For marketers driving adoption of AI-enabled products, differentiation is no longer optional. it’s essential. To capture attention, build trust, and accelerate buyer decisions, you need a strategy that aligns sales activation, brand positioning, and customer engagement—at scale.
IDC’s latest research shows that midmarket vendors who adopt AI-driven strategies aligned with three key pillars—differentiation, active buyer engagement, and fast sales activation—are outpacing their competitors. Here’s how leading companies are doing it.
Strategy 1: From Static Messaging to Real-Time Personalization
B2B buying is evolving fast, mirroring the seamless, predictive experiences of B2C. By 2028, 70% of B2B buyers in the U.S. will rely on GenAI to discover, evaluate, and select vendors (IDC, 2024). The challenge? If you’re not leveraging AI to personalize in real-time, you’re already behind.
Winning marketers aren’t just gathering customer data—they’re activating it instantly. IDC research confirms that vendors with AI-powered Customer Data Infrastructure (CDI) see higher engagement rates, as they can dynamically adapt messaging based on buyer behavior (IDC, 2024). This shift from broad personalization to real-time precision is what will separate leaders from laggards.
Over the next few years, 62% of traditional B2B lead and demand generation efforts will transition to automated sensing, personalized engagement, and AI-powered content creation. AI will bridge the gap between digital and physical engagement, allowing seamless, highly relevant interactions.
By 2028, AI-powered agents will redefine luxury and high-value for both B2C and B2B interactions. From frictionless service to predictive personalization, these agents will enhance customer experiences, allowing brands to scale premium engagement, democratizing “white-glove” experiences.
Winning Move: Build an AI-powered customer data infrastructure (CDI) that unifies insights across platforms, enabling tailored engagement before competitors reach your buyers (IDC, 2024).
By leveraging AI, vendors can deliver deeply personal experiences that build confidence rather than hesitation. The key is transparency: showing customers how AI enhances rather than replaces human connection, along with enabling clean, freely shared data collection from consumers.
This delicate balance between automation and authenticity defines the next era of consumer — and customer — engagement.
Strategy 2: Aligning AI with Buyer Expectations—Not Just Marketing Tactics
Marketers often focus on how AI enhances their campaigns, but what truly matters is how AI changes buyer behavior. The brands growing fastest today are those that position their AI-enabled products as essential to their customers’ success.
For example, 62% of B2B demand generation will be AI-powered by 2027, automating how buyers are reached and nurtured (IDC, 2024). But automation alone isn’t enough—buyers need proof. Vendors who provide benchmarks, case studies, and independent validation will build credibility faster than those relying on broad claims.
Additionally, by 2029, companies will spend up to five times more on optimizing AI-powered large language models (LLMs) than traditional search optimization. This shift will redefine how brands surface in AI-driven recommendations and product searches, making LLM optimization a top priority for marketers.
Winning Move: Lead with trusted results, not just AI features. Show how your product delivers real, measurable outcomes in an AI-driven world.
Strategy 3: AI as a Sales Activator—Not a Sales Replacement
AI is transforming the buying journey, but sales teams remain critical in closing deals. However, the role of sales is shifting. With AI accelerating the discovery and consideration phases, traditional outreach won’t be enough.
Reality Check: If your AI-powered product isn’t integrated into an AI-optimized sales strategy, you’re losing deals.
IDC research highlights that high-growth companies are leveraging AI to identify buyer intent, surface in AI-driven searches, and automate engagement triggers that put their sales teams in the right conversations at the right time (IDC, 2024).
As AI increasingly shapes the discovery and consideration process, sales reps might worry about being overshadowed or losing relevance. Rather than fearing AI, sales leaders can empower their teams by embracing AI and learning how to leverage it effectively.
Winning Move: Train your sales teams to use AI insights, ensuring they step in when and where they add the most value—at the moments AI alone can’t close the deal.
AI is reshaping how to reach decision-makers, personalize engagement, and drive growth for AI-enabled products. Marketers who act now will lead in a future where AI is the very foundation for a competitive advantage.
IDC’s bundled solutions are designed to help marketers sell value, not just products. Our solutions focus on:
- Differentiating Your Strategy – Research-backed insights to set your brand apart.
- Reaching Active Buyers – Engaging the right audience with compelling content.
- Activating Sales Fast – Providing ready-to-use tools for quicker conversions.
The combined power of IDC’s award-winning intelligence experts and proprietary data has facilitated customer growth for over 60 years.
Let’s talk about how you can accelerate adoption, build trust, and win buyers in the AI era. Reach out today.
