Here’s a summary of Andrei’s timeline of how we got here:

• 2000s – Demand Waterfall Era
  Gate content, manufacture MQLs, hand off to sales. We bought into the illusion of controlling the buyer journey with predictable stages, turning marketing into a volume game: more MQLs = more revenue.
• 2010s – Marketing Automation & Nurturing
  When MQLs failed to convert, we added drip campaigns and lead scoring. The narrative shifted to “warming” leads—shifting blame to sales if “100-point” prospects didn’t close.
• 2014–2023 – Growth Hacking & Outbound Overload
  Scalability became synonymous with tech-heavy tactics: web scraping, automated cadences, ads + outbound on steroids. Marketing shrank to a pure lead-gen function, losing sight of brand and buyer reality.
• 2023 onward – AI Everywhere
  With CMO tenures dropping and layoffs exposing inefficiencies, AI promises to do more with less: auto-generate content, enrich leads, build workflows overnight. Yet many leaders are now racing to prove they’re “AI-native” out of FOMO—while avoiding the real issue.

The elephant in the room? We’re trapped in a broken system that rewards short-term metrics over long-term strategy. AI isn’t the escape hatch; it’s just another layer of complexity. True survival—and thriving—comes from challenging the status quo: hard conversations with leadership about marketing’s real role, deeply understanding customers and their journeys, and building brands that B2B buyers actively choose.

This is the reset B2B marketers need in 2026. Zinkevich’s core message resonates deeply with what I see in my work: efficiency gains from tools are meaningless without reclaiming marketing as a strategic, full-funnel discipline focused on customer reality, not just pipeline volume.

If you’re ready to move beyond the “lead vending machine” trap and rebuild a more effective, buyer-led marketing engine, I recommend tuning into the conversation Andrei is leading.

Next week (March 24–26, 2026), FullFunnel is hosting the 7th Virtual Full-Funnel Summit—free to attend.

It’s a 3-day virtual event with 15 live keynotes from B2B experts (including Andrei himself and his cofounder Vlad Blagojevic), focused on actionable full-funnel strategies, case studies, and real-world insights for high-ACV, long-cycle B2B companies. No product pitches—just practical advice on aligning marketing and sales for genuine growth.

Save your free spot here: https://fullfunnel.io/summit/

Whether you’re reassessing your martech stack, rethinking ABM in an AI era, or simply tired of short-termism, this summit is a timely opportunity to hear from leaders pushing back against the broken playbook.

What’s one outdated B2B tactic you’re ready to ditch in 2026?

If you’d like to explore how centralised, full-funnel strategies can transform your marketing function, reach out via the contact form or book a call.

The content boom: budgets up, volume surging, AI leading the charge

Content production is accelerating at a pace that’s outstripping expectations, fueled by expanding channels and AI innovations:

• Rising budgets: Over 80% of organizations plan to increase content and creative budgets in the near future, up from 70% in 2024. Notably, 29% expect significant increases, a jump from 19% in 2023.
• Volume explosion: 82% of teams reported higher content output last year, with 27% seeing significant growth. AI is the primary driver, with 75% of professionals saying it has boosted volume—30% significantly.
• Evolving ROI metrics: Success is measured through a mix of engagement (40%), brand awareness (38%), conversions/lead gen (38%), and sales revenue (38%). ROI is improving, with 28% reporting significant gains (up from 19% last year).

Teams with mature workflows are reaping the rewards, being 3x more likely to see substantial ROI. This underscores the need for investments in AI, automation, and centralized systems to handle the surge without sacrificing quality.

Content operations: maturity matters, fragmentation hurts

Operational challenges persist, but top performers are addressing them head-on. Canto’s report highlights persistent pain points like keeping up with content demands (40%) and managing volume (36%), but also shows progress in tech adoption.

• Workflow maturity: Only 43% have advanced, standardized workflows, but these teams report 48% significant ROI increases compared to 0% for those with ad-hoc processes.
• Improvement tactics: 51% are using AI for creation, tagging, and organization; 41% are enhancing cross-team collaboration; and 36% are introducing automation to cut manual work.
• AI’s role in efficiency: Widespread AI users find maintaining brand consistency extremely easy (49% vs. 6-9% for non-users).

