Forrester Calls for AI-Leveraged GTM Overhaul in B2B
Forrester's report urges B2B leaders to adopt a customer-obsessed GTM approach using AI, as outlined in their ARC principles at the B2B Summit North America.
Forrester Advocates New GTM Strategy for B2B at North America Summit
At Forrester's B2B Summit North America, the firm presented research from 'The GTM Singularity Is Here,' calling for B2B leaders to abandon outdated practices and adopt a customer-obsessed go-to-market (GTM) approach that leverages AI for enhanced buyer engagement and cross-team collaboration, according to Demand Gen Report. B2B firms have persisted with ineffective methods such as impersonal mass emailing, obsession with marketing-qualified leads, gated content, and siloed teams, despite evolving buyer behaviors and increased information access driven by AI.
The ARC Principles for Modern GTM
Forrester outlines three ARC principles—Augmented, Resilient, and Collaborative—to guide B2B firms in this new era. Under Augmented, leaders must connect AI agents to key G2B initiatives and treat buyer agents as part of the buying network, supplying them with relevant content to amplify customer value. For Resilient, firms should move beyond annual GTM plan updates to address faster-shifting buyer behavior and rising volatility by anchoring decisions in customer needs. The Collaborative principle requires sales, marketing, customer success, and product teams to share a unified view of prospects and customers, eliminating silos to foster transparency.
Key Best Practices from the Report
The report details four practices for B2B success in the AI-driven landscape. First, overcome the visibility vacuum by designing content for humans, buyer agents, and answer engines, using more personalized and ungated information delivered through sharper segmentation and nuanced personas. Second, prioritize preference-building by dismantling the divide between brand and demand, ensuring clear messaging influences buyers early and throughout their journey. Third, drive an accountability reset by adopting a return on objective (ROO) approach that ties metrics directly to customer goals, moving away from traditional buyer engagement metrics amid AI-enabled environments. Fourth, calibrate human and AI efforts by treating AI agents as roles rather than tools, focusing on outcomes to ensure AI amplifies human impact in GTM functions.
Insights from Forrester Research Director
Dave Frankland, a research director at Forrester, described the report as a 'reckoning' for B2B leaders, urging them to rethink how they market, sell, and deliver offerings to maximize customer value and drive growth in the age of AI, according to Demand Gen Report. Frankland emphasized that the GTM singularity requires discarding entrenched practices and establishing new ways of working, including rethinking trust and relationship-building with prospects and clients. As AI transforms buyer journeys and empowers buyers further, which is widely known as a major industry shift, B2B firms must align human and machine efforts under the ARC framework to achieve success.
