Business Trends

B2B marketing budgets are rising in 2026, but benchmarks vary by business model

Forrester and 10Fold data points to budget growth in 2026. CMO Survey benchmarks show the real planning mistake is using one % of revenue.

HG Insights is betting B2B buyers will size up software inside AI answers first

HG Insights is updating TrustRadius for “GEO” and “AEO,” as TrustRadius reports that 63% of B2B buyers use AI during research.

Forrester’s Q3 2026 Wave puts Optimizely’s agentic experimentation on procurement shortlists

Optimizely’s Forrester Wave placement shifts experience optimization buying toward governed, warehouse-native agentic experimentation.

B2B demand gen leaders are ditching MQL volume for sourced revenue and influenced pipeline in 2026

Demand Gen Report's 2026 benchmark survey shows B2B marketing teams replacing vanity metrics with revenue attribution, AI workflows, and shared sales goals.

Global ecommerce is on track to surpass $6 trillion, and enterprise operators are still leaving money on the table

Global ecommerce is closing in on $6 trillion, yet cart abandonment, mobile friction, and slow AI adoption mean most enterprise operators are underperforming th

AI is splitting enterprise marketing automation into two tiers, and the valuation gap is widening

14 marketing automation companies have crossed $1B in valuation, while the top 10 capture 74.5% of total sector value, and AI is accelerating the divide.

95% of B2B marketers use AI in 2026, but fewer than 4 in 10 say it's actually working

CMI's 2026 B2B research exposes the gap between AI adoption and real performance gains, while buying committees hit 11.2 members on average.

Brand trust, short-term pressure, and the ROI of creativity: what's reshaping the B2B CMO mandate in 2026

New research reveals B2B CMOs are trading long-term brand investment for internal credibility, even as data shows creativity drives measurable commercial growth

Marketing automation is no longer optional for manufacturers chasing B2B leads

With 80% of users reporting lead gains and 77% seeing higher conversion rates, manufacturing marketers without automation are falling behind.

Three martech moves reshaping how enterprise teams buy, automate, and engage in 2026

Outreach, Tenon, and Sprinklr each dropped significant product news on July 16, here's what it means for revenue ops, IT, and CX teams.