High-ROI teams prioritize automation (47%), templates (45%), and asset distribution (33%), proving that streamlining operations directly boosts returns.

Digital Asset Management: centralization is key to avoiding chaos

Fragmented asset storage, a persistent problem, remains a major drag, with most teams using multiple systems like cloud storage (62%) and DAM solutions (47%). The consequences are clear:

Only 35% are very confident employees use up-to-date brand assets, meaning most perceive that colleagues in sales, product management, customer service and the broader marketing team are using dated, often inaccurate materials which exposes their brands to numerous risks.

In contrast, DAM users report smoother operations, and those unifying assets with product content see 4x higher ROI gains.

For product-focused teams, accuracy is critical: 88% struggle with consistency across channels, but centralized approaches reduce duplication and improve access.

Tech stack optimization: closing gaps for better scale

Content teams lose time on manual tasks, with 22% prioritizing AI automation and 21% better search/retrieval. Core capabilities like analytics (43%) and standardized workflows (41%) are established in many organizations, but only 24% have fully optimized stacks.

Teams with strong ROI excel in AI tools (59%), analytics (50%), and automated tagging (42%). As stacks mature, expect more focus on integration to eliminate silos.

AI throughout the lifecycle: from analysis to personalization

AI is embedded across operations, with top uses in performance analysis (41%), SEO optimization (40%), and tagging (39%). High-ROI teams apply it more broadly, especially in personalization (41%) and discovery (43%).

Looking ahead, teams want AI for streamlining reviews (38%), smart search (36%), and reuse recommendations (35%). Adoption is at 77%, with 81% confident in AI’s accuracy for tagging—higher among heavy users.

What this means for your marketing strategy

The report paints a clear picture: success in 2026 hinges on operational maturity. Fragmented systems fuel burnout, waste and magnify risks, while AI-driven, centralized approaches unlock speed, consistency, and ROI. If your team is stuck in manual workflows or siloed assets, now’s the time to audit and optimize.

I help businesses in Tasmania and beyond implement these strategies— from AI integration to DAM setups. If you’re ready to scale your content operations, let’s talk. Download the full Canto report here to dive deeper. Let’s turn these insights into action for your business.

What is Martec’s Law?

At its core, Martec’s Law observes that technological progress follows an exponential curve—think Moore’s Law, where computing power doubles roughly every two years, or Metcalfe’s Law, which shows how network value grows exponentially with connections. Social media’s rapid evolution is another prime example: what started as simple platforms has exploded into complex ecosystems that reshape how we communicate and market.

In contrast, organizations evolve much more slowly, on a logarithmic scale. This isn’t just about size or bureaucracy; it’s rooted in human factors like established processes, cultural inertia, incentives, and the sheer effort required to shift behaviors. Larger teams amplify this resistance, making change feel like pushing a boulder uphill. Without strong leadership, stagnation becomes the norm.

Brinker calls this dynamic “the great management dilemma of the 21st century”.

Implications for Marketing and Beyond

For marketers, this law is especially relevant in the martech space, where tools and platforms multiply at a dizzying rate. It’s not just about adopting the latest AI-driven analytics or automation software—it’s about integrating them into your team’s workflow without causing disruption. The risk? Overwhelmed employees, half-baked implementations, and missed opportunities as competitors who bridge the gap pull ahead.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Brinker emphasizes that even the best-led organizations can’t match technology’s pace outright. Instead, the key is strategic selection: consciously choosing which changes to embrace and which to ignore, aligning them with your broader business goals. As he draws from A.G. Lafley’s Playing to Win, strategy is about making tough choices—what’s “in” (the red area) and what’s “out” (the blue).

