Welcome to What We're Reading, a weekly rundown of news stories, marketing columns, and B2B industry news that caught our eye.

Be ready for B2B personalization trends

With 71% of buyers expecting personalized interactions, B2B marketers need to be ready to leverage personalization strategies in 2025. MarketingProfs delves into the biggest areas for growth and success next year.

As B2B budgets rise, KPIs get more realistic

Unlike the 2023 trend where rising budgets went hand-in-hand with higher expectations, B2B marketers are pairing higher marketing spend with less ambitious KPIs in 2025. WhatTheyThink explains why in its breakdown of a recent report.

First-party data use is still on the rise

EMARKETER predicts that in 2025, marketers will fine-tune their data collection practices to build trust, rely less on third-party data, and improve cybersecurity to protect customer data. A survey shows a growing focus on customer insight, first-party, and transactional data sources.

What else lies ahead in 2025?

It’s all about trends and predictions this week, so here’s a final roundup of B2B marketers sharing their perspectives on the state of marketing in 2025. Econsultancy experts mention the growing need for emotional resonance, storytelling skills, and more thoughtful ROI measurement.

See you in the new year!

We'll be back with new stories in January, but if you want to keep reading, head on over to the Thinking section. Happy holidays!