Key Takeaways
- Hybrid, omnichannel buying is now the default: B2B buyers are nearly 70% through their journey before talking to sales, and one-third of interactions happen in-person, one-third remote, and one-third via digital self-serve, so your marketing and SDR motions must span every channel.
- Account-based marketing (ABM) and tight sales–marketing alignment consistently outperform spray-and-pray lead gen, so B2B teams should organize around target accounts, shared pipeline goals, and coordinated outbound.
- AI and automation have moved from shiny object to core infrastructure, with over half of marketers using AI tools; sales teams that use AI for research, scoring, and personalization gain serious efficiency and response-rate advantages.
- Content-led, video-first marketing is now table stakes: buyers self-educate through articles, case studies, and video long before a meeting, so your outbound and SDR scripts must plug directly into a strong content engine.
- Email is still the number-one outreach channel for B2B buyers, but generic blasts are dead; personalized, multi-touch sequences that blend email, phone, social, and video consistently drive higher reply and meeting rates.
- Social selling and dark social (communities, feeds, DMs) influence more deals than most CRMs show, so front-line reps need visible personal brands and consistent posting, not just one-off connection requests.
- To execute these trends without burning out your in-house team, many companies are leaning on flexible, outsourced SDR partners like SalesHive to provide scalable cold calling, email outreach, and account-based list building.
Why the “2022 Trends” Still Matter in 2025
The big reason we still talk about B2B marketing trends from 2022 is simple: that period wasn’t a fad cycle, it was an operating-system update for how buyers buy. In today’s journeys, buyers are nearly 70% of the way through a purchase before they ever engage sales, and in 80% of deals it’s the buyer who initiates the first contact. When that’s the reality, marketing and sales development don’t “support” revenue—they shape it long before a meeting exists.
At the same time, the bar for relevance keeps rising. Gartner reports 61% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free buying experience, and 73% actively avoid suppliers that send irrelevant outreach. That doesn’t mean outbound is dead; it means generic outbound is dead. Your job is to show up with the right message, in the right channel, at the right moment, and then make it easy for the buyer to stay in control.
This article reframes the “top 10” trends as a practical playbook: hybrid omnichannel buying, ABM, content-led growth, AI-assisted personalization, social influence, and pipeline-first measurement. We’ll keep it grounded in what SDRs, AEs, and marketers can implement this quarter—without chasing shiny objects or piling more work onto an already stretched team.
Hybrid, Omnichannel Buying Is the Baseline (Not a Differentiator)
The biggest structural shift that emerged around 2022 is now locked in: buyers mix channels on their terms. McKinsey’s B2B research consistently shows a roughly even split in preferences—about 1/3 in-person, 1/3 remote, and 1/3 digital self-serve—depending on stage and situation. If your go-to-market only “works” in one mode (all email, all events, or all calls), you’ll disappear in the rest of the journey.
For revenue teams, omnichannel isn’t about adding random touches; it’s about orchestrating consistent value across email, phone, LinkedIn, and content. That’s why the best outbound sales agency motions look coordinated: a short email that points to a useful resource, a call that confirms priorities, and a social touch that builds familiarity before the next step. The goal is familiarity plus relevance, not volume.
A common mistake we see is chasing every new channel before fixing fundamentals like ICP clarity, data quality, and lead-routing SLAs. Omnichannel compounds what you already have—if your targeting is sloppy, it just spreads sloppiness faster. Start by mapping how your best customers actually buy, then align channels to each stage so your SDRs aren’t improvising a new process on every account.
Content-Led Selling: Buyers Self-Educate Before They Talk to You
When buyers do most of their research privately, your content becomes your first sales call. Multiple studies indicate roughly 75% of B2B buyers prefer to research online before engaging a rep, and many prefer to complete purchases digitally as well. In practice, this means the first time your SDR gets a reply, the buyer may already have requirements, a shortlist, and strong opinions—often shaped by third-party content you didn’t create.
That’s why content investment has stayed strong since the 2022 inflection point. Data cited by Forbes Advisor shows 45% of B2B content marketers expect content budgets to increase, and 69% plan to invest in video. For sales development, the takeaway isn’t “make more content”; it’s “make the right assets easy to deploy inside active cadences.”
We recommend building a tight content spine that matches real buying stages: problem awareness, solution exploration, and vendor comparison. Then train SDRs to use those assets as conversation starters rather than link drops—one strong guide, a proof-driven case study, and a short video can outperform a dozen generic PDFs. Content-led selling works best when outbound and inbound are designed together, not owned by separate teams.
