INSIGHTS FROM EXPERTS ON LINKEDIN
Peep Laja shares that most buyers already know who you are before ever speaking to sales. Based on research with CFOs, 83% are already familiar with vendors and many have formed a decision before the first call. It shows that sales calls are more about confirming a choice, not discovering needs.
Oana Dobelis explains that most analytics setups miss large parts of the customer journey due to cookie rejection, blockers and untracked touchpoints. This means marketers are often optimizing based on incomplete data and might be focusing on the wrong channels. She highlights the need for privacy-friendly tracking to better understand real user behavior.
Liam Moroney breaks down the idea of a 272-day B2B buying journey and why it’s often misunderstood. He argues that marketers can’t control when journeys start, so trying to time campaigns perfectly or extend attribution windows isn’t the answer. Instead, the focus should be on reaching more people consistently so you’re visible when buyers are ready.
Matt Green argues that attribution models are costing companies hundreds of thousands while still failing to show what actually drives deals. He explains that most influence happens in places you can’t track, which leads to endless internal debates and bad decisions. His take is to stop obsessing over credit and instead align sales and marketing around shared revenue goals.
Enrico Brosio explains that MQLs focus on individuals instead of the full buying group, which is why so many deals stall or fail. He argues for a shift to signal-led, account-based strategies that track real buying behavior across multiple stakeholders. The focus should be on building early preference and aligning teams around account-level data, not lead volume.
Kevin Goodwin highlights that while more brands are investing in upper funnel, most are wasting budget on low-visibility placements. He explains that relying on platform algorithms often leads to cheap but ineffective impressions that don’t build real awareness. The fix is to take more control over placements and focus on high-attention formats that actually drive impact.
WHAT'S NEW IN THE INDUSTRY
LinkedIn continues to improve ad performance for B2B marketers, especially with formats like short-form video and Thought Leader Ads. Tests show that ads featuring people, personalized creative and stronger targeting can drive better engagement and lower costs. Marketers are also seeing value in tools like Qualified Lead Optimization and ad duplication to improve efficiency and lead quality.
Salesforce is embedding AI directly into its CRM to help small businesses act on customer data faster. Teams can now generate summaries, draft emails and get insights without switching between tools, making daily work more efficient. As more SMBs adopt AI, the focus is on simplifying workflows and turning data into action quickly.
OpenAI is testing a new Ads Manager as it builds an advertising business around ChatGPT. Early versions let advertisers run and track campaigns, but performance still lags behind platforms like Google. The opportunity is big, but OpenAI will need to prove strong results before marketers shift budgets to this new channel.
Google has released version 2.12 of Google Ads Editor, adding more creative flexibility and control over AI-driven campaigns. Advertisers can now use more video assets, vertical formats and set total campaign budgets, while also guiding AI with brand and text controls. The update focuses on helping marketers scale creatives faster while still keeping control over performance and workflows.
Many marketing teams are breaking their automation systems by creating new workflows for every campaign instead of building reusable structures. Over time, this leads to complexity, inconsistent data and systems that are hard to manage or trust. The shift now is toward building centralized processes that campaigns can plug into, making automation easier to scale and maintain.
Google has introduced a new reporting feature in Performance Max that shows how video impacts campaign results. Advertisers can now compare performance between ads with and without video, giving clearer insight into what’s actually driving results. This helps marketers decide whether investing in video assets is worth it in automated campaigns.
YouTube is testing a new format where a banner remains on screen even after a user skips an ad. The idea is to extend brand visibility without forcing users to watch the full ad. If rolled out widely, this could change how advertisers think about skippable ads and what a “view” really means.
HubSpot released a wave of February updates focused on making its platform smarter and easier to use. New AI features help teams spot buying signals, create content faster and improve outreach, while long-standing issues like campaign attribution and CRM cleanup finally get attention. Overall, the update is about removing friction and helping teams move faster with better data.
A test switching from a 30-day to a 7-day attribution window in Google Ads showed how longer windows can overcredit performance. By aligning attribution with actual buying behavior, the account saw clearer insights and a 62% increase in ROAS. It highlights how many advertisers may be misreading performance by sticking with default settings.
Microsoft is making bidding in Microsoft Advertising easier by consolidating options into two main strategies: Maximize Conversions and Maximize Conversion Value. Advertisers can still set targets like CPA or ROAS, but the setup is now more streamlined. The goal is to reduce complexity while keeping performance and control intact.
That’s the scoop for this week! If you found this valuable and any useful insights caught your eye, feel free to share them with your network.
Until next week!
