“We need to be more forward-thinking.” Oof, how many times have you heard that one?
It’s the kind of thing I hear time and time again in team meetings and strategy sessions. But what am I supposed to do with it? Plan my calendar really far in advance? Predict the future? Squint really hard?
I might not have a crystal ball, but I do have something better: a bank of exclusive insights from the smartest people in the game. This past year, we collaborated with some of the most visionary minds in marketing and tech. I’m talking about experts who aren’t just predicting trends but actively creating them.
I went back and read all of our Industry Insights articles from 2024 (wait, can I log that in Goodreads?), and along the way, a few overarching themes stuck out to me: personalization, trust, and (to no surprise) AI.
Beyond the buzzwords: 13 predictions from top industry experts
As I read through our archive, I was shocked to find a narrative taking shape. Sure, the tech world is changing. But what does that mean?
Our friends highlighted some important themes that will likely define the next year. And though AI is a constant throughout these predictions, something else stood out me: the need for human empathy and connection.
Beyond AI, there’s also a need for more personalization, which means we need to really understand and adapt to our customers’ needs. Data privacy won’t be viewed as another compliance rule to check off, it’ll be critical in order to build trust. And speaking of trust, you can also expect to see a rise in B2B influencers.
1. Customers will soon have their own AI
We’re all witnessing the AI revolution unfold in real time, which is both exhilarating and intimidating. While revisiting an interview with Leandro Perez, CMO of Asia-Pacific at Salesforce, I noticed that he puts the onus on marketers to understand the customers’ needs and how to properly implement AI tools.
The result? Ensuring we don’t get caught in a hellish cycle of AI communicating with itself.
“When an organization implements AI at scale, customers end up talking to AI. Soon, customers will have their own AI, so AI will be talking to AI.
“With this phenomenon, I think the function best equipped to understand the customer’s needs is marketing. So, I implore all marketers to ensure this technology is not left to other departments and teams alone. Marketers must take up this challenge.”
– Leandro Perez
CMO, Asia-Pacific at Salesforce
2. AI platforms will bring traffic to websites
Andy Crestodina, co-founder and CMO of Orbit Media (does he really need an intro?), makes a poignant prediction not only about how AI will impact search for users but how marketers will need to adapt to these changes.
My main takeaway (and what I’ll be stressing to my team in the new year) is that it’s not about following the old rules but rather adapting to new ones.
“In the future, visitors will use different channels when looking for answers and insights. Some people will stop using Google and start using AI just to get quick information. Therefore, click-through rates and traffic from search engines will decline.
“But this doesn’t mean that fewer people need answers. AI itself will be a new source of traffic for lots of websites. Although click-through rates from AI may not be high, AI applications can still mention you if you are active in training AI.
You can successfully train AI apps to recommend and trust your brand when providing answers.
“However, there will still be many key phrases for which the searcher intends to visit the website. AI will not impact these phrases. “
– Andy Crestodina
Co-founder and CMO at Orbit Media
3. AI will revolutionize backend processes and data management in CRM and MarTech
This past year, I’ve tried reminding myself that embracing AI is okay. When it comes down to it, adopting AI actually makes me better at my job. It’s not going to replace me; it’s going to help me.
Seasoned CRM and MarTech leader Ana Mourão has one of the most optimistic outlooks on AI I’ve seen. Ana believes that AI will play a critical role in maximizing our MarTech stacks, enforcing data quality for marketing campaigns, and impacting lead qualification in CRMs. Below are just a few quotes from her that really stuck out to me.
- “I see AI playing a crucial role in maximizing the value of the entire MarTech stack. AI can facilitate automation across platforms, making processes seamless.”
- “I’m excited about the potential of AI transforming CRM by governing data according to established data governance and contracts.”
- “Anything that is templated is primed for automation. If a package for product X sent to my email list proves successful, why not reuse and repurpose it? Understanding this is key to leveraging performance to the company’s advantage.”
– Ana Mourão
Digital marketing leader
4. Businesses will recognize the value of LLM APIs across marketing, HR, sales, and supply chain
When thinking about how AI will impact data generation, I immediately read our interview with Nitin Dhamelia, who worked with the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs to correct false data they reported.
Nitin breaks down how to discern data authenticity and shares lessons from the Financial Times debacle. The quotes below are just a small taste of the incredible knowledge he shares.
