B2B Marketing Trends

I've been reflecting on one major trend from last year that I feel will be hard to ignore in 2025: Gen Z’s relationship with brands and social media. This generation doesn’t just consume content, they drive it. And they do so with a level of authenticity and transparency that demands our attention. For Gen Z, brand loyalty isn’t built on flashy ads or influencer endorsements alone. It’s about values. It’s about knowing what the brand stands for and aligning with causes they care about: be it sustainability, inclusivity, or social justice. Here’s how I’ve been thinking about this shift as an entrepreneur: For Gen Z, being true to themselves is really important. They want brands that embrace uniqueness and support personal expression. To connect with them, we need to be authentic and offer products and messages that let them express who they really are. Social Media is the New Word of Mouth: If you’re not engaging in the conversations Gen Z is having on social media, you’re missing out. They trust their peers and online communities more than traditional advertising, and their feedback is immediate and powerful. Experience Over Projection: For this generation, it’s not just about seeing an ad but engaging with a brand in a meaningful way. Whether through personalized experiences, interactive campaigns, or exclusive content, creating a connection is more valuable than ever. Gen Z is not just shaping the future of business but is redefining what it means to build loyalty and trust. Is your brand ready for this shift?

Last click measures are 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁. A large majority of brands know that last click (and/or MTA) measurement is wrong, but a majority continue to use it as the primary measure of marketing performance. There are typically two main reason why: • 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 - This is a big challenge and tough to change quickly. I have shared a few methods we use to help with this which is linked in comments. • 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝘀 "𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁" - Many brands assume that while the data is wrong, it is correct enough to optimise towards success. This is unfortunately not true, many of the strongest performance last click channels show the weakest incremental value. And vice versa. On the chart below we map campaign types on Last Click ROAS index (100 = best performing on last click ROAS) and MMM ROAS Index (100 = best performing on MMM ROAS). The first thing you should notice, is that the correlation is weak.  Virtually non existent. But there are some clusters of campaign types: 1. 𝗟𝗼𝘄 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲 - Campaigns which look brilliant on last click ROAS but show poor incrementality. These look great on a marketing report, but drive little real value. 2. 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲 - These look good on Last Click ROAS and look good on MMM ROAS, campaigns which drive clear measurable performance and with strong incrementality. 3. 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗲 - These are bad on Last Click ROAS and bad on MMM ROAS. These campaigns just don't work, not every test succeeds. 4. 𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗭𝗼𝗻𝗲 - These look terrible on Last Click ROAS, but actually drive strong modelled incremental performance. These campaigns drive really valuable indirect impact, but the last click measurement can't see their value. Normally on a quadrant chart, the bottom left is the troublesome corner. But here the real issues are in top left and bottom right. Campaigns in bottom left get turned off or changed, because they don't work on any measure. It is a failed test, we learn and move on. Campaigns in the top right get continued investment, and will continue to drive business value. The trouble lives in the top left and the bottom right.  Campaigns in top left get increased investment because the spreadsheet looks good, while they deliver little value. Campaigns in bottom right get turned off, then everyone wonders why overall performance got worse. While everyone's focus is on moving up on the chart, the 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. It will make your marketing reporting spreadsheet look worse, but make business performance better.

Social media and SEO just had a baby. Google can now show you which Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube posts appear in search, what people searched to find them, and how much traffic they drive. That means your social posts are becoming search results. And almost every search falls into one of four buckets. Informational: “How do I get more protein?” That’s a tutorial video. Navigational: “Netflix login” or “Chipotle locations.” They already know where they want to go, they’re using Google to get there. Commercial: “Best CRM for small businesses.” That person wants comparisons, rankings, and honest reviews. Transactional: “Price,” “discount,” “book,” or “near me.” They’re ready to take action, so give them one clear next step. Most content creators only make informational content because they don’t realize the other three categories exist. Here’s what I tell my clients: type your topic into AnswerThePublic. It shows you the questions and phrases people are already searching for. Then create videos across all four types of search intent, adapt them for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and publish them across every relevant platform. Finally, use Google Search Console to track which topics rank, which searches drive traffic, and which videos deserve follow-ups. You’re not just posting more content. You’re covering the entire customer journey and using real data to decide what to create next. The feed rewards whoever posted last. Search rewards whoever answered best.

Decoding Market Entry: How Startups Can Conquer New Markets 🌍 Hi everyone! Ankita here, diving into an exciting yet challenging phase for any startup—entering a new market. Whether it’s expanding to a different city, country, or even industry, breaking into untapped regions requires strategy, research, and execution. Let’s explore how startups can navigate this journey successfully. Why Market Entry Is a Game-Changer Expanding into new markets can unlock tremendous growth, diversify revenue streams, and boost your brand’s visibility. But the key lies in doing it right. Here’s a step-by-step guide for startups looking to make an impact: 🌟 Research, Research, Research Understanding the new market is the foundation of success. Study customer behavior, competitors, and cultural nuances to tailor your approach. Tip: Leverage local insights by partnering with agencies, conducting surveys, or collaborating with local experts. 🌟 Validate Your Product-Market Fit What works in one market might not work in another. Test and adapt your offerings to meet the unique needs of the new audience. Tip: Start with pilot projects to gather feedback before scaling. 🌟 Build Local Partnerships Partnering with local businesses can help you navigate regulatory challenges, gain credibility, and access existing networks. Tip: Look for mission-aligned partners who share your vision and can accelerate your market entry. 🌟 Localise Your Marketing Strategy Your messaging should resonate with the local audience. Consider language, culture, and regional trends when crafting your campaigns. Tip: Use localized content and platforms that your target market engages with the most. 🌟 Understand Legal and Regulatory Landscapes Every region comes with its own set of rules. Compliance is non-negotiable and can save you from costly pitfalls. Tip: Consult with local legal advisors to navigate taxes, permits, and other regulations seamlessly. 🌟 Focus on Building a Local Team A local team understands the market better and can help you connect authentically with customers and stakeholders. Tip: Hire people who embody your startup’s values but bring local expertise to the table. 🌟 Measure and Iterate Success in new markets isn’t guaranteed overnight. Continuously track your progress, learn from mistakes, and refine your strategies. Tip: Use KPIs like customer acquisition cost, churn rate, and revenue growth to assess your performance. 🌟Stepping into the Unknown with Confidence Entering a new market is a bold move, but it’s also an opportunity to redefine your growth trajectory. With the right planning and execution, startups can not just enter but thrive in untapped regions. 💬 What strategies have worked for you when entering new markets? Let’s exchange ideas and help each other conquer new frontiers! #StartupExpansion #DecodingMarketEntry #GoGlobal #StartupStrategy #GrowthHacks

In retail, many chase the next big thing—a new style, a new way to reach consumers—triggering a frantic race to adopt. But most trends fade as fast as they appear. The real game-changers are curated habits that prove they can stand the test of time. I’ve championed social commerce as the future of retail for over a decade. In hindsight, that barely scratches the surface. It’s now a deeply ingrained consumer behavior. The imperative isn’t just to adopt it, but to evolve with it—constantly and intentionally. At HSN, social commerce was core to our strategy. We pioneered the blend of shopping and entertainment. That’s the essence: finding the sweet spot where entertainment, connection, and commerce converge. Soon after, platforms like Twitch began enabling users to both game and shop in real time, blending entertainment with commerce. Fanatics has successfully leaned into this model as well, immersing fans in live experiences while showcasing gear in action, often worn by their favorite athletes and community, turning fandom into a powerful trust signal. More recently, TikTok Shop collapsed the purchase funnel into a single scroll. It's no longer discover, then buy. Now, it’s see it, want it, buy it—seamlessly, in-platform. So, as we look ahead, how do I see this "social commerce habit" evolving? Here's what I expect: 🔹 Creator Integration is Non-Negotiable. For Gen Z, in particular, TikTok Shop has become a primary discovery engine. They trust their favorite creators to genuinely try products and offer honest feedback. The more brands lean into authentic partnerships with creators, the more trust they build in this integrated shopping experience. It’s about relationship-driven commerce. 🔹 Embrace a Zero-Click World. Speed and simplicity are paramount. Consumers need to be able to see, buy, and receive as fast as humanly possible. This means minimal clicks, minimal friction, and no moments for reconsideration. It's about instant gratification and removing all barriers between desire and ownership. 🔹 Elevate Live Shopping. This is a powerful return to the personal connection and real-time interaction that defined the best of traditional retail. Shoppable videos and live sessions transform social media into a personalized shopping aisle. Imagine experts demonstrating products, showing how they fit or can be styled, all in real-time, tailored to your interests. It brings humanity back to digital retail. 🔹 Unlock the Power of Virtual Try-Ons. A longstanding hurdle in e-commerce is "try before you buy." AI-enabled virtual try-on features solves that, making online shopping more immersive and convenient. This translates directly into higher conversion rates, deeper engagement, and customers spending more valuable time interacting with your brand digitally. It’s time to stop treating social commerce like a trend. This is commerce, full stop. It’s a fundamental consumer behavior that belongs at the center of every modern retail strategy.

