When it comes to marketing and PR, most business technology companies feel they’re playing catch-up in a race whose rules keep changing. That’s according to “How to Win Influence in B2B Tech,” a report from comms agency 3Thinkrs based on a survey of 400 B2B tech CMOs in the U.S. and U.K.
Sixty-two percent of those surveyed said they lack the skills, budget and other resources to compete with fast-moving challengers, making this respondents’ top concern. The rapidly evolving search and answer engine optimization (AEO) landscape is fueling this fear of being left behind. Nearly as many respondents — 61% — said they are under-equipped to lead on share of search, and 35% believe their rivals are already adapting for generative engine optimization (GEO) and zero-click search. Forty-two percent of the CMOs surveyed, including 56% of those at billion-dollar companies, are seeing performance declines from traditional search channels.
The number-one way respondents plan to boost their GEO/AEO is by adjusting their schema and other structured data; a full third intend to do so. Thirty-two percent plan to increase their PR budgets as a means of gaining the perceived authority valued by ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI engines. Among CMOs at VC-backed start-ups, 45% will be increasing their PR budgets, making this their top GEO/AEO priority.
“VC-backed start-ups always seem to invest in PR early, because they need that credibility from third parties,” notes 3Thinkrs CEO Ruth Jones. “And with this shift from SEO dominant to share of AI voice, with PR all of a sudden they can gain a lot of ground on these well-established firms.”
Share of AI voice has become a top metric among the survey respondents, with 33% reporting it to their CEO, while only 21% report share of traditional search and 19% share of media coverage. The start-ups are more likely to report on share of AI voice than the billion-dollar firms, 39% to 26%. Conversely, while only 8% of the start-ups report share of traditional search, 35% of the billion-dollar companies do.
Strong Proof Points, Weak Narratives
Beyond keeping up with GEO and agile rivals, 61% of survey respondents said they struggle to create a distinctive and recognizable brand narrative, and 58% admitted to falling short of their peers in sustaining audience attention beyond launches and campaigns. At the same time, 60% believe their ability to reinforce trust and credibility via proof points is as good as, if not better than, that of their competitors.
To put it another way, B2B tech CMOs are confident in the statistics and examples that substantiate their credibility but not in their efforts to communicate that evidence over the long term in a memorable, engaging way. Doing so requires internal alignment among the PR, marketing and go-to-market teams, another area where respondents confess to falling short. Sixty-one percent admitted they were only mildly or not at all proficient in consistently using a shared brand narrative in PR, marketing campaigns and sales materials.
To hone a primary brand narrative for all parties to share, Jones says, “first thing you focus on is building that really simple brand message on one page — a simple tagline message that everyone can remember and repeat.”
And the narrative needs to emphasize the company’s points of distinction, another area where numerous businesses fall short. “Everyone is using the same language, the same content, and it’s really different for those marketers to distinguish themselves,” Jones says. “Once you define how you’re different, you can ensure you remain different.”
More Media, No Crisis Playbook
Among other findings from the survey:
- In 2026, 32% of respondents intend to expand into podcasts, webinars and other formats in response to audiences’ changing media habits.
- 24% are investing more in owned channels such as blogs, newsletters and LinkedIn content.
- Speaking of LinkedIn, 54% — including 60% of VC-backed start-ups — plan to incorporate short-form video, carousels and other multimedia formats into their LinkedIn content.
- Target-audience alignment is the leading metric among respondents, with 40% reporting it to their CEO. That metric is also number-one among VC-backed start-ups, with 45% reporting it. For billion-dollar firms, audience size is the top metric, reported by 56% of CMOs.
- A scant 16% of respondents have a crisis communications playbook or plan.