ABM Works When It’s an Operating Model, Not “Spam These Logos Harder”
Account-based marketing crossed from “promising” to “standard” because it maps to how complex B2B deals actually close: through multiple stakeholders inside a limited set of high-fit accounts. Recent ABM benchmarking shows 71% of B2B organizations focus on ABM as a key strategy. The teams winning with it treat ABM as a go-to-market model that aligns marketing, SDRs, AEs, and RevOps around the same target list and the same pipeline outcomes.
The classic ABM failure mode is treating it like a named-account upload into a sequencing tool—same message, same cadence, just “better” logos. That creates account fatigue and burns brand trust, especially when buyers already avoid irrelevant outreach. Real ABM looks like tiering accounts, tailoring angles by persona, coordinating touches across roles, and using marketing (ads, webinars, events, retargeting) to reinforce what SDRs and AEs are saying.
If you want a practical starting point, run a focused ABM pilot for 50–100 accounts for 90 days. Co-select accounts across marketing and sales, define what “coverage” and “engagement” mean, and measure meetings and pipeline per account instead of raw activity volume. ABM doesn’t require more effort everywhere; it requires more focus where it matters.
Use AI to do the heavy lifting, not the thinking—let automation scale research and first drafts, while humans own strategy, relevance, and quality.
AI and Automation: The New Infrastructure for Personalization
AI moved from “interesting” to “required” because the modern buyer expects relevance at scale. LinkedIn’s B2B benchmarking reports 66% of B2B marketers are already using generative AI to enhance their programs, and the most successful teams tend to pair AI with tighter targeting and clearer measurement. Used well, AI helps SDRs research faster, prioritize better, and write stronger first drafts without sacrificing accuracy or tone.
Used poorly, AI creates the exact outcome buyers are trying to avoid: templated, irrelevant noise. One of the biggest mistakes we see is over-automating outreach with generic AI content that looks “personalized” but says nothing real—reply rates fall, deliverability suffers, and domains get burned. The fix is straightforward: use AI for research and structure, then require reps to add a few lines of human-grade context tied to the account, role, or trigger.
A simple implementation that works: standardize an AI-assisted research checklist (company model, recent initiatives, role priorities, and a relevant proof point), and bake that into every sequence step that matters. When we run programs as an SDR agency, we treat quality control as a system—messaging QA, sending-volume guardrails, and ongoing learnings—because automation without governance is just faster failure.
Outbound That Gets Replies: Email Still Leads, but Omnichannel Wins
Email remains the most commonly preferred outreach channel for B2B buyers, with 73% naming it as their top channel in some studies, but open-rate benchmarks hovering around the 20% range underline the point: volume doesn’t equal outcomes. The winners treat email as one coordinated step in a sequence, not the entire strategy. That’s why a strong cold email agency motion pairs relevance with timing, and uses follow-ups that add value rather than pressure.
Phone still matters, too—especially when done professionally and positioned as a fast way to confirm fit. Many teams assume cold calling is “old school,” but in a hybrid journey it’s simply another channel for buyers who want a quick, human answer. When companies evaluate a cold calling agency or cold calling services, the real question should be whether the calls are integrated with email, social touches, and content—not whether the team can crank through dials.
Social selling and “dark social” influence more deals than most CRMs ever show, which is why we like simple, repeatable LinkedIn habits over one-off campaigns. Treat LinkedIn outreach services as a way to build familiarity: clean profiles, consistent posting, thoughtful commenting, and DM follow-ups that feel natural after a prospect has already seen your points of view. In an omnichannel world, your sequence should feel like a cohesive conversation across mediums, not a disjointed barrage.
Measurement and Ops: Stop Optimizing for MQLs, Start Optimizing for Pipeline
The trend underneath all the others is accountability: teams are finally measuring what matters. If buyers are largely self-serving and engaging late, then impressions and lead volume can’t be the scoreboard—pipeline is. The practical shift is to connect programs to meetings booked with ICP accounts, opportunities created, stage progression, sales-cycle length, and win rates, so you know what to scale and what to cut.
One of the most damaging mistakes is splitting metrics by department—marketing on MQLs, sales on closed-won—with nothing shared in between. That setup encourages misaligned behavior: marketing optimizes for form fills, SDRs inherit unqualified leads, and AEs lose time in bad-fit discovery. The fix is shared definitions (SQL, opportunity, qualified meeting), shared targets, and a single revenue dashboard reviewed weekly across marketing, SDRs, AEs, and RevOps.
Operationally, the basics still win: clean data, consistent fields, deduping, and fast lead routing. Even the best intent signal is wasted if it doesn’t trigger quick human follow-up, and even the best messaging fails if the list is wrong. If you invest in b2b list building services or new automation, tie that spend to downstream metrics like meeting rate and opportunity rate, not just “more contacts.”
