AI for B2B Marketing & Sales: Boost Productivity & Get Better Results

AI’s rise is transforming the B2B marketing landscape at a nearly unbelievable pace. As powerful language models like Open AI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, and Google’s Gemini reshape how people find and consume information online, industrial marketers are grappling with a new imperative: adapt or fall behind.

At the heart of this shifting path to purchase is the evolution of search. With the proliferation of generative AI tools, users are increasingly turning to chatbots to find the insights they need. Traditional, organic search-based strategies need revamping as algorithms prioritize content that answers searchers questions quickly and directly.

But AI is changing more than the way buyers search; it's also influencing their expectations for content. We’re now in an age when AI chatbots deliver instant, personalized answers on demand. To stand out and build authority today, B2B brands need content that’s more helpful, credible, and engaging than ever before. 

What does that look like in practice? Fortunately, AI is here to change the picture on both sides of the marketing conversation.

Video Transcript: Reinventing Marketing Strategy in a New Landscape, Part 3 — Succeeding in the Age of AI

Hi, I’m Greg Linnemanstons, president of Weidert Group.

There’s no doubt about it: AI is front-and-center in the news today, and people are excited about its potential to improve the quality and productivity of our work.

But industrial marketing and sales professionals are struggling with how they’re going to harness its power.

Marketers we polled said taking advantage of AI is an urgent priority; they know that what worked yesterday isn’t working as well today, and they need to find new approaches to connect with prospects in a rapidly changing world…but how?

The number of potential AI applications in marketing and sales is pretty impressive. For example…

• AI can make things like content creation and search engine optimization more efficient and more targeted
• It can identify prospect intent behaviors earlier in the buyer journey to help close deals faster
• AI chatbots make it possible for customers to connect with your organization 24/7
• And AI allows you to deliver highly personalized web experiences for prospects, create images and video, and even repurpose your existing content into new formats

But the downside to AI is that, without oversight, AI could automate the humanity right out of your marketing and sales – and humanity is what people are looking for, and what they trust.

Sales and marketing teams have to find a balance. That means leveraging AI to handle the time-consuming repetitive or data-intense tasks, while putting effort into developing strategy, creative storytelling and human engagement.

The insights AI provides will help you deeply understand your targets and serve them with the most relevant content…but human insight is needed to craft the narratives that will build trust with your customers.

Think of it as a marketer-plus-AI partnership.

B2B marketers need to look at their current marketing and find opportunities for AI to enhance what they do. 

A few applications to start with might be automating your data integration, or streamlining how your content is produced. 

However you proceed, start by using AI for one or two specific use cases to understand how it can help improve what you do. Then, take what you’ve learned and use it to apply AI in other use cases. 

AI transformation is in full swing for B2B marketing and sales. 

But like any transformative technology, it requires a smart strategy that’s aligned with what your customers need, and where your business needs to go. 

The right partner can help you cut through the hype and deploy AI in ways that drive real efficiency and results — without sacrificing your brand’s humanity.

From predictive lead scoring to deal acceleration and beyond, we can help you develop a strategy and build a plan that turbocharges your marketing and sales performance, and helps grow your business in today’s transformed landscape — all at the speed of AI.

If you're ready to tame the AI revolution and put it to work for your business, let's talk. 

The future won't wait. 

AI Use Cases Are Everywhere in Marketing & Sales

There's no question that AI is the next great disruption in B2B marketing. 

You may have read Sam Altman’s comment, as reported by Adam Brotman and Andy Sack in Our AI Journey, that artificial general intelligence, or AGI, will eventually do “95% of what marketers use agencies, strategists, and creative professionals for.”

"... 95% of what marketers use agencies, strategists, and creative professionals for today will easily, nearly instantly and at almost no cost be handled by the AI.” — Sam Altman

To be specific, the AGI Altman was talking about isn’t what we’re looking at right now. Most experts agree that AGI is out on the horizon. But uses for today’s AI across marketing and sales functions are already wide-reaching. 

In the meantime, generative AI can help creatives draft options faster, experiment with ideas, tones, and structures — and potentially, to achieve more creativity using the same resources. When your most valuable resources — your people — are freed from administrative tasks, they can focus time, energy, thought, and resources on more valuable contributions like problem-solving and innovating.

Machine-learning powered tools can improve search engine optimization, predictive analytics, and lead scoring. Chatbots can interrogate CRM data to answer questions about customers and prospects as they arise. And AI-powered personalization helps deliver even more customized experiences. HubSpot is constantly adding and improving their AI tools, too — so users can access and use AI right when and where they need it, without having to hunt down solutions on their own.

In sales, AI can help prioritize leads and recommend the sales plays most likely to close deals faster. Chatbots can help guide prospects through the sales funnel, gather data from user interactions, handle customer inquiries around the clock, and provide triage for customer support inquiries.

And this is just the beginning of the AI era.

ALSO READ: HubSpot How-To: Using AI Tools for Sales Call Summaries & Transcripts

Get Started — and Get Help

All these new AI-powered capabilities are thrilling, but it’s vital to understand that AI augments — but doesn’t replace — critical thinking, creativity, innovation, or human empathy. It can help automate tasks and provide insights, but human guidance and oversight still has to ensure ethical and effective implementation. 

The key is to strike a balance: leverage AI’s capabilities, yet maintain a truly human touch. Transparency is also necessary; for instance, this blog post was crafted with the assistance of AI tools, but the final product is the result of human revision and refining.

If you’re eager to learn more about leveraging AI in your marketing and sales efforts, join us for Experience Inbound, Wisconsin’s premier marketing and sales conference. It’s your chance to spend a day learning from industry leaders, networking with peers, and exploring the latest in data-driven marketing and sales.

Pick your date and location (May 7 in Milwaukee or May 8 in Green Bay) and click below to register your team today.