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B2BMX 2026 Takeaways: AI, Trust, and What’s Next for B2B Marketing
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
For a lot of us coming from the still-frozen East Coast and Midwest, sunny Carlsbad, California felt like a warm, welcoming hug. Stepping off the plane and into the palm-, fruit tree-, and flower-lined Omni Resort, marketers across B2B industries arrived ready to nourish their strategies—and soak up some much-needed vitamin D.
As a B2B Marketing Exchange sponsor, the Energize Marketing® team had the opportunity to engage with marketers across sessions, networking events, and the show floor. Personally, I valued the chance to connect with peers from startups to global enterprises. Despite the diversity of industries and company sizes, a clear pattern emerged: many were grappling with the same core challenges.
Two Challenges, One Bigger Problem
Two themes surfaced again and again in conversations.
The first—unsurprisingly—was AI implementation. It was almost comical how often I heard some version of: “Our C-suite keeps saying, ‘Use more AI,’ but we’re not really sure how.” Despite the explosion of AI vendors and capabilities, many teams still lack a clear playbook. Events like B2BMX have become a place to search for that clarity.
As John Johansen, Director of Global B2B Growth Marketing at Keeper Security, put it:
“With AI it is easier than ever to narrow audience targeting and personalize messaging…but we’re also facing data security questions, content quality issues, and existential concerns. Our experimentation mindset will be crucial in sorting out real results versus chasing shiny distractions.”
The second theme was the growing challenge of building trust across increasingly complex buying committees. Today’s marketers are being asked to do more with leaner teams, fewer vendors, and heightened accountability for pipeline and ROI. The margin for error is shrinking—and so is the time available to think strategically.
Kim Maibaum, Senior Product Marketing Manager at WatchGuard Technologies, captured the value of these shared conversations:
“Beyond the interesting vendors and speakers, connecting with others who have similar experience sparked meaningful conversations… and provided insights I’m excited to bring back to my role.”
AI Pressure and Trust Are Intertwined
What stood out most was how connected these two challenges really are.
The pressure to “figure out AI” is not separate from the pressure to build trust. Teams are being pushed to move faster—often without a clear understanding of what actually earns attention or credibility with buyers. So they experiment, add tools, and increase output… but still struggle to drive meaningful pipeline impact.
That tension showed up everywhere. Marketers aren’t short on ideas or effort—they’re short on clarity around what actually moves buyers forward.
As Cori Gordon, VP of Sales & Growth at Energize Marketing, summarized:
“AI, data, and creativity have to work together—but they only drive results when grounded in real human connection. The teams pulling ahead are scaling AI across research, content, and analytics while doubling down on credibility, community, and true go-to-market alignment.”
What Actually Moves the Needle
This is where Energize’s perspective continues to resonate.
Marketers are highly capable—but access and alignment are harder than ever to achieve. If you’re not consistently reaching the right decision-makers, and your content isn’t aligned to how they evaluate and decide, building trust becomes nearly impossible—regardless of how advanced your tools are.
Ricky Abbott, President at Transmission, highlighted how buyer behavior itself is evolving:
“Customer habits are changing… they’re engaging in long-form, short-form, and AI-driven experiences. As B2B marketers, we need to adapt—moving away from traditional brand-to-demand motions and toward more dynamic, experience-led strategies.”
What we heard at B2BMX reinforces what we see every day: teams are trying to scale demand in an environment where attention is fragmented and buying groups are harder to engage. Adding more channels or more AI alone doesn’t solve that.
What does make a difference is being intentional—about who you reach and what you deliver when you do.
When marketers connect verified audience access with credible, insight-driven content, everything changes. Conversations become more productive. Sales teams start further along. Pipeline becomes something measurable and optimizable—not just aspirational.
Turning Insight Into Action
Events like B2BMX are energizing not just because of the setting, but because they bring shared challenges into the open. The real opportunity lies in what comes next: turning those conversations into more focused, intentional execution.
To go deeper into what today’s marketers are facing, explore our 2026 Global State of Demand Generation Report: