Buyer choice has expanded. In 2006, Halligan said, prospects had between four and five vendors to choose from for any given product. Now, they have between 14 and 15 different vendors for any given product or service. This overwhelming choice is a function of supply and demand mismatches.

« Supply is up — way up, » Halligan said. « It has become so much easier to … build useful stuff. Things like agile methodologies and open APIs have made it much easier to build products. Supply is up, but at the same time, demand is flat. »

Halligan also noted that vendors have additional pressure to stand out from the competition, partially because of the internet. « Competition is up — way up. Back in 2006, we were battling for inches on a four-foot shelf. Now we’re battling for space on the internet shelf. »

Content marketing types have shifted. In 2006, « Buyers read stuff all day, » Halligan said, referring to blogs, product reviews and the like. Today, buyers mostly watch videos. At the time, Google and text formed a solid marriage, enabling online searchers to get their questions answered. « Google and text — that was like pigs in a blanket. In 2016, there’s another delicious combination: That’s video and social. That’s like scallops and bacon — just a delicious combination, » he noted. Halligan said that video and social enables marketers to share messages in new, viral ways but also that users are less singularly focused.

« Buyers used to focus on one piece of content at a time; now they are looking at your content, then your competitor’s content, then posting on Twitter and Instagram, then having breakfast. Welcome to the buying generation, » Halligan said.

Companies now need effective marketing strategies on social media platforms. Halligan noted that social media platforms are essential to a healthy marketing strategy. « If you’re not marketing on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you might as well be marketing inside a trashcan. If you’re not marketing inside the [Mark] Zuckerberg universe, you might as well be marketing inside a trashcan. »

Search has changed. Since 2006, Google has become more than just a search engine. In 2006, Google helped searchers find answers to a question. Today, Google just gives them the answer itself. But just as much as organic search has become an important element in the marketing playbook, Halligan noted that paid search has also become critical since 2006. « In 2006, ads took up about 50% of the screen above the fold, » Halligan said. « Today, it takes up 100% of the screen above the fold. Increasingly, buyers are clicking on AdWords. AdWords has gone up in my mind. » As HubSpot CTO and co-founder Dharmesh Shah noted, « You’re going to have search everywhere, » from Amazon to the Echo, to Siri to your car.

The buying process becomes more multichannel, more personalized, more self-service. Because online research has become so critical, content has become more important to the sales process than the sales rep, in some cases. « In 2006, the website augmented the sales rep. In 2016, the sales rep augments your website, » Halligan said. Companies like Airbnb and Uber have changed the nature of how prospects shop and buy with their « killer end-to-end processes » for consumers, Halligan noted.

Halligan gave marketers some advice in the new era:

1. Video is the new black. Stop looking for a blogger. Start looking for a videographer.
2. Social. « You’re not B2B marketers, » he said. « You’re H2H, or human-to-human, marketers. »
3. Accelerate your market. Divide your paid and content marketing. Repurpose your content on Twitter and Instagram. That is the power of content marketing.
4. Automate. Users are expecting you to automate their processes and offer self-service.