B2B Marketing’s Judgment Call: AI, ABM and the End of 'More Is More'

B2B marketers are not short on tools, trends or tactics. What they need now is better judgment about which ones are actually worth using.

In this episode of MarketingEDGE, Abby White and Alexis Gajewski discuss the month’s most-read MarketingEDGE stories and what they reveal about where B2B marketing is headed next. From AI overconfidence and weak data systems to ABM nurture gaps, B2C trend translation and the case for experimenting with multiple AI tools, the conversation centers on one big theme: Discernment is becoming a competitive advantage.

The episode explores why audience quality matters more than lead volume, why AI output still needs a skeptical human editor, why ABM success depends on stronger sales-marketing alignment and why B2B brands can borrow from consumer marketing without chasing every shiny trend.

What You'll Learn:

• Why audience quality, trust and relevance are becoming more valuable than lead volume alone
• How marketers can use AI without over-trusting outputs or weakening their own judgment
• Why ABM leads often stall when nurture strategy and sales alignment fall short
• How to borrow from B2C marketing trends without forcing ideas that don’t fit your B2B audience
• Why experimenting with multiple AI tools can help marketers better understand strengths, weaknesses and use cases

Episode Resources: 

Five Takeaways for B2B Marketers From OX9

Unprompted: We're Getting Better at Using AI Wrong 

ABM Misfires, Part 3: Your ABM Leads Aren’t Failing — Your Nurture Strategy Is 

Translating B2C Marketing Trends into B2B: What to Do and What Not to Do 

Confessions of a Chronic AI Chatbot Hopper

Prefer to read? Here's an excerpt of the podcast transcript*

Abby White: So, this month's top stories, it looks like marketers in general are feeling a little less dazzled by tactics and more interested in judgment. Does that mean the party's over? What's going on?

Alexis Gajewski: No, I don't think the party is necessarily over. I think we're just figuring out how to use the party favors in a new way, or maybe, you know, what some of the downfalls are for those party favors. Maybe they're a little too loud, or something like that.

Abby White: OK, I'm following you. So, so basically, maybe the common thread here is discernment. What deserves our attention, what do we need to rethink, and maybe what do we just stop doing, because everybody else is doing it, and it's overkill? So, a good time to evaluate is what you're saying.

Alexis Gajewski: Yep, that's 100% what I'm thinking. Again, you know, tools and technology are only as good as how you're able to use and understand them.

Abby White: Absolutely. So, let's get to our first article here. So, this first one we're going to talk about is actually one that I wrote. It's 5 Takeaways for B2B Marketers from OX9. So, my biggest takeaway, I would say, from OX9 is that the focus was really on audience quality, trust, AI governance and proving value in a more complicated environment, which I think we can all agree we are operating in right now.

Alexis Gajewski: It's funny, because we're seeing a lot of the same themes coming up at a lot of different events, so I was at Digital Summit this year, seeing some similar ideas, and I think it's just really talking to where the industry is right now, what everyone is feeling. We're seeing a lot in how people are feeling this way, even if they're not in marketing, especially when it comes to tech and AI and things like that. So, I think these are just forces and ideas that are kind of the undercurrent for everything right now, and marketers, especially, are feeling it. It's a turbulent time, I think, for everyone, and anyone who tells you they have it figured out, 100% lying to you.

Abby White: So, one thing I really liked about this conference is that it was a more data-focused conference. Obviously, we talked a lot about data governance and the fact that if you don't have your systems in place, you don't have your content structured, you don't have your audience structured in a way that all your data is clean, ideally a unified data system — that's kind of the dream. If you have weak systems, you're gonna have weak AI output. And that applies to content, thank goodness, because that keeps us all working, right?

I would say my strongest takeaway here is that, in addition to governance and consent, those being competitive advantages, making sure your data's clean, is that marketers, we need to show value beyond lead volume, and, you know, we're looking at the quality of our audience members, the quality of our users. Are these people that have intent? Are we getting the right people to our site, since we know site traffic is declining, and all the things that are happening with traffic in general? So, really, relevance is the new scale. It's not just the volume; it's not how many people clicked on something. Marketers can prove their ROI by being more useful, more credible, and more intentional in their approaches.

So, that whole idea of being more intentional, kind of is that I segue into your article that we're going to talk about next. This particular article, love the title, you get right to the point. We're getting better at using AI wrong.

Tell us about that, Alexis.

Alexis Gajewski: So, there has been a lot of talk recently; just some of the glimmer has gone a little bit off of AI, and it's just because the reality is sinking in for a lot of people. So, things that we kind of assumed about AI aren't really true once we're starting to put those things into place, since we're actually putting them into our workflows. So one of the things that I've, you know, highlighted in there is just that we're trusting AI way too much. It's telling us everything we want to hear in this beautiful, elegant kind of way, and we go, "It has to be true!" And what you have to remember is you have to be looking at everything that it's producing and proofreading everything that it's producing, because it's going to give you some great things, and you're going to get lulled into this idea of, like, oh no, it will always be right. And unfortunately, like a person, it is not always right, and you do have to double-check and sometimes triple-check.

Abby White: Exactly. One thing I really liked about your article is that, AI skills in general might be improving, but that whole idea that maybe people think, oh, I'm better at using it, like, I can trust what's coming out of it, and like, oh no, you still need to treat this like, you know, a junior associate who, you need to proofread their work, you need to train them. I think as long as you're using AI, you check your work, you just make sure the sources are verifiable, and you make sure everything aligns. So, I think that the lesson here is to slow down, you know, you've got that human judgment for a reason. Use it.

