GTM, AI, and Other Acronyms: Takeaways from B2BSMX 2023

The last time I went to an in-person conference was a couple of years ago. The return made me doubly excited. 

This past week, I had a chance to visit historic Boston and attend the B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange 2023. It featured talks and keynotes about strategy for B2B sales and marketing leaders. The conference itself took place in a very lovely (and recently built) Encore Casino. I didn’t play at the casino, but I heard it was also marvelous.

Boston was a great city and wonderfully walkable. Lots of remarkable landmarks, history, and places to reflect on, and reflect I did.

I attended the keynotes, met old friends, made many new friends, and connected with brilliant entrepreneurs. I took a lot of notes during the sessions and noticed there were plenty of fresh perspectives shared.

I walked away with these six takeaways from the world of B2B marketing and sales, AI, and business at large.

AI in the conversation

Surprisingly, there was less official conversation about AI at B2B SMX than expected. At the same time, many of the sessions and talks recognized AI as an inevitable disruptor. There were allusions to it and many side conversations about it, from things overheard by people to personal conversations. The conversation around AI was bubbling throughout.

We as an industry don’t yet know what we’re doing with AI and are collectively proceeding cautiously. AI is undeniably on the radar. People recognize it as a significant opportunity. This situation reflects that we are still in the early stages of finding good solutions and understanding what they look like.

GTM is big-time

GTM (Go-To-Market) was definitely a hot topic in the collective market of ideas. While it would have been hard to pin down one definition of GTM, the spirit and framework of GTM were strongly resonant.

One thing to note is that a good framework can never be the end-all, be-all solution (not that GTM aims to be). Sometimes a framework and idea can be so well-presented that it creates an illusion of panacea. 

On the other hand, it’s also important to focus on a few frameworks rather than employ too many within a team because frameworks lose their ability to help align organizations.

With that said, I’m always a fan of frameworks & systems that help align. And that’s definitely the goal of GTM.

Unifying Sales and Marketing

One of the reasons that GTM was a hot topic is because there was a general air of working to unify sales and marketing.

There was a considerable conversation about merging sales and marketing and the role of marketing in driving revenue. 

However, implementing it seems easier said than done. Organizational and human connectivity issues always persist, no matter how earnest and firm the intention to unify.

The merging of B2B and B2C attention

The pandemic accelerated the shift of B2B buying behavior to mirror that of a B2C customer. Borrowing from the B2C marketing playbooks will do B2B marketers a lot of good. 

This parallel extends to the increasing difficulty sales has in booking meetings, getting people on calls, or even checking emails. Breaking through this noise has become a persistent challenge for marketing and sales leaders.

Wanting deeper data

ABM is feeling like the old guard. People want ABM while also going down to prospect-level data and intent. Additionally, intent data was a prevalent topic, helping layer in a solution for modern marketers. In trying to get deeper data, multiple layered solutions are required components.

Marketers will market and will always want to track and predict. AI will soon be helping us get insights from this data, plus creating relevant hyper-personalization based on all that deeper data.

Power of human connection

One of the drawbacks experienced in a WFH-only work setup (which I had set up for several years before the pandemic) is physical disconnection from people. There’s something to being in a space dedicated to shared knowledge, goal, or vision. This conference provided a strong reminder of the power of physically connecting with people. Conferences and trade shows are great for putting faces to names. Now those faces become new friends. 

Remembering the human underneath and having that perspective will help in marketing, business, and life. The things we do as marketing and sales leaders must always appeal to the power of humans. 

On to the next one

The B2B Sales & Marketing Exchange 2023 provided a rich and fertile ground for ideas, collaboration, and growth. 

Embracing the blend of technology with a human touch, seeking deeper data, and fostering unity between sales and marketing are my key guiding lights. The future of B2B marketing is dynamic and evolving, and I had a chance to share time with the people at the forefront of shaping that change.