For years, buying enterprise tools and tech followed a fairly predictable playbook. Enterprise buyers started their research on Google and consulted peers and colleagues. They downloaded content assets and attended events or webinars.
All of that activity put buyers on the radar of the vendors and put into motion their sales and marketing efforts.
AI has fundamentally changed the game of B2B buying for the enterprise. Not only is it easier to conduct research with LLMs, but AI’s ability to spawn companies quickly means the market is as crowded and noisy as ever.
On this episode of Conversations with MarTech, we’re talking to Mika Yamamoto, chief customer and marketing officer at Freshworks, about the state of enterprise buyers in the AI era.
Episode guide
0:49: Meet Mike Yamamoto
1:49: What’s the state of the enterprise B2B buyer?
6:16: What’s responsible for the trust gap with B2B buyers?
8:47: How has the playbook for reaching enterprise buyers changed?
11:19: Does authenticity still matter in the age of AI?
13:24: Vendors have far less visibility into enterprise buying
Follow Conversations with MarTech on:
/* Container */
.cwt-follow-box {
–cwt-bg: #ffffff; /* white */
–cwt-text: #111827; /* almost-black */
–cwt-muted: #6b7280; /* slate */
–cwt-radius: 16px;
background: var(–cwt-bg);
color: var(–cwt-text);
border-radius: var(–cwt-radius);
padding: 1.25rem 1.25rem; /* 20px */
border: 1px solid #e5e7eb; /* subtle edge */
box-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgba(0,0,0,.04);
}
.cwt-follow-box h2 {
margin: 0 0 0.75rem 0;
font-size: 1.125rem; /* 18px */
line-height: 1.35;
font-weight: 700;
letter-spacing: .2px;
}
.cwt-row {
display: grid;
grid-template-columns: 1fr;
gap: 1rem;
align-items: center;
}
/* Main CwM logo */
.cwt-brand img {
display: block;
max-height: 56px;
width: auto;
}
/* Platform icons */
.cwt-platforms {
display: flex;
flex-wrap: wrap;
gap: .75rem;
align-items: center;
}
.cwt-platforms .brand-icon {
display: inline-flex;
align-items: center;
justify-content: center;
width: 44px;
height: 44px;
border-radius: 8px;
background: white;
border: 1px solid #e5e7eb;
transition: transform .15s ease, box-shadow .15s ease, border-color .15s ease;
overflow: hidden;
}
.cwt-platforms .brand-icon:hover,
.cwt-platforms .brand-icon:focus-visible {
transform: translateY(-1px);
box-shadow: 0 6px 14px rgba(0,0,0,.08);
border-color: #d1d5db;
outline: none;
}
.cwt-platforms .brand-icon img {
display: block;
max-width: 70%;
max-height: 70%;
object-fit: contain;
}
/* Responsive: put logo and icons side-by-side on larger screens */
@media (min-width: 640px) {
.cwt-row {
grid-template-columns: auto 1fr;
}
.cwt-follow-box { padding: 1.25rem 1.5rem; }
}
The post What’s the state of the enterprise B2B buyer? appeared first on MarTech.