How to Bridge the Gap

To make Martec’s Law work for you, focus on absorption as much as adoption. This means:

• Strategic Prioritization: Evaluate tech changes against your organization’s mission. Not every shiny new tool deserves a spot in your stack.
• Cultural Integration: Go beyond installation—invest in coaching, training, and inspiring your team. Educate on why the change matters, nurture buy-in, and elevate those who champion it. A experienced consultant once recommended to myself that for every $1 committed to software licensing/subscribing, $3 should be allocated to training and change management.
• Proactive Leadership: Anticipate the gap and plan for it. In marketing, this could involve piloting martech tools in small teams before scaling, ensuring they enhance rather than hinder creativity.

I’ve seen businesses thrive by applying these principles. For instance, a mid-sized firm might skip the hype around every new AI platform and instead double down on data privacy tech that aligns with their customer trust strategy.

If you’re grappling with martech overload, Martec’s Law offers a roadmap. It’s a reminder that thoughtful adaptation beats frantic chasing. Check out Brinker’s original article for a deeper dive, and let’s discuss how this applies to your organization—drop a comment below or reach out via the contact form.

Originally inspired by Scott Brinker’s article on chiefmartec.com.

Key Highlights from Forrester’s 2026 Predictions

Forrester outlines five pivotal trends that will shape B2B operations this year, all centered on “The Race to Trust and Value.” Here’s a what they mean for marketing, sales, and product teams:

• Governed AI for Smarter Outcomes: While ungoverned generative AI could lead to significant costs, proactive governance opens doors to efficiency. With 75% of sales reps already using AI tools, empowering your team with AI literacy can prevent pitfalls and value through better decision-making.
• Human Expertise as a Competitive Edge: Buyers are craving deeper validation beyond AI—30% viewed genAI as meaningful in 2025, but human interactions with product experts top the list for trust. This shift highlights the power of upskilling your teams to deliver personalized insights, fostering stronger buyer relationships from early stages to post-sale success.
• Influencer Relations as Growth Levers: A huge 75% of B2B enterprises plan to boost budgets here. As buying networks expand, influencers like analysts and experts become key to building trust. Integrating them into your go-to-market (GTM) strategy—via social amplification and endorsements—can elevate proof-of-success over brand reputation, driving measurable impact.
• AI Agents Revolutionizing Payments: Expect AI agents in one-third of B2B payments, streamlining complex workflows like invoicing and trade credit. Vendors like Basware and Coupa are leading the charge, promising higher automation and efficiency—perfect for Australian firms dealing with diverse supply chains.
• Agent-Led Negotiations for Dynamic Deals: 20% of sellers will engage AI buyer agents in quotes, turning negotiations into data-driven, compliant opportunities. This evolution from static pricing to agile interfaces means suppliers with strong AI partners can protect margins while adapting to buyer demands.

These predictions underscore a market where clarity, accountability, and human-AI synergy win big. In volatile times, they’re your roadmap to turning rapid change into sustainable advantage.

Activation guidance

Ready to put Forrester’s insights into action? Here’s practical advice for B2B leaders in Tasmania and beyond:

1. Build AI Governance from the Ground Up: Democratize AI education—train teams to spot bad outputs and integrate governance into commercial apps. Start small: Audit your current tools and invest in “AI intelligence quotient” workshops to boost confidence and reduce risks.
2. Elevate Human Touchpoints: Prioritize product experts and customer success teams early in the buyer journey. Upskill them to handle complex queries, ensuring your offerings meet real needs. This not only validates AI insights but builds lasting trust.
3. Strategize Influencer Engagement: Shift from tactical PR to integrated GTM. Expand your signals to include influencer activity—track commentary and endorsements. Align budgets with performance metrics to see ROI in buyer discovery and conversions.
4. Embrace AI Agents in Workflows: For payments and negotiations, partner with agentic AI vendors. Assess your invoicing and procurement processes for automation potential, starting with pilot programs to scale efficiencies without disrupting operations.
5. Prepare for Buyer Evolution: Equip sales teams with AI agents for counteroffers, focusing on margin protection and compliance. Collaborate with in-house engineers or trusted partners to stay agile in a market where 61% of buyers use genAI for purchasing.

