Conveyor Marketing Group, a strategic digital marketing agency that drives measurable results, released its “How AI Will Define B2B Marketing Success in 2030” report, providing insights into the AI adoption and knowledge trends and challenges B2B marketers across various industries and company sizes are experiencing. The study highlights how AI is quickly becoming a foundational part of the B2B marketing toolkit and the growing role it will have over the next five years.
“Everyone’s talking about the 90% AI adoption rate like it’s a victory lap. But here’s the uncomfortable truth our data exposes: we’re creating an AI divide in B2B marketing. While enterprises throw millions at AI teams and training, SMBs are deploying what I call ‘prayer-based AI’; copy-paste tools with zero strategy, hoping for miracles,” said Jason Johnston, founder and CEO of Conveyor. “The shocking part? When SMBs actually invest in proper AI implementation, they’re seeing much better margins than their enterprise counterparts. This isn’t David versus Goliath anymore; it’s David with a properly calibrated slingshot versus Goliath stumbling around with expensive toys he doesn’t know how to use.”
Marketing Teams Expect Job Shifts vs. Job Cuts
While there are concerns reported about AI reducing the workforce, AI may not be the job killer that many fear. Looking ahead to how AI will have impacted jobs by 2030, only 11% believe there will be no change at all on their teams. Other insights about AI’s impact on B2B marketing jobs include:
- 61% of respondents expect that job reskilling on AI will be a major team need, suggesting a hybridization of AI and human talent rather than a simple replacement.
- 14% believe that the number of jobs will increase because of AI, with mid-sized companies being the most optimistic about AI creating jobs.
- 13% believe jobs will be replaced, with the Health & Life Sciences and Retail & Lifestyle industries believing they are the most likely to experience this.
Marketing Skills Needed for Success in 2030
Content has been king in marketing for the last decade, and expertise related to building and promoting content has often topped the list of the most coveted marketing skills. However, AI is shifting the landscape. When B2B marketers look to 2030, they see the following skills as those their teams must master:
- 78% – AI Tools Mastery
- 73% – Strategic Thinking
- 51% – Ethical Decision Making
- 47% – Data Science
- 42% – Storytelling
A Playbook for B2B AI Adoption
Because the biggest obstacle to using AI in B2B marketing is that teams don’t know how to use it yet, the skills shortage can be overwhelming to organizations who already feel like they are behind in their AI efforts. For those just getting started, the report includes resources that will help their teams adopt and use AI successfully. Some of the key tips featured include:
- Establish ethical guardrails, especially if you’re experimenting with generative tools. If you don’t have a formal AI policy yet, now’s the time to create one.
- Create an interdisciplinary AI-focused task force to help drive AI use cases.
- Invest in AI literacy across the team, including basic training on tools, terminology and ethical implications. Focus on enabling marketers to work with AI, not be replaced by it.
Interested in learning more? You can download the “How AI Will Define B2B Marketing Success in 2030” report here or the Resources for B2B AI Adoption playbook here.
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