How to Execute These Trends Without Burning Out Your Team
Most teams don’t fail because they disagree with the trends—they fail because execution capacity is limited. Omnichannel sequences, ABM research, content workflows, and AI governance all take time, and your top reps shouldn’t be stuck duct-taping systems together. That’s why more companies now consider sales outsourcing or an outsourced sales team to stabilize the workload while keeping strategy in-house.
The right partner should look less like a vendor and more like an extension of your revenue org: tight ICP discipline, multi-channel execution, transparent reporting, and a willingness to be measured on meetings and opportunities, not activity volume. Whether you’re evaluating an sdr agency, a b2b sales agency, or a sales development agency that provides telemarketing and outbound, insist on strong QA, list hygiene, and messaging iteration—because those are what protect your brand and deliverability.
At SalesHive, our model exists for this exact reason: we help teams operationalize modern outbound without forcing them to hire and train an entire function at once. We’ve booked 100,000+ meetings for 1,500+ clients by combining targeted list building, cold calling, email outreach, and SDR outsourcing into one coordinated engine. The best next step is to pick one or two improvements—like an ABM pilot or AI-assisted personalization—implement them with clear pipeline KPIs, and then expand only after the numbers prove it.
Sources
📊 Key Statistics
Expert Insights
Build Your Motions Around How Buyers Actually Buy
Stop designing campaigns around your org chart and start with buyer behavior. If 70% of the journey happens before sales, your SDR sequences should plug into content and offers that match those early research stages, not just end-of-funnel demos.
Treat ABM as a Go-To-Market Model, Not a Tool
ABM works when sales, marketing, SDRs, and RevOps agree on target accounts, tiers, and success metrics. Before you buy more tech, get alignment on ICP, territories, and handoff rules, then layer tools on top of a clear operating model.
Use AI to Do the Heavy Lifting, Not the Thinking
Let AI handle research, data enrichment, first-draft copy, and prioritization, but keep humans in charge of message strategy and quality control. The winning teams use AI to triple their reps' output, not to blast three times more mediocre outreach.
Make Video and Social Native to SDR Workflows
Instead of treating video and LinkedIn as side projects, bake them into cadences: a video step after the first reply, or a weekly posting and commenting rhythm for each rep. Small, repeatable habits beat one-off 'campaigns' every time.
Measure Pipeline, Not Just MQL Volume
Trends like ABM and intent data only pay off if you track opportunities and revenue back to specific motions. Shift your reporting from lead counts to meetings, stage progression, and closed-won by campaign so you actually know what to scale.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Chasing every new marketing trend without fixing the basics
Teams spread themselves thin across ABM, AI, video, social and events while still missing SLAs, running dirty data, and lacking clear ICP definitions. That kills conversion rates and wastes SDR time.
Instead: Lock in fundamentals first: clean target lists, clear ICP, tight sales–marketing alignment and working cadences. Then layer in one or two new trends at a time and measure impact before expanding.
Treating ABM as just 'a list of logos to spam harder'
Many teams upload a named-account list into their sequencing tool and hit send, which leads to low engagement and account fatigue instead of deeper relationships.
Instead: For true ABM, tier accounts, build custom angles and content for your A tier, and coordinate touches across SDRs, AEs, and marketing, including ads, events, and executive outreach.
Over-automating outreach with generic AI content
When every SDR sends the same AI-written message, reply rates tank and domains get flagged, hurting deliverability for the whole org.
Instead: Use AI to draft and research, but require reps to add 2-3 lines of real personalization, and enforce QA on messaging, sending volumes, and domain health.
Ignoring social channels because 'our buyers aren't there'
Data shows the majority of B2B buyers use social media to research vendors and validate decisions; if you are invisible there, you lose deals you never see.
Instead: Pick one primary social platform (usually LinkedIn), build a simple content and commenting rhythm for your leaders and top reps, and tie it back to outbound with profile views and DM follow-ups.
Measuring marketing on MQLs and sales on closed-won with nothing in between
Without shared pipeline metrics, marketing optimizes for form fills while SDRs and AEs are stuck with unqualified leads and long cycles.
Instead: Agree on definitions and targets for SQLs, opportunities, and stage progression, and review performance together in a unified revenue dashboard every week.
Action Items
Map your buyer journey and align channels to each stage
Document how your best customers actually buy, then design cadences that mix email, phone, social, and content for each stage instead of running one-size-fits-all sequences.
Launch a focused ABM pilot for 50–100 high-value accounts
Have marketing, SDRs, and AEs co-select target accounts, build tailored messaging and content, and coordinate multi-channel outreach for 90 days, measuring pipeline and meetings per account.