By prioritizing trust and value—as Forrester advises—you’ll position your business for growth in a buyer-empowered world.

For more on how digital marketing can amplify these strategies, from AI-optimized content to influencer campaigns, let’s chat. Connect via mitchellmackey.com.au/contact. Here’s to a prosperous, high-impact 2026!

Mitchell Mackey | Digital Marketing Strategist | Hobart, Tasmania Driving B2B Success in the AI Era

Unfortunately, despite commitments to artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to upgrade customer service capabilities, a CCW (Customer Contact Week) study has confirmed what we all sense to be true, reporting a 55% reporting a decline in quality over the past year. The issue isn’t AI itself but how companies use it – prioritizing efficiency over empathy.

The Problem: Misaligned AI Strategies

Businesses too often deploy AI to cut costs, forcing customers into rigid, impersonal journeys. Common pain points include:

• Basic automation failing complex queries.
• Channel-switching (e.g., WhatsApp to phone).
• Lack of personalization, requiring customers to repeat themselves. A persistent source of friction.
• High expectations set by CX leaders like Amazon, unmet by others.

The Solution: AI + Human Empathy

AI excels in transactional tasks like password resets but falls short in emotionally charged moments like service outages. For now, the immediate future lies in AI complementing human agents, not replacing them. Companies must:

• Use AI for high-volume, low-emotion tasks.
• Reserve human interaction for complex, empathetic needs.
• Train AI with quality data tailored to customer use cases.

Looking Ahead to 2026

To win at CX, businesses must prioritize customer-first strategies. This means building or partnering for AI models that ensure compliance, accuracy, and scalability..

The future of CX is about blending AI’s efficiency with human empathy to create genuine connections that keep customers coming back.

Too few, according to CX guru and the Head of the Qualtrics XM Institute Bruce Temkin.

Bruce has recently revisited the case he originally made back in 2010 for organisations to focus on the value customers derive. He argues for a concept called Point of Value to be recognised as the next logical step after the traditional Point of Sale or transaction stage.

According to Bruce sales without customer value are like a Ponzi scheme. They feel good in the moment, but the long-term outcome is likely to be negative.

“Too many organizations overly focus on selling their products and services, keeping a tight eye on short term metrics like sales targets,” Bruce writes, “but sales are not necessarily an indication of long-term success. What’s missing from the picture? Value!”

“If customers don’t get value from their purchases, then they are likely to return them, stop using them, not renew them, and tell others to stay away. Does that sound like a sustainable blueprint?!? Of course not. However, most organizations have a hard time breaking their addiction to sales numbers.”

Bruce challenges companies to compare and contrast their focus on sales targets versus the usually secondary effort they devote to delivering value.

“It’s time for organizations to shift their focus from sales to value! If we see an economic downturn, then the focus on value will become even more critical as companies are pushed to target their limited resources at retaining customers.

According to Bruce a POV mindset would mean the following:

• A clear measure of customer value that’s used as a critical KPI for the entire business, driving everything from sales commissions to bonuses for the product development teams.
• Support for customers to help them envision and articulate their POV and match their purchases accordingly.
• Cross-functional journey teams with responsibility for driving success during the engagement phase for key customer segments, and continuously monitoring any changes in how customers perceive the POV.
• Product organizations adopting a focus on “designing for value” by prioritizing features and enablement that streamlines the path to POV over new capabilities. Rather than considering feature adoption as a customer success function, product teams are responsible for ensuring that it is as easy as possible for customers to reach the POV.

Announced with characteristic bravado and ambition at the company’s Dreamforce jamboree in San Francisco in September, Genie generalises its CDP capabilities across all its Sales, Service, Marketing and Commerce clouds, as well as its Platform, Tableau, Slack and Mulesoft tools, to enable customer experience orchestration in real time.

Salesforce, which has overtaken SAP to seize enterprise software application leadership by revenue, says Genie connects with the CDP engine to establish a single customer or group of customers with AI and machine learning and connects that data to Salesforce’s Flow automation.