- “Business leaders will increasingly opt to use external LLMs via APIs rather than developing in-house models to achieve their goals.”
- “An example of this is creating synthetic data for brand marketing measurement surveys, enabling rapid marketing segmentation.”
- “Businesses can now rerun the LLM to generate synthetic data to anticipate demographic changes and adjust brand messaging accordingly.”
– Nitin Dhamelia
Marketing insights consultant
5. Empathy will counterbalance AI’s influence
Clearly, AI is at the top of everyone’s minds. So the next big question is this: what role will humans play moving forward? Like I said before, AI won’t replace us if we can figure out how to play off each other’s strengths.
Maja Voje, founder of Growth Lab, discusses how we can balance it all out with empathy – something AI can’t do. AI might be able to calculate equations or research a topic faster than me, but I’ll always be better at human-to-human connection (ha, take that, ChatGPT!).
“There are AI enrichment tools that make it easier than ever to target a customer and automate processes. On the other, there’s a focus on hyper personalization. People sell services through personal messages on LinkedIn and hold weekly calls with their community members.
“So, it depends on which side of the spectrum you want to be on. While some channels might die off or slow down, there will always be alternatives. In today’s digital-first world, we must build genuine relationships of trust based on human-to-human connection. This is also important in sales, where empathy is important.
“Empathy is the antidote to AI. Both empathy and the use of AI are required in combination, of course, so learn them.”
– Maja Voje
Founder of Growth Lab
6. Localization and personalization will be key to creating relevance and authenticity in brand narratives
Personalization is another marketing buzzword that, quite frankly, bugs me. Good marketing happens when you speak directly to the user’s wants and needs, and goes beyond slapping their name on a few emails.
Michael Kaye from OkCupid lays down exactly what you should do to differentiate yourself from your competitors and localize your product. After all, creating relevance and authenticity in your brand narrative through data storytelling is (and will continue to be) critical.
- “Our focus on localization and personalization is one key takeaway for G2 from OkCupid… We’ve developed localized matching questions for over 30 markets globally, making the app feel like a local product wherever you use it.”
- “Do the unexpected, but stay authentic. Look beyond the obvious, but remain consistent with your core principles.”
– Michael Kaye
Director of brand marketing & communications at OkCupid and ARCHER
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7. Companies must learn to control their own narratives
Sometimes, I take the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” to heart. When something is technically working, it can be scary to switch things up.
That’s why I really admire people like Melissa Rosenthal, co-founder of Outlever. Melissa truly understands that innovation isn’t a one-off task, but a mindset you need to have around the clock. Because face it, having a finger on the pulse of change is what separates great marketers from good ones.
- “Taking ownership of something and building it into the core motion of what you are as a company, what you stand for, and who you elevate is core to what gives a company credibility, what it speaks to, and what its customers care about.”
- “Keep a pulse on the future. If things stay stagnant for too long, you’re probably not headed in the right direction.”
– Melissa Rosenthal
Co-founder of Outlever
8. Smaller creators will dominate UGC success
Fun fact about me: I started my marketing career as a social media manager. But what’s crazy is if you plopped me back in that role today, I’d be lost. Content creation and marketing strategies change at lightning speed. The tactics I was using as a social media manager a decade ago are likely now obsolete.
Christopher Cox (one of my favorite follows on LinkedIn, by the way) shares some great takes on how marketers can break free from traditional constraints and embrace being nimble when it comes to creating content and partnering with others.
- “By engaging multiple creators, brands can develop a more sustainable strategy, enhancing content quality through collaboration and experimentation.”
- “Marketers need to become more nimble in how they partner with people. Not every task requires a full-time role or bureaucratic processes, nor should one person be burdened with multiple jobs.”
– Christopher Cox
Co-founder of Nebula Social
9. Social media and influencer marketing will be important for both B2B and B2C companies
For some reason, influencer marketing has remained closely associated with B2C companies. And if you’re thinking, “But B2B content isn’t interesting,” then here’s some advice: make it interesting.
Zoë Hartsfield has basically perfected this. In a world where every digital platform is flooded with content, you need to learn how to be seen and remembered. As I revisited this discussion with Zoë, I jotted down the words “inform, connect, and entertain” on my notepad.
