In 2025, B2B marketing finds itself at a turning point. Not because of a sudden crash, but because of a gradual realisation: the methods we’ve used — and sold — no longer serve buyers the way they once did.

The nature of buyer behaviour has changed dramatically. B2B customers are self-directed, digitally native, and increasingly making decisions long before sales ever get involved. In fact, recent research suggests that 69% of B2B buying happens before you even know it, and 80% of the time, the first brand considered goes on to win.

If you’re an agency or consultancy, especially in the B2B space, it’s worth asking: are the programmes we’re building really built for this new buying reality? Or are we still constructing campaigns and journeys that assume buyers are patiently walking a linear path — one we’ve architected from ad to form-fill to funnel?

The truth is, much of the buyer journey now happens anonymously. Out of sight. Off the radar. The challenge isn’t how to convert a lead anymore — it’s how to become the brand considered first, and how to do so without waiting for an inbound signal that may never come.

Not a Tweak. A Redesign.

Mark Wiseman-Smith, founder of The Craft, reflects on what this means for agencies:

“This isn’t like a recession where you batten down the hatches. This is a shift in power. The buyer now decides what content to consume, who to trust, and how they want to research. And most of the time, they don’t want to be put into our systems — they want to self-educate and self-select.”

So it’s no longer enough to deliver ‘activity’. What agencies (and their clients) now need is clarity. Not just on what to do next — but on how to position themselves in the first place.

“The strongest thing you can do is be crystal clear about what you are, what you offer, what you enable your customer to do, and why you’re different. That sounds simple. But it’s rarely done well.”

Most businesses struggle to describe themselves with precision. Many default to catch-alls. Or buzzwords. Or mission statements that don’t ladder down into the real, functional language of selling.

And when you get that wrong — no amount of brand work, creative, or demand gen will rescue it.

Brand Isn’t the Strategy — Positioning Is

That brings us to the current obsession with brand. The rush to brand is the B2B industry’s next shiny object — a response to the burnout of ABM, the fatigue of lead gen, and the ROI struggles of demand gen.

“If you’re going to do brand, do it right. But don’t pretend it’s the strategy. Don’t pour spend into creative without anchoring it in positioning. Otherwise, it’s a hypothetical disaster — beautiful output, lots of cost, minimal results.”

Instead of discarding brand as a tactic, we need to redefine it through a more rigorous lens. Brand must be the output of a smart, clear, well-articulated position — not the other way around.

“If you get your positioning right, and it reflects what the buyer needs to hear in the moment they’re quietly making their choice — then that’s when brand starts to matter.”

Where Does This Leave Agencies?

In the short term, many agencies are still adjusting. Some are clinging to large programmes. Some are over-engineering data journeys. Some are reinventing the same offers under new labels. Meanwhile, clients are building their own internal capability — and increasingly questioning the value of external support.

“This is the moment to reshape how we work. Agencies will always have a role — but the nature of that role is changing. It’s less about owning programmes, and more about offering high-value interventions. Less about running content at scale, more about making positioning tight and relevant from the start.”

Looking Ahead

In the next five years, the most valuable partners to B2B businesses won’t be those that run the longest nurture track or generate the highest number of MQLs. They’ll be the ones who can help their clients show up with clarity — before the buyer ever makes themselves known.

They’ll be the ones who understand that the modern B2B audience doesn’t want to be processed through a funnel. They want to see something that makes sense from their perspective. Something they can believe in. Something worth choosing. At the time they are looking.

That starts with positioning. Not creative. Not messaging. But clarity of offer. Precision of value. Competitive distinctiveness, shaped for a new kind of buyer.

That’s the step-change. Are we ready to make it?