I analyzed 67+ outbound clients across 12 industries. Every single one falls into 1 of 3 buckets. 1. Top performers. 2. Average performers. 3. And the bottom 10% that outbound probably can’t save. Most teams think they’re one email away from their next deal. But after hundreds of campaigns, one thing’s clear: Your outbound performance mirrors your market position, not your sequence. Here’s what SalesCaptain’s data shows👇 1️⃣ Low Results (8-10 positives per 3K prospects) Usually the teams stuck in commoditized markets. They sound like everyone else, sell like everyone else, and get ignored. 🔹 No product-market fit 🔹 Weak or no offer 🔹 Basic website, no social proof 🔹 Long deal cycles, tiny TAM 🔹 Outbound quality dragged down by the offer itself What we do here: → Run a short test, confirm underperformance, then either help them reposition or pause entirely. 2️⃣ Average Results (15-25 positives per 3K prospects) The healthiest segment of the market. These teams know their ICP, have a solid offer, and play the consistency game. 🔹 Decent PMF 🔹 Clear ICP definition 🔹 Message/market fit 🔹 Entry-point offer that converts This is where most mid-market companies live. They get reliable meetings, not fireworks, but steady growth. 3️⃣ Superior Results (30-40 positives per 3K prospects) This is where we see significantly large ROIs. We see this pattern across B2B SaaS, GTM consultancies, and fast-moving service orgs. 🔹 Strong PMF 🔹 Sharp differentiation 🔹 Medium deal sizes ($10–80K) 🔹 Localized campaigns 🔹 Multi-channel execution (email + LinkedIn + data enrichment) 🔹 High in-market demand What separates these 3 isn’t the toolset, it’s that they know how to structure outbound like a system. The goal is to move up the curve, and that's what we helped 60+ teams do. If your outbound is underperforming, check which bucket you’re really in, and ask whether the problem is your campaign… or your market. DM me if you need help. #outbound #gtm #performance

Amazon told a brand they're leaving $36,000 in sales on the table. Every month. The fix took five minutes. Here's what happened. During an audit, I filtered for campaigns with two criteria: 👉 Better-than-average ACOS 👉 Going out of budget before end of day That's it. Show me the campaigns that are performing well AND running out of money. The result: between $12,000 and $36,000 in estimated missed sales sitting behind budget caps on their best-performing campaigns. This is a common revenue leak I see. Brands set budgets, campaigns start performing, and nobody revisits the caps. Amazon literally tells you in the campaign manager when you're leaving impressions on the table. If you're not looking, you'll never prioritize the right ones. But you can't just raise budgets blindly. Before you scale a "high-performing" campaign, check what's underneath: Is it a branded campaign or are branded search terms mixed in, inflating the numbers? (Negate them first.) Is one search term carrying the whole campaign? (Break it out into a separate campaign.) Are the bids all the same round number ($1.50, $2.00)? That tells me nobody has bid optimization rules in place. Once you've cleaned the campaign structure, then you raise the budget. Now you're scaling real performance, not a blended illusion. Five minutes of filtering. A potential $36,000/month in recovered sales. The data is in your account right now. Go look.

