L&E’s Predictions for Marketing in 2026

Less noise. Better reasons to reach out. Real results.

Happy New Year. We made it through 2025.

If we’re being honest, it felt long. Not dramatic-long, but quietly exhausting. The kind of year where marketing teams were expected to move faster, prove more, and somehow be more efficient without losing creativity or momentum.

There was a lot of noise. A lot of tools. A lot of pressure to keep up.

So as we move into 2026, we’re less interested in big, shiny predictions and more interested in what’s actually working. What’s resonating. What feels different in real conversations with buyers, sales teams, and marketers who are in it every day.

Here are three shifts we genuinely believe will matter this year, not because they’re trendy, but because they’re already showing up in how good marketing is being done.

Account Based Marketing is starting to show up in places it didn’t before.

For a long time, ABM lived comfortably in B2B because it had to. Personalization at that level wasn’t scalable or cost-effective anywhere else. That constraint is loosening.

With AI supporting content adaptation and segmentation, teams can now personalize with more precision without starting from scratch every time. That doesn’t mean one-to-one marketing suddenly makes sense at scale. It doesn’t.

What does make sense is one-to-few thinking applied more broadly.

National brands no longer need to speak to everyone the same way. They can engage regionally, by income range, profession, age group, or shared behaviors. When it’s done well, it doesn’t feel invasive. It feels relevant.

What’s especially interesting is how sales teams are starting to use marketing in these motions, much like they’ve done in B2B for years. Marketing creates context. Sales continues the conversation. That handoff helps businesses grow faster and leaves customers feeling understood, not processed. Over time, that kind of experience builds real commitment to a brand.

The second shift we’re seeing is less about tactics and more about permission.

Consumers don’t want more marketing. They want marketing that recognizes them.

We all feel this. Generic emails get skipped. Broad ads blur together. In a world where everything is trying to get your attention, relevance is what earns it.

What’s changing in 2026 is how marketing supports outreach. The strongest teams aren’t just launching campaigns and hoping sales can follow up. They’re using marketing to create real, timely reasons for sales to reach out.

• Not forced check-ins.

• Not “just following up.”

• Actual moments that make sense.

Education plays a bigger role here. So does timing. When marketing delivers something genuinely useful or thoughtful, sales isn’t interrupting anymore. They’re continuing a conversation that already feels earned.

Small, intentional touches often outperform polished pitches. A shared team experience. A thoughtful gesture. A relevant insight delivered at the right moment. These moments don’t feel transactional, and that’s why they work.

When marketing does this well, sales doesn’t have to push. Engagement feels natural because it is.

The third shift is one that feels almost counterintuitive given how much AI is available now.

Restraint is a competitive advantage.

AI makes it easy to create more content than ever before. But the brands seeing the strongest results aren’t trying to fill every channel with more messages. They’re choosing moments more carefully.

• Fewer messages.

• Better timing.

• Clear intent behind every interaction.

Marketers don’t need help creating noise. They need help creating clarity. In 2026, attention isn’t won by volume. It’s earned through relevance and respect for the audience.

There’s a lot already happening this year, and it’s going to keep moving fast. But the marketers who stand out won’t be the ones chasing every new idea. They’ll be the ones building marketing that feels human, intentional, and genuinely useful.

At L&E Strategic Marketing, that’s where our focus is in 2026. Helping teams create marketing that supports sales naturally, respects the audience, and actually delivers value.

If you’re looking for a partner who listens closely and cares deeply about outcomes, reach out to L&E. We’d love to talk about what this year could look like together.