PR and marketing are nothing if not noisy. Spend just five minutes on LinkedIn, and you’ll think you’re missing out on what could be THE key to solving all your challenges.
While new approaches may deserve attention, they often overlook the basics. Sometimes, what we think will get us where we want to be is only a distraction from the work that will help us actually achieve our goals.
Trends aren’t a substitute for the work that has always made PR effective. That’s especially true in the AI-search era.
The interface may be changing, but the B2B companies most likely to be found, referenced, and trusted are still those that have built durable authority before the next trend arrives.
Why We Neglect the Fundamentals
Fundamentals are sometimes viewed as boring. They may be harder to execute well and rarely deliver a dramatic overnight result.
In a post about marketing attribution, Andy Lambert, a trusted voice in B2B marketing, notes that measuring marketing impact can’t really be boiled down to any one particular tactic or channel. He sees the problem as “…chasing the channel instead of nailing the fundamentals.”
While not everything can be attributed, “The fundamentals work across all platforms,” Lambert says. He notes fundamentals such as:
- A clear, structured website
- Deep audience understanding
- Content that is useful and credible
- Distribution in the places your audience already spends time
- Relationships with the experts, influencers, media outlets, and communities your audience trusts
- Measurement that connects activity to meaningful business outcomes
Even if channels change and tactics evolve, these principles still matter.
AI Search Is a Test of the Fundamentals
The flood of advice about AI-driven search—whether you call it GEO, AEO, XEO, or something else—has made many marketers and PR pros feel as if they need to reinvent their approach immediately.
But the more useful question is, “Are we doing the work that makes our company understandable, credible, and discoverable wherever our audience looks for answers?”
That was one of the clearest takeaways from the XEO and the Future of Search event, sponsored by MarketingProfs and Search Engine Journal. The hype around generative-engine optimization can distract organizations from the fact that they still need to create content that resonates with their audiences and distribute it where those audiences spend time.
AI search doesn’t eliminate the need for quality information, clear positioning, subject-matter expertise, and third-party credibility.
For B2B companies, that foundational work includes:
- A website that clearly explains what the company does, whom it serves, and why it is different
- Content based on real audience questions and buyer concerns
- Original insights, data, customer stories, and expert perspectives
- Thought leadership that demonstrates genuine expertise rather than recycled commentary
- Earned media, partnerships, podcast interviews, speaking opportunities, and other forms of third-party validation
- Consistent visibility in the publications, communities, newsletters, events, and social platforms where buyers already seek information
“AI search will keep shifting. Your fundamentals shouldn’t,” said Amanda Milligan, consultant and founder of the Brand Authority Club, when I spoke with her on PR Explored.
“Stay focused on building durable authority,” Milligan says. “Track what matters, earn trust where your audience already looks, and create work worth citing. You’ll stay adaptable no matter what comes next.”
So, the companies that have been focusing on producing quality content that their audiences look forward to consuming – a fundamental piece of effective marketing – are the ones now showing up in search of any kind.
Buyers Research Before Contacting Sales
B2B buyers do a significant amount of research before they ever speak with a salesperson.
Buyers are nearly 70% through the buying process when they first contact sellers, according to research. Further, 81% of buyers already have a preferred vendor by the time that first conversation happens. [demandgenreport]
That changes the way B2B marketing and PR teams think about content and visibility. The job is to help the right people become aware of your company, understand your expertise, trust your point of view, and remember you when a need arises.
Fundamentals make demand generation possible.
For B2B marketing and PR, the essentials are:
- Knowing whom you need to influence.
- Understanding what they need to believe before they will consider your company.
- Creating content that helps them solve problems or make sense of a changing market.
- Showing up in the places and publications they trust.
- Measuring whether that work is building awareness, consideration, engagement, and business results.
Content should be genuinely helpful to the audience and make your company easier to find and understand.
Conduct a PR Fundamentals Audit
If you’re responsible for marketing or PR, before adding another channel, technology, or initiative, take a step back and conduct a fundamentals audit.
1. Get clear on your goals—and establish a baseline
What are you trying to achieve this month, quarter, and year? Be specific. Are you trying to increase awareness in a particular market? Build credibility in a new category? Earn more media coverage? Improve organic visibility? Support a sales initiative? Generate qualified opportunities?
