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Hello and welcome to the 201st edition of Fresh Salmon.

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If B2B marketing feels harder than it did even a year ago, you’re not imagining it.

Attention is more fragmented.
Trust is harder to earn.
And “best practices” are expiring faster than teams can update their decks.

What’s happening isn’t a tactics problem.
It’s a market structure shift.

After watching dozens of B2B brands across SaaS, services, healthcare, and enterprise - one thing is clear:

The companies winning today are playing a different game than the ones still chasing leads.

Here are the 3 forces reshaping B2B marketing right now, and what they mean for you.

But first meet our partners for today’s edition: beehiiv, Gladly.ai, and Attio. Thanks to them - I’m able to keep this newsletter free for you. Check them out 👇

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1. “AI-Powered” Is Officially Dead as a Differentiator

Not because AI isn’t powerful.
But because everyone says it.

Walk any conference floor. Open any pitch deck. Visit almost any homepage.

“AI-enabled.”
“AI-driven.”
“AI-powered.”

To buyers, this now translates to: “So what?”

What buyers are actually looking for

Smart buyers aren’t asking what model you use.
They’re asking:

• What work disappears because of you?

• What decision gets easier?

• What risk gets removed?

Real-world B2B examples

• A healthcare SaaS stopped leading with “AI diagnostics” and reframed around
  “Cut physician charting time by 38%.”
  Conversion rates improved without changing the product.

• A RevOps platform dropped AI language entirely and led with
  “Fewer dashboards. Faster decisions.”
  Demos went up because clarity went up.

The takeaway:
AI is now infrastructure.
Outcomes are the story.

2. Demand Creation Is Replacing Demand Capture

Most B2B teams are still optimized for:

• SEO

• gated PDFs

• demo requests

• retargeting people already shopping

That’s demand capture.

The problem?
There’s less demand to capture, and far more competition fighting over it.

The new buyer reality

• Buyers self-educate long before talking to sales

• Decisions are often made before a form is filled out

• By the time they convert, they already trust someone

The new funnel (simplified)

1. Attention - earned through ideas, POV, media

2. Trust - built through repetition, familiarity, proof

3. Conversion - almost a formality

Real-world B2B examples

• A cybersecurity company launched a weekly operator-led podcast instead of another gated report. Six months later, inbound leads referenced episodes, not landing pages.

• A consulting firm shifted budget from lead gen ads to founder-led LinkedIn content. CAC dropped because buyers arrived pre-convinced.

The takeaway:
Demand creation compounds.
Demand capture taxes.

3. B2B Is Quietly Becoming P2P (Person-to-Person)

Trust doesn’t move through logos anymore.
It moves through people.

Founders. Operators. Practitioners. Customers.

Buyers now ask:

• “Who do I trust?”

• “Who sounds like they understand my world?”

• “Who shows up consistently?”

What this looks like in practice

• Founder-led LinkedIn and podcasts outperform brand pages

• Customer voices carry more weight than polished case studies

• Communities influence deals more than ads

Real-world B2B examples

• A vertical SaaS company saw higher close rates when prospects followed the CEO before the demo.

• A healthcare services firm generated partnerships because physicians shared clips—not because of outbound emails.

The takeaway:
Your best distribution channel isn’t paid media.
It’s credible humans in public.

The Meta Shift Most Teams Miss

These three trends point to one uncomfortable truth:

Which means:

• Media > campaigns

• POV > positioning statements

• Trust > traffic

The brands that win aren’t louder.
They’re earlier, clearer, and more human.

The Key Takeway

If your marketing feels like it’s working harder for less return, it’s probably because you’re still playing the old game in a new market.

The companies that win next won’t ask:

“How do we generate more leads?”

They’ll ask:

“How do we become unavoidable before buyers are ready?”

That’s the shift.

And it’s already underway.

That’s it for this week! If you found this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend.

See you next time!

Do what is good for your soul ❤️

All the best,

Vivek

PS. Whenever you are ready, here are 2 ways in which I can help you and your business:

#1: Promoting you or your brand via this newsletter.

#2: 1-on-1 Personal Coaching and Mentoring on anything related to Marketing and Go-To-Market Strategies for you.

For any of these things just shoot me a reply, and we will arrange a time to chat.