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

The alternative to ‘always-on’ media strategies

“Certainty is the enemy of growth,” says this contributor for The Drum, noting that over-reliance on predictability is the bane of B2B marketers. Even before the rapid changes brought by AI and social media, businesses that prioritized control may have missed out on important growth opportunities.

It’s a solid reminder that B2B brands should take more risks, but these should be calculated risks. When you align new content ideas with your brand story, test new audiences with an eye on the right metrics, or explore new channels with a consistent goal in mind, a marketing experiment can bring valuable long-term insights.

Agent-based marketing is the new ABM

Citing some familiar statistics about changes in buyer behaviour, Adobe for Business says account-based marketing (ABM) was built on an assumption that no longer holds true: that there is a human on the other side of every interaction with your brand. The buying group is now a mix of human and AI agents, each with its own way of seeking information or assisting the process.

Adobe argues that this calls for a totally new playbook. Take that with a grain of salt. It might be decent advice for your brand, it might be overdramatic, or it might be the motivation you need to take some calculated risks and see what resonates.

3 structures for better B2B stories

For good reason, we all keep hearing about the need to differentiate B2B writing from the flood of bland, samey AI-generated content. If you’re not a writer or content creator yourself, the advice to “tell a story” or “give it a human touch” may not mean much.

MarketingProfs’ explanation of story structures is a useful starting point if you’re looking to create something new and compelling (or you’re just curious to know how copywriters think). It explains what makes certain stories click with audiences and how to use them effectively.

What works in B2B ecommerce?

We read about content and strategy today, but what about web design for B2B ecommerce? To complete more sales and keep buyers coming back, these sites also need to be designed with the modern buying process in mind. Read our blog to learn how.