Business Growth Strategies For CEOs: Top CMOs On Marketing Strategy Implementations

The Contrarian Brand Play: Why Right Now Is the Best Time to Invest in Brand

Fri, Sep 18, 2026 | Posted by Doug Bell

Executive Takeaways

Most companies are cutting brand spend to fund rising paid acquisition costs. That is the wrong response.
Brand awareness now drives AI citations, and AI citations drive Day One shortlist inclusion.
Google's redesign of Search makes brand recognition more important; AI systems favor brands users already know.
The companies investing in brand while competitors pull back are building advantages at lower cost.

Part 4 of our four-part series on the evolving AI search landscape and what B2B leaders need to know to stay competitive.

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Stop Buying AI Tools. Start Asking This Question First.

Fri, Sep 18, 2026 — Most CEOs start their AI planning in the wrong place. They start with a tool. A demo catches their eye, a peer recommends a platform, or a vendor makes a compelling pitch, and suddenly the conversation is about which AI product to buy instead of what the business actually needs it to do.

Your Buyers Have Already Shortlisted You—Or They Haven't

Wed, Sep 2, 2026 — Executive Takeaways 95% of B2B buyers purchase from the vendors on their initial shortlist, formed before any formal buying process begins. That shortlist is increasingly built inside AI platforms your analytics can't see. AI referral traffic is roughly 1% of total website traffic, yet 15% or more of conversions appear to originate from AI-influenced research, a gap standard attribution misses entirely. If you're not on the Day One list, spend alone won't fix it. Part 3 of our four-part series on the evolving AI search landscape and what B2B leaders need to know to stay competitive.

The Augmented Revenue Engine

Tue, Aug 18, 2026 — Executive Takeaways Sellers who partner with AI are 3.7x more likely to hit quota. AI doesn't replace sellers. It removes the 75% of work that isn't selling. Win rates climb 30%+ when AI improves every funnel stage, not just one. Waiting doesn't preserve the status quo. It widens the gap to AI-enabled competitors.

The Gap Between AI Output and Real Marketing Leadership, Part 2

Fri, Aug 14, 2026 — Executive Takeaways AI reasons from the past. Vision requires betting on what hasn't happened yet. A generic answer that sounds smart is still generic. The right questions expose the gap between AI output and executive judgment. Fractional leadership fills the judgment gap AI can't close.

Your Paid Search Budget Is Buying Less. Here's Why.

Fri, Aug 14, 2026 — Executive Takeaways Paid search costs reached a six-year high while clicks and impressions declined. This is a structural shift, not a temporary correction, and B2B is disproportionately affected. AI Overviews appear on 54% of tracked B2B keywords versus 22% for B2C. Google's recent search redesign signals these pressures will intensify. The companies adapting fastest are shifting from click volume to conversion quality. Part 2 of our four-part series on the evolving AI search landscape and what B2B leaders need to know to stay competitive.

The Gap Between AI Output and Real Marketing Leadership

Thu, Aug 6, 2026 — Executive Takeaways AI can inform marketing strategy. It cannot own it, defend it, or answer for it when it fails. AI sounding right without the context to actually be right is the real risk. Trade-offs, risk calls, and accountability are executive work. AI can't take any of the three off your plate. Leadership owns the outcome, not the AI. A lot of CEOs are starting to ask the same question, even if they don't always say it this directly: if AI can build a strategy deck, suggest a campaign, analyze competitors, and hand back polished recommendations in seconds, why keep paying for a CMO?

The AI Search Gap Between Buyers and Brands Just Got Wider

Fri, Jul 24, 2026 — Executive Takeaways B2B buyer AI adoption hit 94%, and company readiness didn't keep pace. The #1 organic ranking now captures under 2% of AI Overview searches. Google Gemini's chatbot share jumped 48% in a single month. The gap isn't awareness anymore. It's execution, and it's getting more expensive to ignore. Buyers have moved to AI search. Most companies haven't caught up.

Outsider Insights | Google Just Declared the Search Box Dead: What CEOs Need to Know

Mon, Jun 15, 2026 — Executive Takeaways Google just redesigned Search for the first time in 25 years. 94% of B2B buyers use AI to research vendors before your sales team knows they exist. The companies earning AI citations share one thing: content written to inform, not to sell. Outsider Insights Across Chief Outsiders, we talk to hundreds of CEOs every month. In this series, we explore the trends and challenges we’re hearing from these discussions – and what you can do if you’re facing the same issues in your business.

AI Is Already Improving B2B Sales Performance. Here’s the Framework to Make It Work for You

Wed, Jun 10, 2026 — Executive Takeaways AI is already delivering measurable results in B2B sales — this is not hype. Mapping AI capabilities to your prioritized sales performance challenges is the right place to start. Achieving significant ROI requires a diagnosis of your current sales environment, a pilot with defined success metrics, and a plan for deployment and scale. The window to establish a competitive advantage in sales by using AI is open — but not indefinitely.

Growth Insights for CEOs