Alexis Gajewski: 100%. You are the person, you are the leader, you're the one who's driving this. And the second you let AI take control over it, that's gonna be the point where you're really starting to make mistakes and missteps, and someone is going to see it and know very quickly that person has no idea what they're actually talking about, and it's just because you gave control to the AI.

Abby White: Yep, and you lose trust immediately when you do that. It's really hard to get that back. You brought up manufacturing and the whole idea of human-in-the-loop. It's like, with content, the human needs to be at the wheel. One area in marketing where you really cannot afford to skimp on the human at the wheel is with your account-based marketing, or ABM. So, our next article is by our contributor, Delaney Rebernick, and it's called ABM Misfires Part 3, so it is part 3 in a series that Delaney has written for us this spring, called Your ABM Leads Aren't Failing, Your Nurture Strategy Is. The problem that Delaney talks about here is that the leads might be there, but the follow-up strategy isn't really moving the needle and really isn't, you know, getting that conversion, that result that we're looking for. So, what was your take on this, Alexis?

Alexis Gajewski: So, I really liked it. I love any sort of piece where it's kind of like a myth-busting, or your traditional approach to things is no longer working, because everyone's gone into an environment, be it, you know, a marketing company, a team, something like that, and you get the approach of, we do this because this is how we do this. And the second, you're like, well, maybe there's a better, maybe there's a different way. You get hit with. No, we do it this way, because we do it this way, kind of thing. So, I think this is a great resource to bring to other people to really talk about a different approach. I also really loved, in the article, talking about the partnership between marketing and sales, because I think so often you can get caught up in your own needs, your own thoughts, your own approaches to things, but everything is better when you bring in those kind of partnerships, and you're actually talking about what is it that you actually need, what can I provide for you? Those kind of things. So, loved those kind of aspects of it as well.

Abby White: Absolutely. And I love that you brought up that collaboration between marketing and sales. You know, that is essential because, you know, even though they might have slightly different parts of the process they're working on and that they're responsible for, it still intertwines. I think the takeaway is that ABM for marketers doesn't stop when the lead comes in. You can't just pass it over, there's still some work that needs to be done. Help out your sales team.

Our next article, which I loved, is one that our colleague Raissa Rocha wrote. It's called, Translating B2C Marketing Trends into B2B, What to Do and What Not to Do.

Alexis Gajewski: That is a perpetual problem, and I think everyone does try to take inspiration from B2C, just because that's what we're used to seeing. I think everyone has gotten an email from a company and just thought, this is so great, how could I use this in my B2B kind of life? You know, and just where is, you know, that kind of line? In my own personal experience, one, it's not allowing that to hold you back from thinking that what you, you know, your industry, your coverage area, is sexy. It's not maybe what you're thinking that it is, but it is to someone, kind of, and they are treating this the same way you would think about, like, a B2C kind of thing. And also, thinking of your clients, your audience members, your customers, you know, that idea that they are rounded people, and they like things that are funny. They're people. They like things that are humorous, that are voice-forward, that give them something that they can't get elsewhere. They like these kinds of things because they're people. So I think sometimes that holds us back, but my greatest takeaway was being purposeful about it. Really understanding, testing, trying, figuring out, and you can't even say, like, this is the best practice that will work for all B2B people.

Abby White: Yeah, I completely agree, and I think another key point that Raisa made is that, like, the goal isn't necessarily imitation; it's translation. And so, like you said, these are people. They're on social media, they're watching fun cat videos, too. They are doing all these same things. They're aware of these trends. We don't always just have to do what was done before. Oh my goodness, what a concept! We can try something new. And you know what? If it doesn't work, move on. You know, try something a little bit low-risk, low-cost, if you're not sure. Borrow selectively, adapt intelligently, and trust your instinct on knowing what your audience wants from you, but also don't be afraid to push it a little bit, you know?

So, speaking of sexy, we're gonna get to our last story here by our colleague Erin Hallstrom called Confessions of a Chronic AI Chatbot Hopper. Alexis, I'm sure you have some strong feelings about this, being in AI land. So, Erin is explaining her approach to how she's using a lot of different AI tools and platforms. She's not always just married to one; she is playing in the field when it comes to our AI tools. So, what is your take on this?

Alexis Gajewski: I love this article from two really distinct points. One, I love the article because she's talking about a way that I think a lot of people aren't using AI, because, like me, they find one that really works. And in this article, Erin really talks about the benefits, so you can see the strengths and weaknesses. So, I love it from that standpoint, really talking about all of the benefits of using this in a way that a lot of us really aren't and should be. But also, I love this article for marketers to talk about voice, personality, and, in the age of AI, how you can really talk about a topic, but make it human-focused.

Abby White: Well, and speaking of human, she had me as soon as she compared her AI, jumping to Blanche Devereaux of The Golden Girls or Samantha Jones of Sex and the City. So, if you're too young to understand what that means, you've got some TV watching to do! But I agree with you. I absolutely loved this. It's not so much about what tool's the hottest. Oh, we need to move everything over to this platform, we need to start over. No, use what you like and experiment. They're changing so rapidly. What meets your needs today could very well change, and your company might, you know, buy or license a platform you have to use, so you're gonna have to be nimble. I think it kind of circles back to the point that you can't rely on it too much, like, blindly either, you know? Like, you've got to be able to still use that human judgment, and I think by using different tools like that, you just kind of strengthen that ability to really analyze what it's putting out, because you're comparing it to your other experiences, so that always keeps you sharp.

Alexis, thank you for joining me today!

Alexis Gajewski: Thank you so much for having me, as always.

Abby White: Absolutely! So, for all of you out there, thank you for listening. We always enjoy sharing the most popular stories with you — we have a lot of fun putting these together. So, thank you so much, and we'll see you all next month!

*Transcript lightly edited for clarity and brevity