The B2B buying process is transforming rapidly. Buyers are making decisions before engaging with sales teams, with 81% selecting vendors without direct contact. Marketers face growing demands to guide complex buying networks, empower informed decisions, and adapt to AI’s role in purchasing. The message from Forrester’s 2025 B2B Summit in Phoenix, Arizona, was clear: marketers must evolve to meet these challenges.
BtransposeB expert Katie Martell and Informa TechTarget’s Dara Such discussed the summit’s key insights, focusing on shifting buyer expectations and the conditions reshaping marketing strategies. Below are three critical takeaways to apply now and in the future.
1. From Buying Groups to Buying Networks
The B2B purchasing process has become more autonomous, with buyers self-educating to gain confidence before engaging vendors. Decisions now involve expansive networks—suppliers, procurement teams, competitors, colleagues, and beyond traditional stakeholders. A new player, AI, is also shaping decisions. Tools like generative AI and chatbots assist buyers in researching vendors and defining requirements during the RFP process.
While AI brings efficiency, marketers must ensure their content is discoverable and trustworthy. Human oversight remains vital to verify AI-generated results. Trust is earned through clear, value-driven, human-centric messaging that highlights business impact beyond features. Effective content positions brands to reach buyers early, as influence often happens before formal vendor engagement. The challenge is building a discoverable, credible brand from the outset.
2. Empower Buyers, Don’t Just Chase Leads
Marketers can’t rely on direct access to buyers early in the process. Instead, they must enable buyers to make confident decisions through third-party validation, robust content, and consistent messaging. The traditional focus on Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) is no longer enough. Buyers self-educate via platforms like LinkedIn, ChatGPT, or research reports, forming conclusions before sales outreach. Marketers must act as educators, delivering credible insights across touchpoints.
To align with buyer behavior, marketing and sales should integrate MQLs with signals like intent data, third-party site activity, and competitive engagement. Despite buyer-led research, Forrester notes 81% of buyers remain dissatisfied with their chosen vendor. Pre-purchase enablement is critical, but post-sale value realization and customer success strategies are equally important. True customer obsession extends beyond the sale to ensure long-term success.
3. AI as a Strategic Partner
AI is not a replacement for marketers or sales teams but a powerful ally, akin to basketball’s “Sixth Man of the Year.” It’s reshaping how buyers discover, evaluate, and decide, with 1–3% of referral traffic already coming from generative AI tools. Experts predict a decline in direct vendor traffic as AI becomes a primary entry point. Buyers use tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft CoPilot to explore options, compare features, and identify solutions—often before vendors are aware.
This shift demands that marketers equip sales teams with compelling value propositions tailored to informed buyers. Today’s buyers are more knowledgeable, accessing content independently. Without preparation, sales reps risk being outpaced by buyers’ understanding of their own products. Marketers must:
- Optimize content for AI discovery, beyond traditional SEO.
- Provide sales teams with insights like intent data to meet buyer expectations.
- Deliver accurate, differentiated messaging to fuel AI tools.
Winning Through Trust and Enablement
Success in B2B marketing now hinges on relevance, trust, and enabling buyers at every stage. The most effective brands will embrace AI as a partner, engage diverse buying networks, and prioritize building buyer confidence over mere conversions. By adapting to these shifts, marketers can drive revenue growth and long-term customer success.