India has one of the youngest populations and consumer sets in the world. The new generation consumes differently from us. So how does GenZ buy? A bulk of founders aren’t GenZ and a large set of their consumers are. So, cracking their code of consumption is important. And, most find it hard. So, I went out and spoke to 50 GenZ consumers. Here’s what I found Their consumption pattern is different from the way I consume. But, it isn’t random and fickle as some say. The top 3 priorities were: stay healthy, find a career (not job) you love and travel often! From my assessment and, these are ‘green flags’ for GenZ consumers in 2024 across industries: 1. GenZ Fashion = Sustainability + Individuality + Comfort They want their products to express their individuality and offer the highest levels of comfort. Also, they will pay a delta (slight) for so that the products don’t harm the environment. This has meant a massive renewed interest in thrift shops and local designers (think local streetwear brands like BLUORNG or JAYWALKING LIMITED). 7/10 of these consumers also care about the standards of manufacturing. They want their clothes to be manufactured under the highest ethical standards, and 6/10 prefer brands that collaborate with local artisans :) 2. GenZ lives & breathes stories GenZ is chronically online – they value honest & authentic communication. From brands conveying their founders’ beliefs to sharing 2023 recap reels 😂 - they care. They connect with emotions more than discounts. This is where the communication strategy of brands like Zomato shine for this audience! 3. Food that does more good than harm Wellness + Convenience + Pic Worthiness – are deciding factors of GenZ’s eating habits. Vegan, artificial sugar free, plant and organic are starting to be buzzwords for this consumer. Also, the food has to look good for the Insta story 🤣. The Avo Toast generation as they say :) 4. Travel more and spend less This generation doesn’t save up for the yearly summer holiday. They want to travel every long weekend. They’ll pay for experiences rather than the most fancy hotel. So, budget domestic travel will become a massive opportunity for this generation. Came across The Hosteller solving for this seamlessly.  From what you can see - the traditional hat of consumption cannot be forced on this consumer. The GenZ wants what the GenZ wants. And, if it isn’t relatable - it isn’t relevant. Founders who ignore this will do so at their own peril. The best one can do is make friends, adapt, learn and improvise :) Honestly, this was just scratching the surface. I’m always learning. Any other GenZ consumption trends you’d like to add here? PS: The pic is my brother and I at a GenZ street event feeling too old and out of place 🤣 #consumerbehaviour #genz #consumption #people #business

Picture this: You’re scrolling Instagram and stumble across the funniest, most creative ad you’ve ever seen. It’s not from Nike. It’s not from Apple. It’s from your local plumber … or the laundromat down the street. That’s the new reality of AI content creation. From Flow from Google to tools like Higgsfield AI and their “draw path” animation let anyone produce cinematic-quality content that used to take agencies weeks and six-figure budgets. The creative delta between small brands and big brands have collapsed. The modern reality is a 12-year-old with an idea and a laptop now has Madison Avenue firepower. But here’s the kicker: The tools don’t create creativity. They just do the production work. It still takes a sharp idea, taste, and a bold client to make something unforgettable. The implication? When small businesses gain access to world-class creative tools, the bar for branding gets raised across the board. It’s no longer enough to just “show up” with an ad. Anyone can do that now. The real winners will be the ones who build brands people actually care about. AI has made the making easy. But meaning still matters. That means: The corner store can look like a Fortune 500. The indie brand can compete head-to-head with giants. The playing field is level, so the only edge left is: brand. Creativity just became more important than ever—because in a world where anyone can produce, only brand can truly differentiate.

This is how brands turn cultural memory into conversion... Today, Hannah Montana comes back to our screens with its 20th anniversary special on Disney+ & Hulu. And as a Gen Z girl who grew up in the 2000s, and now works in marketing, I genuinely couldn’t not talk about this. Because this feels nostalgic… but it’s also incredibly intentional. What we’re seeing isn’t just a cultural throwback. It’s brands strategically rebuilding emotional memory into modern consumption. Major retail and beauty players are already activating it: ZARA launching Hannah Montana merch. Maybelline New York bringing it to life through an immersive pop-up experience. That’s not coincidence. That’s coordination. This is what makes it so powerful: Nostalgia is no longer passive. It’s experiential. It’s not just “remember this?” It’s: • Wear it • Recreate it • Step inside it And from a marketing POV, that shift changes everything. Because when you turn nostalgia into something tangible, you: → Shorten the distance between emotion and purchase → Increase shareability (because people live the moment) → Create cultural relevance that feels organic, not forced What stands out the most is how brands are no longer borrowing from culture. They’re reproducing it, in physical, digital, and social spaces. And that’s why this works so well for Millennials and Gen Z. It’s not just about looking back. It’s about reconnecting with a version of yourself… and buying into it. That’s the real product. Not the T-shirt. Not the lipstick. THE FEELING. And when marketing can sell a feeling this effectively…it stops being a campaign and starts becoming a moment. Honestly, this is strategy at its finest. #MarketingStrategy #NostalgiaMarketing #BrandStrategy #ConsumerBehavior #ExperientialMarketing #GenZMarketing #MillennialMarketing #CulturalMarketing #RetailMarketing #SocialMediaStrategy #MarketingInsights