define clear human accountability: Establish governance models that clarify where AI recommends, where humans decide, and who ultimately owns outcomes and risk. 
• Shift measurement from activity to impact: Replace volume-based ABM KPIs with outcome-driven metrics that AI can continuously optimize against, including account progression and revenue contribution. 
• Operationalize AI across the organization: Align marketing, RevOps, legal, and IT around shared standards for responsible, accountable AI-powered decision-making. 

3. Zero-Click Discovery Makes Influence More Important Than Visibility

As AI-mediated discovery reduces clicks, brands win not by driving traffic but by shaping perception through authority, consistency, and third-party credibility. 

As AI-powered search, assistants, and recommendation engines reshape how buyers gather information, clicks are becoming optional. An estimated 60% of Google searches now end without a click, and Gartner predicts generative AI will reduce organic search traffic by 50% in the coming years. 

In these zero-click environments, influence outweighs exposure. Being present is table stakes; being trusted, cited, and reinforced by credible third parties determines whether a brand advances—or disappears—from consideration.  

That’s why marketers are rethinking how authority is built. Earned media, analyst relations, influencer credibility, and content designed to be surfaced and summarized by AI systems are becoming strategic growth levers—not just PR tactics. 

At the same time, generative AI has democratized content creation, increasing speed and scale—but also risk. Without coordination and narrative control, brands risk fragmenting their message precisely when consistency matters most. 

What This Means in Practice 

• Visibility alone no longer guarantees buyer impact. In zero-click environments where AI summarizes, recommends, and cites information, brands win not by driving traffic—but by shaping perception wherever discovery happens. 
• Influence is built through trusted third parties, not owned channels alone. High-performing teams are investing in earned media, analyst validation, influencer credibility, and authoritative content designed to be surfaced and referenced by AI-powered discovery systems. 
• Narrative consistency becomes a competitive advantage. As content creation accelerates, marketers are prioritizing coordinated messaging across paid, owned, and earned efforts to ensure buyers encounter a cohesive, reinforcing story—no matter where discovery occurs. 

Tactical Implications for 2026 

In zero-click discovery, perception is shaped by what AI surfaces about you, not what you publish most often. The brands that win will treat influence as a system, not a campaign. 

• Prioritize authority-building channels: Invest in analysts, trusted media, and industry influencers that shape perception and visibility within AI-mediated discovery environments. 
• Design content for AI consumption: Create assets that are readable, referenceable, and quotable by AI systems—not just optimized for clicks or rankings. 
• Coordinate narrative across channels: Align paid, owned, and earned efforts around a single, consistent story to prevent fragmentation as content scales. 
• Measure influence, not just exposure: Evaluate success through share of influence and downstream impact rather than traffic, impressions, or surface-level engagement. 

4. Audio and CTV Turn Brand Building into a Measurable Performance Lever

For years, channels like audio and CTV were viewed as upper-funnel awareness plays. In 2026, that perception changes. Audio and CTV convert brand exposure into measurable performance by building memory and familiarity in high-attention moments that directly influence downstream demand. 

As buyers fragment across platforms and discovery moves beyond screens, B2B brands are rethinking where and how they show up. Audio and CTV reach buyers during high-attention moments—commutes, workouts, travel, and lean-back viewing—that traditional digital channels often miss. 

These channels matter more in an AI-driven discovery environment. When clicks disappear and feeds flood with low-quality content, memory and familiarity become performance drivers. Repeated, high-attention exposure builds recall and trust—even when no immediate action is taken. 

Budgets are already shifting in response. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, 36% of advertisers planning to increase CTV spend say they will redirect dollars from social as they recognize their ability to reinforce brand authority and drive downstream demand when integrated with intent data and ABM activation. 

In 2026, audio and CTV aren’t experimental—they’re essential. 

What This Means in Practice 

• Brand presence shifts to high-attention moments buyers can’t skip. Leading teams are investing in audio and CTV to reach buyers during commutes, workouts, travel, and lean-back viewing—moments where attention is higher and competition is lower. 
• Memory and familiarity drive downstream performance. In an AI-mediated, low-click environment, repeated exposure in trusted, high-quality channels builds recall and confidence—making buyers more receptive when intent signals emerge. 
• Upper-funnel channels are integrated into performance systems. Rather than operating in isolation, audio and CTV are increasingly tied to intent data, ABM activation, and ABM measurement frameworks that connect brand exposure to pipeline and revenue impact. 

Tactical Implications for 2026 

Brand building is no longer separate from performance—it fuels it. In environments where buyers research privately and AI mediates discovery, being remembered and recognized directly influences consideration and conversion. Audio and CTV provide scalable ways to create those memory structures—especially when aligned with account-based strategies. 

• Reach buyers in high-attention moments: Invest in audio and CTV to engage audiences during commutes, workouts, travel, and lean-back viewing—where attention is higher and competition lower. 
• Tie brand exposure to performance: Integrate audio and CTV campaigns with intent data, ABM activation, and downstream measurement to connect awareness with pipeline and revenue. 
• Reinforce memory and trust: Use repeated, high-quality impressions to build familiarity, credibility, and confidence before demand signals emerge. 
• Elevate upper-funnel channels to strategic levers: Treat audio and CTV not as experimental awareness plays but as integral components of the performance marketing ecosystem. 

5. Precision Replaces Scale in Engagement and Measurement

The final shift reshaping 2026 is a move away from indiscriminate reach toward precision-driven engagement. In complex, non-linear buying journeys, performance is defined by precision—engaging the right accounts at the right moments and measuring impact through progression and revenue, not volume. 

As buying groups grow more complex and journeys become less linear, success is no longer defined by volume. It’s defined by relevance—reaching the right accounts, roles, and moments with intent. 

Modern data infrastructure enables this precision. Intent signals, engagement patterns, and account-level insights allow marketers to design experiences based on real buying activity, not assumed stages or static personas. 

Measurement must evolve alongside engagement. Metrics built for linear journeys—impressions, clicks, marketing qualified leads (MQLs)—fall short in a zero-click, multi-stakeholder world. In 2026, performance is measured by influence, progression, and revenue impact, not raw volume. 

The strongest marketing teams will operate as learning systems—continuously optimizing based on real signals and outcomes. 

What This Means in Practice 

• Relevance replaces volume as the primary success metric. As buying groups grow and journeys fragment, marketers are focusing on reaching the right accounts, roles, and moments—rather than maximizing reach or lead volume. 
• Engagement is designed around real buying activity, not assumed journeys. High-performing teams are using intent signals and account-level insights to tailor experiences dynamically, moving beyond static personas and linear funnels. 
• Measurement evolves from activity to impact. Instead of impressions, clicks, and MQLs, marketers are prioritizing account progression, influence, and revenue contribution—aligning marketing performance directly to business outcomes. 

Tactical Implications for 2026 

Marketing effectiveness is no longer about doing more—it’s about doing less, better. Precision enables teams to focus effort where it matters most, while measurement connects engagement directly to business outcomes. 

• Design experiences around real buyer behavior: Use intent signals and account-level insights to dynamically tailor messaging, moving beyond static personas and linear journeys. 
• Align activation with intent signals: Use real-time behavior data to trigger personalized campaigns at the precise moments buyers are researching solutions. 
• Measure outcomes, not activity: Evaluate performance through account progression, influence, and revenue contribution instead of clicks, impressions, or MQLs. 
• Continuously optimize at scale: Build a learning system that adjusts strategies in near real time based on emerging signals, ensuring precision drives measurable results. 

From Trends to Transformation 

2026 will be a defining year for B2B marketing. 

The brands that win won’t abandon the basics. They’ll elevate them by combining trust, accountability, influence, and precision with AI-powered execution. They’ll treat marketing not as a collection of tactics, but as a living system that adapts as buyer behavior evolves. 

Download 2026 B2B Marketing Outlook: Reinventing What Works in an AI-First World for a deeper dive into these trends and to see what the reset year means for your strategy.