- “Brands need a vibe, a personality, whether through internal subject matter experts or external influencers.”
- “Capturing people’s attention is an art. That’s why content that’s fun, exciting, and intriguing is important. I believe educational content, especially edutainment content that is both informative and fun, does best on LinkedIn.”
– Zoë Hartsfield
Senior manager of influencer marketing and evangelism at Apollo.io
10. Influencers and thought leadership will take over the B2B SaaS space
Why has influencer marketing been so successful in the B2C space? Well, it’s kind of a no-brainer: influencer marketing is based on trust and credibility. And while this peer-to-peer tactic isn’t usually found in the B2B space, it makes sense that it’s starting to gain more traction.
Jonathan Bland and Jason Steele, co-founders of Omni Lab Consulting, break down the importance of leveraging influencers’ loyal audiences and why thought leadership ads are about to take over.
- “B2B influencer marketing is a big opportunity, and thought leader ads is where that is all going to start.”
- “We can measure everything as best we can, but we need to start focusing on how we actually make our brand more well-known and entrusted. Thought leader ads is a tactic here.”
– Jonathan Bland
Co-founder of Omni Lab Consulting
11. Data privacy will be the hottest industry of the next decade
I’ve never given much thought to data privacy. I’m a marketer — a creative — so you can’t expect me to, right? Well, if I’ve learned anything this past year, it’s that I definitely need to.
This discussion with Adelina Peltea, CMO of Usercentrics, opened my eyes. The early days of the internet were like the Wild West, but as the years go by, things are becoming more structured. I think Adelina has a wonderful perspective on how legislative changes aren’t just annoying hurdles to overcome but rather important changes to the ongoing discussion of internet ethics.
- “There is legislation that is helping businesses like ours succeed. From the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 to the Digital Marketing Act (DMA) this year, we see a significant shift.”
- “So, I think we are in a good place where it’s not just us pushing against the wind. We are now witnessing a new maturity level for the internet in terms of how we do transactions and how we collaborate between individuals and businesses online. That’s super important.”
– Adelina Peltea
CMO of Usercentrics
12. Fractional executives are the future
The last five years have really changed the way we do our jobs. For instance, if you had told me at the start of 2020 that I wouldn’t have to step foot in an office again on a regular basis, I would have thought you hit your head.
However, remote work is not the only way traditional work models are being challenged. Through Adam Walker, I learned about the world of fractional C-suite executives. Adam explains how to be smart about hiring and why great talent doesn’t have to be a full-time commitment.
- “If you can get high-quality thinking, high-quality strategy, and high-quality leadership and execution from somebody on a part-time basis, it’s a win for you because you’re saving money, and it’s a win for them because they’re making money.”
- “Why not try it and save some money and get better quality stuff?”
– Adam Walker
Co-founder and head of marketing and operations at Edgewise Media
13. The future of B2B sales involves understanding and growing alongside your customers
Like you, I’ve been on both sides of the sales journey — sometimes the buyer, sometimes the seller. And we’ve all witnessed firsthand how sales tactics can fall flat.
Nick Telson, co-founder of trumpet, dives into the importance of aligning digital and human interactions in sales, as well as some key strategies for successful buyer enablement. In short, don’t just push your products on people. Create real, meaningful connections with customers that actually serve their needs.
“What makes a company successful in sales? The answer is empathy and customer understanding. Buyer enablement identifies customer problems and works proactively to answer and solve them. An enhanced buyer experience, a greater ROI, and stronger customer relationships are the key benefits. But that’s not all — it also establishes brand authority and reliability.”
– Nick Telson
Co-founder of trumpet
The balancing act
It seems that we’re entering 2025 with a bit of a conundrum: we must fully embrace and utilize AI while simultaneously doubling down on human connection. It may seem like a classic catch-22, but trust me, it’s not as impossible as it seems. The keyword of 2025 is going to be balance. I’ll be challenging my team to think about which tasks can be automated and which ones require human intervention.
Your focus shouldn’t be on using AI for everything but rather using AI intelligently. You don’t have to choose between AI and humanity; you just need to strike the perfect balance between the two. It may not happen right away, but I have a feeling this will be the year we learn to coexist with our AI tools.
I’m ready to try, fail, and try again in 2025. Are you?
