Roundtable Roundup – B2B Technology Marketing Execs

At our latest Marketing Executive Roundtable, we brought together a group of marketing leaders from growth-stage B2B technology companies to discuss their top challenges, how they’re shifting strategies in response to the current political environment, and how AI is changing their go-to-market plans.

The political climate is creating uncertainty regardless of industry or sector.

To differing degrees, each participant said the impacts of ongoing DOGE cuts to federal programs and see-sawing tariff policies have put their companies on high alert. Some are approaching Q2 with caution, while others are “ruthlessly prioritizing” their marketing channels. The current climate has been particularly challenging for the marketing leader of a global company that sells physical devices sourced from manufacturers in Europe and China.

Sales teams are disengaged.

Multiple leaders voiced frustration with sales teams who have become overly reliant on marketing-generated leads. One participant joked, “Maybe our leads have been too good.” Traditional outbound prospecting is losing traction, with several of the participants attributing this to post-COVID mindset shifts and an overdependence on automated cadences. In an unusual move (and counter to the trend of Marketing being moved under Sales), one company recently moved the Sales function under their CMO due to lagging performance.

AI is disrupting traditional SEO strategies.

As one leader said, “The SEO game was fixed for the last five years”, but SEO, as we’ve known it, is over. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the new frontier, where search engines evaluate your company’s entire digital footprint, not just your content and website. As evidence, one participant is already seeing 20% of inbound website traffic coming from generative referrals, a clear signal that marketers must rethink their optimization strategies.

AI adoption is still early.

While companies are actively building AI technology into their products and services, the use of AI to enhance marketing strategy is still in its early days. Marketing leaders are experimenting with AI tools, encouraging team-wide testing, and even hiring consultants to train their teams on prompt engineering.

However, more strategic uses of AI (better targeting through predictive analytics, personalization at scale, instant A/B testing) are still in their infancy. A contributing factor is that incumbent marketing platforms like HubSpot and Marketo have been slow to add AI-powered features. This has created space for startups offering more nimble AI solutions –who are often willing to offer deals to get in the door.

What’s clear from our conversation is that marketers are being challenged on multiple fronts – political and economic forces, technology advances, and attitudes toward work. It’s a complex landscape but also a unique opportunity for leaders to shape what comes next.

If you need help adding tech-savvy Marketing talent to your team, reach out to us.