Implement AI-assisted research and personalization for SDRs
Give reps access to AI tools that summarize websites, LinkedIn profiles, and news, and standardize a playbook where they use that intel to customize the first 2-3 lines of every outbound email.
Integrate video into outbound sequences and follow-ups
Add a short intro or micro-demo video as a step in your cadences, especially after a reply or no-show, and track how video emails perform versus text-only messages.
Clean your data and tighten lead-routing SLAs
Standardize fields, dedupe records, and define clear, time-bound handoffs from marketing to SDRs to AEs so hot interest and intent signals always get fast human follow-up.
Consider a hybrid or outsourced SDR model to scale execution
If your in-house team is at capacity, partner with a specialist like SalesHive to run cold calling, email outreach, and list building so you can test these trends without overloading your reps.
Partner with SalesHive
SalesHive is a US-based B2B lead generation agency founded in 2016 that lives and breathes outbound. We have booked 100,000+ meetings for more than 1,500 clients by combining targeted list building, cold calling, email outreach, and SDR outsourcing into one integrated engine. Our teams (both US-based and Philippines-based) plug directly into your revenue org and operate like an extension of your in-house SDR team, not a black box vendor.
Practically, that means we build clean, ICP-aligned lists, run ABM-style account targeting, and use AI-powered tools like our eMod email personalization engine to send relevant, human-sounding outreach at scale. We mix phone, email, and LinkedIn touches so your brand shows up wherever your buyers actually hang out. And because there are no annual contracts and onboarding is risk-free, you can test modern B2B marketing trends in the real world without hiring a full team or betting the entire budget on a single play.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Why are we still talking about 'B2B marketing trends for 2022' in 2025?
Because the shifts that really mattered around 2022, hybrid buying, ABM, content-led growth, AI, and social selling, were not fads. They were inflection points. The details have evolved, but the core trends still define how B2B buyers discover vendors and how revenue teams need to generate pipeline. Think of this as a 2022 trends list updated with 2025 reality and data.
Which B2B marketing trend should a small sales team prioritize first?
If you are under-resourced, start where you will see impact fastest: tightening your outbound and layering in better personalization. That usually means clarifying your ICP, cleaning your lists, improving your email and call talk tracks, and using AI to make personalization easier. Once you see reply and meeting rates tick up, you can graduate into ABM and more advanced content and video plays.
How does ABM actually change what my SDRs do day-to-day?
With ABM, SDRs stop randomly cycling through a giant list and instead work a focused set of target accounts with deeper, account-specific context. They coordinate with marketing to leverage ads, events, and content, and with AEs for strategic multithreading. Cadences become more tailored, research becomes mandatory, and success is measured per account (meetings and pipeline) rather than just raw volume of activities.
Where does AI fit into B2B sales development without replacing reps?
AI slots in as an assistant, not a closer. It should help with data enrichment, account and contact research, intent scoring, drafting first-pass emails, summarizing calls, and suggesting next best actions. SDRs still decide which accounts to prioritize, how to position, and when to push for the meeting. Teams that get this balance right see more meetings booked per rep without sacrificing quality or personalization.
Is email still effective when buyers say they prefer a rep-free or digital-first experience?
Yes, but only if you respect that preference. Buyers want control and relevance, not to be left alone entirely. That means fewer, better emails with clear value, skimmable copy, and credible social proof, paired with low-friction ways to engage (self-serve demos, content, short videos). When email feels like a helpful resource instead of a hard sell, it aligns perfectly with a digital-first buying journey.
How should we measure success with these B2B marketing trends?
Move beyond vanity metrics like impressions or raw lead volume. For B2B sales teams, the real KPIs are meetings booked with ICP accounts, opportunities created, pipeline value influenced, sales cycle length, and win rates. For ABM, track coverage, engagement, and pipeline in target accounts. For AI and automation, watch rep productivity (activities and meetings per rep) alongside reply rates and list health.
Do we need a full content team to take advantage of video and thought leadership?
Not necessarily. Many high-performing teams start scrappy: record founder or AE Loom videos, repurpose webinar recordings, turn sales call snippets into short clips, and let SDRs send quick personalized videos instead of long text emails. Over time, you can formalize a content calendar, but you do not need a studio and a crew to start using video in your outbound right away.
When does it make sense to bring in an outsourced SDR partner?
If your AEs are doing their own prospecting, your SDRs are drowning in tasks, or you want to test new markets or messaging without hiring a full internal team, an outsourced partner is worth considering. Look for a provider that understands your ICP, can build targeted lists, runs multi-channel outreach, and is willing to be measured on meetings and opportunities, not just activity volume.
