Right, let’s cut through the noise here. While everyone’s been debating whether or not AI is going to steal marketing jobs, we’ve been sitting in conferences and client meetings hearing the same old assumptions repeated: buyers do their homework alone, the messy middle is unavoidable, and trust is what marketing builds. But listening to these conversations got us wondering, are these widely accepted ‘truths’ actually true? 

So, we set out to test them – through new research and client work. What we found challenges some of the industry’s favourite talking points. 

The transformation narrative isn’t being shared as doom and gloom, however. It’s being framed as marketing’s opportunity to step up, to stop being a support function and start acting as proper commercial partners within the organisations that they live in. And it’s exactly what we’re seeing progressive companies already doing in practice. 

The Messy Middle (Or: Where Your Buyers Actually Live) 

Another idea we hear everywhere: buyers aren’t just researching online; they’re actively avoiding sales while they explore and evaluate their options. We call this “the messy middle”: that complex space between initial interest and purchase, where buyers loop between exploring different possibilities and narrowing their choices, sometimes for months. 

Marketers nod along to this because they’re all experiencing the same pattern. Customers bouncing between their website and competitors, reading reviews, comparing features, forgetting about them entirely, and then coming back three weeks later. Even starting from scratch sometimes with stakeholders who weren’t in the original conversation. 

This isn’t sales and marketing teams dropping the ball. It’s the game changing completely. The buying journey now demands a mix of content, evidence, and human reassurance – not one or the other. 

Think about your own buying behaviour. When did you last want to “jump on a quick call” when researching an upcoming birthday present? Exactly, and neither do your customers. They want to explore options at 10pm. They want to share findings with their team on Slack/Teams/WhatsApp. They want to feel confident they’ve evaluated everything they can before they engage.   

AI’s Double Edge 

Another common talking point at recent events is the practical AI timeline: seconds for something mediocre, half an hour for something passable, and a couple of hours for something genuinely good. 

This matches what most of us are finding in practice. Too many are using AI like they used to use interns – throw everything at them and hope something sticks. But here’s what’s becoming clear: AI is brilliant at the heavy lifting, but not quite there when it comes to heavy thinking. 

But here’s the nuance: buyers tell us the AI they value most is the kind that helps them understand faster (summarising, comparing, and tailoring), not the kind that impersonates human conviction. Disclosure matters too. They’re fine with AI when it helps them see more clearly, but when it pretends to be human, belief dissipates fast. 

The companies expecting AI to write their thought leadership seem to be missing a key point: what thoughts are they actually leading? AI doesn’t make boring companies interesting; it simply helps them be boring faster. 

And there’s another reality that gets overlooked. Buyers are spending hours with industry content – but much of it goes unfinished. Even more telling, many say that the more they read, the less confident they feel. We call this “content dysmorphia” – being more informed, but no more certain. It’s not volume that’s the problem, it’s conviction. 

This is why we built SensAI – flipping AI from content creation to content engagement. Instead of using AI to create more content that won’t get read, we’re letting buyers interrogate your existing content on their terms. Think of it as giving each prospect their own ChatGPT trained only on your insights, your messaging, your expertise. They get instant answers to their specific questions without wading through another 40-page whitepaper. 

That spark, that moment of “oh, that’s interesting” – still wonderfully human. But now buyers can actually find it in your content, instead of abandoning it on page three. 

Trust vs Belief: Marketing’s Real Job 

Here’s another juxtaposition we keep hearing: buyers say they “need trust” before they’ll buy, yet many don’t trust much of what they read online. 

Our research shows that belief and trust aren’t the same. Marketing creates belief – enough conviction to take the next step. Trust only begins after delivery and experience. 

That’s why the brands cutting through aren’t the loudest, they’re the most human. We’ve seen it in action – firms that empower their experts to share authentic stories build more credibility than those pushing corporate polish. 

The fundamentals haven’t changed: 

• Actually understanding the problem 

• Real stories from real customers 

• Consistency across every touchpoint 

• Plain, human language 

Simple? Yes. Easy? Absolutely not. Which is why it’s such a differentiator when someone gets it right. 

Why Emotion Finally Wins in B2B 

Another consistent theme: emotional messaging outperforms rational campaigns in B2B. It’s being repeated everywhere, and now more companies are finally acting on it. 

The best salespeople have always known this. They don’t sell software, they sell confidence. They don’t pitch services; they offer peace of mind. Marketing is finally catching up. 

We see this playing out constantly. Tech specs don’t close deals. Confidence does. The feeling of “yes, these people get it” does. Because behind every B2B decision, at the end of the day, is a human that doesn’t want to look stupid, wants to look clever, and really wants to go home on time on Friday. 

So, What Now? 

These industry conversations prompted us to dig deeper, and what we uncovered challenges several fundamental assumptions. The belief vs trust distinction, AI’s double edge in buyer decision-making, and the reality of content dysmorphia are just the beginning. We’ll be sharing these findings in our upcoming Art & Science 2025 report that will be launching next week. Stay tuned.