The rules of B2B demand generation are shifting fast. After our live session Building Better Demand Gen: What Leading B2B Brands Do Differently, we asked our audience to share the questions that matter most to them right now, from AI in B2B marketing to data transparency and buyer trust.
Here’s a quick recap of what was covered and why it matters for every marketer planning 2026 campaigns.
If you missed the webinar, don’t worry! You can still watch the full webinar here on demand.
Alternatively, if you still have some unanswered demand generation questions, make sure to sign up for our upcoming webinar – Demand Gen in Disruption.
Answering the biggest B2B demand generation questions
Q1. Why does demand generation look so different in 2025?
Because the B2B buyer journey has changed and so have expectations.
Buyers now move through digital, human, and AI-assisted touchpoints before they ever speak to sales. They expect relevance, proof, and transparency from the start.
Buyers now move through digital, human, and AI-assisted touchpoints before they ever speak to sales. They want proof and personalization, not promotion.
The Voice of the Buyer 2025 research behind the webinar showed that marketers focus on “what’s next,” while buyers focus on “what works now.” That gap explains why many campaigns miss the mark. Modern demand gen must connect near-term buyer needs with long-term brand value, delivering tangible outcomes long before a form fill.
Q2. How is AI helping marketers build better demand generation programs?
AI isn’t replacing creativity; it’s sharpening it. During the webinar, speakers emphasized that while many marketers are cautious about AI’s impact, the real risk lies in ignoring it. Those who don’t embrace AI won’t be replaced by it; they’ll simply fall behind those who do.
In AI marketing, the most successful teams use automation to filter noise, not to replace strategy. They apply AI in B2B marketing to:
- Predict which accounts are most likely to convert.
- Personalize outreach based on behavior and firmographics.
- Identify content patterns that influence the buyer decision process.
The result is faster, more accurate targeting, and campaigns that feel more human because they’re data informed.
Q3. What are the biggest gaps between buyers and marketers right now?
It comes down to perception and proof.
Marketers often think they’re delivering what buyers want — but our data shows a clear mismatch in B2B buyer behavior. Buyers focus on the here and now, while marketers believe they should be planning years ahead.
That disconnect can cause friction across the funnel — marketers push long-term narratives, while buyers are looking for immediate solutions and evidence of impact.
Building trust in B2B demand generation requires transparency: clear data sources, verified leads, and content that educates rather than sells. When brands show exactly where their data comes from, or how their insights are validated, B2B buyers stay engaged longer and move faster through the B2B buying journey.
Q4. How can marketers prove ROI when buyer behavior is so complex?
By aligning marketing data with revenue outcomes, not surface level metrics.
The best B2B marketing best practices include:
- Closed-loop reporting: connecting content engagement to actual opportunities.
- Intent data layering: identifying accounts showing active interest and prioritizing them for sales.
- Data transparency: making sure lead sources, scoring models, and campaign attribution are visible across teams.
When marketers share this data openly, it strengthens credibility with both sales and leadership, which is the goal of any B2B demand generation strategy.
Q5. What role does trust play in the buyer-marketer relationship?
It’s everything. Without trust, even the most polished campaign fails.
Trust is more fragile than ever, yet most marketers believe AI can help rebuild it when paired with human insight and validation.
The research found broad agreement that earning trust is harder today, but optimism that transparency, verification, and consistent messaging can close the gap. In other words, AI can scale connection, but authenticity still seals it.
Trust isn’t a “soft” metric; it’s the backbone of pipeline health.
Q6. How is AI changing the buyer journey itself?
AI’s influence peaks in what the research calls the “messy middle” — the evaluation and consideration stages where buyers weigh options and filter information.
That’s when AI marketing insights matter most. Tools that surface intent data, personalize comparisons, and reinforce credibility help guide B2B buyers through complexity. The brands winning in 2025 are those using AI to simplify decisions, not overwhelm them.
Q7. How should marketers prepare for 2026 demand gen planning?
Think precision, not volume.
The next phase of B2B demand generation success rests on:
- AI-driven targeting to prioritize high-intent accounts.
- Full-funnel consistency that aligns storytelling from brand to demand.
- Buyer-led content that matches real B2B buyer expectations at every stage.
Every campaign should answer a buyer question and guide the next logical step in their B2B buying journey.
Q8. What’s one practical change marketers can make right now?
Shift your measurement focus from volume to validation.
The webinar discussion made it clear: the future of marketing performance is credibility. Instead of tracking only traffic or form fills, measure engagement quality — time spent, return visits, and verified buyer actions. Those are the trust indicators that convert.
When marketers quantify credibility, they redefine success in a way that B2B buyers’ respect.
Q9. What did the research reveal about marketers’ views on AI?
Interestingly, only 14% of respondents said AI wasn’t among their top challenges. Senior marketing execs worry about strategy and ethics, while teams on the ground struggle more with execution and resource constraints.
This divide shows why AI marketing best practices must balance innovation with enablement. AI strategy means nothing without adoption at the delivery level, and vice versa.
Q10. Where can I watch the session or share it with my team?
The full 60-minute session is now available to stream anytime.
Watch it to see what leading B2B brands are doing differently — and how they’re using AI in B2B marketing to turn intent into measurable pipeline.
What’s next for B2B marketers?
Building Better Demand Gen showed that performance now comes down to three things:
- Understanding the B2B buyer
- Using AI marketing with intent
- Keeping trust at the center of every interaction
Next, we’re exploring how to keep that momentum when the market turns.
Join the next session, Demand Gen in Disruption to learn how leading brands are protecting pipeline and performance through change.