Then determine where you are today. Benchmarking is essential because it allows you to measure whether the work is making a difference. Yet, it’s one of the most frequently skipped steps. Teams often launch a campaign without agreeing on what success looks like or documenting their current position. Without a baseline, it’s difficult to know whether you’re improving—or simply staying busy.
2) Align spending with your real priorities
Review your marketing and PR budget alongside your business goals. Are resources going toward the work most likely to help you reach those goals?
That may mean reducing investment in tactics that create activity but aren’t producing meaningful progress. It may also mean protecting the budget for foundational work such as audience research, messaging, content development, media relations, thought leadership, and measurement.
Of course, marketing leaders often have to respond to executive interest in the newest technology or trend. Try the “one for them, one for me” approach. Allocate some resources to explore the new initiative leadership wants to test, while reserving enough budget for the core programs that build trust, authority, and long-term visibility.
3) Find out where your audience actually spends time
Many companies assume they know where their audience is.
Do your buyers turn to trade media, industry analysts, LinkedIn, peer communities, events, association newsletters, podcasts, search engines, AI tools, or professional networks? Which experts do they follow? Which publications do they read? What questions are they asking at each stage of the buying process?
Instead of guessing, do some research. Ask your customers. Check in with your sales team. Look at your competitors.
4) Invest in capabilities before adding more technology
Do you need to add any resources to help you get where you want to go? Think about adding human resources (consultants, agencies or full-time staff) before you tack on any new technology solutions.
As I’ve written in this newsletter previously, adding more tech – without understanding what issue it addresses or how it works – does nothing but eat up your marketing budget.
One Gartner study found that while martech spending continued to increase, utilization rates kept falling.
According to Gartner, marketers are using just 33% of their martech stack’s capabilities, down from 42% in 2022 and 58% in 2020. A Deloitte report found that 44% of marketing stacks are completely underutilized.
Further, a Demand Gen Report study of 750 senior B2B marketing leaders found that 85% said they spend more than half of their time fixing problems rather than creating campaigns. The same research found that 79% said martech costs were rising without a clear improvement in ROI, while 66% reported using 11 or more marketing tools.[demandgenreport]
Technology should be evaluated against a clear use case:
- What specific problem does this solve?
- Who will own it?
- Do we have the skills and processes to use it effectively?
- How will we know whether it is delivering value?
- Could the same investment have a greater impact if directed toward research, content, media relations, strategy, or additional human capacity?
More tools don’t automatically create more impact.
“The willingness to let the majority of their martech stack sit idle signifies a fundamental resource disconnect for CMOs,” said Ewan McIntyre of Gartner in this Marketing Dive article. “It’s difficult to imagine them leaving the same millions of dollars on the table for agencies or in-house resources. This trade-off of technology over people will not help marketing leaders accelerate…”
5) Take time to measure and evaluate
Revisit your goals and initiatives periodically to see where things stand. Adjust as needed.
Don’t overlook campaign evaluations. Often, after a campaign, everyone rushes on to the next initiative with no post-mortem meeting or takeaways. How can we learn and improve if we aren’t evaluating our efforts?
One additional note: don’t make the mistake of completely revamping your strategy every six months, as that will lead to perpetual waiting. Done is better than perfect.
Focus on Nailing the Fundamentals
Trends come and go, but when we focus on fundamentals like reaching the right audience and earning trust, we help move the business forward.
Need help nailing your PR fundamentals?
If you have questions about press releases and the role they play in your PR or marketing program, I’d be happy to chat.
I offer free, no-strings-attached 30-minute consultations. Book yours here.
Learn more about my public relations services here, or buy my book, B2B PR That Gets Results.
About the author: Michelle Garrett is a B2B PR consultant, media relations consultant, and author of B2B PR That Gets Results, an Amazon Best Seller. She helps companies, especially those in manufacturing and technology, create content, earn media coverage, and position themselves as thought leaders in their industry.
Michelle’s articles have been featured by Entrepreneur, Content Marketing Institute, Muck Rack, and Ragan’s PR Daily, among others. She’s a frequent speaker on public relations and content. Michelle has been repeatedly ranked among the top ten most influential PR professionals.
Featured image is courtesy of Adobe Express.
