B2B CMOs Discuss AI Marketing Strategies

At HubSpot's INBOUND conference, B2B marketing strategies were highlighted as needing to evolve with the rise of large language models. Chief marketers from G2, Notion, and Deloitte emphasized the importance of brand marketing and the benefits of AI experimentation.

Historically, B2B companies viewed brand marketing as less critical, but recent studies show that most buyers now research products on AI platforms, making consistent brand messaging more urgent. Sydney Sloan, CMO of G2, stressed the need for brands to play a larger role.

Lena Waters, CMO of Notion, noted that buyer decision-making is emotional, highlighting the significant role of brand. Suzanne Kounkel, Global CMO at Deloitte, discussed the evolving role of owned content and how websites must offer new functions to users.

Panelists emphasized the importance of acclimating teams to new AI tools. Deloitte has found AI useful for speeding up content creation, a necessary move. A study by SAS and Coleman-Parkes shows many marketing decision-makers plan to invest in AI agents, but few are actively testing them.

When implementing AI agents, marketers should use the appropriate level for each task, ranging from simple copilots to complex systems. AI agents can serve as 'teammates' for marketing teams, helping to create workflows and achieve outcomes.