Examples include serving ads, content or offers; making sales recommendations based on browser behaviour, pulling up historical sales and service data or reacting to real-time maintenance alerts to quickly solve customer problems or deleting or restricting customer data when they opt out of marketing.

Users can see exactly how the entire end-to-end process is flowing or stalling, from marketing across to sales, service, compliance, and system-of-record transaction management.

The rebranding of the CDP to Genie was to “make it fun” and, critically, to help customers and stakeholders embrace and understand the value proposition.

In summary, Salesforce asserts that data orchestration blended with engagement capabilities and genuine AI, results in a so-called “real-time” CRM. Next level stuff.

Constellation Research founder Ray Wang was quoted as stating, “to take the CDP to the next level, you really have to do it in a very different way. You have to not just think about the data that’s there, you have to think about how everything’s connected”.

Salesforce claims large companies run an average of 976 separate applications in their businesses, resulting in data fragmentation and an inconsistent environments where value can not flow smoothly.

Salesforce’s CDP leader Rahul Auradkar was quoted as saying that the company’s own customers had said that their own downstream customers were expecting far more personalized experiences now and in the future.

“The power of real time is doing the right thing, at the right time,” said Auradkar.

Let’s see how that promise, oft touted and promised in the CRM world over the years, is delivered.

Nothing wrong with the ambition. Everyone agrees we need to create a hyper-personalised relationship with our customers, pooling and harmonizing data into what Forbes calls a “a reconciled, comprehensive customer portrait”.

Bain’s Fred Reichheld has returned to the Harvard Business Review, where he first introduced the NPS model in 2003, advocating for the new metric.

To calculate their earned growth rates, firms must have systems, process and people that will gather data on the costs and revenues for each customer over time and must ask all new customers why did they buy?

If the reason is a referral or recommendation, a customer is “earned”; if it’s advertising, a promotional deal, or a persuasive salesperson, the customer is “bought”.

Reichheld says “we realized that the only way to make the system work better was to develop a complementary metric that drew on accounting results”.

However, firms will not be able to credible calculate their earned growth rate unless they have their technology, people and process act together and most do not.

Reichheld acknowledges this issue, but states “it’s time to get serious about measuring (and reporting) the progress … and to recognize that improving the lives of the people we serve is the only way to win”.

Unfortunately, just 28% of respondents reported having achieved their objectives in the current survey. That’s not good enough. The case for incremental improvement has never been weaker than it is today with the pandemic disrupting our business world forever. Those that not only survive but thrive will be orchestrating leaps forward in the coming months and years, with marketing in the lead.

Thanks to the pandemic we are all moving rapidly to a digital world, where business, especially business-to-business activity, happens wherever people are.

Businesses who did not have their digital platform acts together were especially vulnerable during the pandemic-stricken 2020. They struggled to facilitate online commerce efficiently and with the ease. Their vision,  leadership, data, people, process and system silos and deficiencies were exposed by the transparent front door that is their web presence.

Critically, today’s B2B customers know what good looks like thanks to their own personal commerce experiences with the leading B2C brands. In 2021 all B2B players, must fast forward their digitisation ambitions with their marketers playing decisive roles. 

Today, no matter what industry you are in, it’s not enough to simply promote your brand and make, market and sell a product or service. You need a digital community marketplace. An integrated, self-service, collaboration environment (web + commerce + marketing automation + CRM + analytics and ERP) where you customers interact, buy (ideally, subscribe), share, engage and learn from one another. 

In this transformational climate, now, more than ever, we marketers must step up and lead. Marketers have to exercise genuine customer-focused influence and advocacy both horizontally and vertically across their organisations.

It means, for example, embracing service, supply chain and transaction management as the new marketing. There is little value in assembling and advertising blue sky brand promises if your supply chain is not close to best in class, if your customer service team is an island and your ERP landscape is a patchwork of dinosaur legacy systems with 20th century DNA. 

The Green Hat report highlights, the despite progress on many fronts, marketing must speed up.