Generation Z and B2B marketing are the talk of the town. Short videos, professional networks, peer influence, artificial intelligence… To hear some people talk, it almost sounds as though we need to completely overhaul our strategies to adapt to this new generation of buyers. Really? I don’t think so.
Let’s take a very B2B example. A manufacturing company wants to automate part of its production and tasks a younger member of its team with exploring the possibilities. Will they methodically visit the websites of five suppliers and fill in their contact forms? Perhaps, but they might just as easily start with a Google search, come across an engineer’s LinkedIn video, follow up with a technical article, ask an AI to compare different approaches, and then send two company names to their manager.
The supplier hasn’t spoken to anyone yet, and yet an initial shortlist is already beginning to take shape. Is it Generation Z who invented this way of searching? Of course not. Having written for years at ExoB2B about B2B content marketing, I have seen gradual changes in the ways people search for, consume and evaluate companies. The difference is that Generation Z is joining our companies without having known anything else.
That is precisely what makes them so interesting. They aren’t reinventing B2B marketing. They are revealing and accelerating changes that go far beyond their own generation. And, in the process, they are putting some of our marketing practices to the test.
Generation Z and B2B marketing: your buyers are charting their own course
In marketing, we like to map out customer journeys, identify touchpoints and understand what happens between the moment a need is recognised and the final decision. The problem is that the buyer has never promised to follow our carefully crafted journey.
They move from one platform to another depending on their needs. They search for information on Google, check LinkedIn, ask a colleague for advice, return to a website and now use AI to explore an issue in more depth or compare solutions. For Generation Z, this autonomy is nothing new. They have grown up with the ability to search, compare and make their own decisions.
For your marketing, the implication is significant: you have less and less control over the path that leads a buyer to your business. However, you can influence what they find along the way.
Generation Z is becoming involved in B2B decision-making, which remains a collective process
Another oversimplification that bothers me when discussing Generation Z in B2B is the notion of the Gen Z buyer making decisions alone. In reality, they are part of multi-generational purchasing teams where responsibilities, criteria and research methods can vary considerably.
A specialist might identify two promising suppliers, but operations, finance, IT or senior management will likely have their say. Each will be looking for different answers: understanding the solution, assessing its integration, measuring the risk or verifying the supplier’s ability to deliver.
That is why it would strike me as odd to build an entire B2B strategy around the preferences of a single generation. Generation Z brings new habits to a decision-making process that remains collective. Your marketing must therefore help multiple people find the answers needed to move this B2B purchasing decision forward.
Is your business easy to understand?
A prospect visits your website. The homepage talks about innovation, integrated solutions, excellence, commitment and 30 years’ experience. That’s all well and good, but what exactly does your company do? For what sort of clients? In which markets? And, above all, why should it be among the suppliers to consider?
This sort of situation is still common in B2B. Companies possess considerable expertise, but it can sometimes take browsing through several pages to understand precisely what they do and what sets them apart. A lack of clarity in positioning becomes even more problematic when the buyer is quickly switching between different sources.
AI attempting to understand your business faces a rather similar problem. It needs to be able to link your brand to specific areas of expertise, markets, problems and solutions. Before you try to make your marketing more appealing to Generation Z, ask yourself whether a new buyer can quickly understand who you help, what problem you solve and why your business is relevant.
Generation Z and B2B marketing: make your expertise visible
Another paradox strikes me in B2B companies: some have extraordinary experts of whom there is virtually no trace online. You’ve probably come across the sort: that engineer everyone turns to with the tricky questions, or that specialist who’s known her market for 20 years. Their expertise exists, but it often remains confined to meetings, emails and conversations with clients.
However, trust no longer rests solely on what your company says about itself. According to a study published by LinkedIn in September 2026, 84 per cent of marketers surveyed believe that Gen Z buyers are more likely to consider a brand when it is endorsed by someone in their professional community. Experts, clients, achievements and evidence therefore lend substance to what the brand claims.
But does this mean you should turn your engineer into a LinkedIn influencer? Certainly not. They must remain an engineer. Their expertise can, however, be shared in various forms: an analysis, a case study, a short video or a post on LinkedIn. Video then becomes just one format amongst others for making this knowledge accessible. It is not the strategy itself.
A buyer who watches a one-minute video may then want to read a ten-page analysis. Short does not mean superficial, human does not mean improvised, and accessible does not mean oversimplified. The format changes depending on the occasion and the need. Expertise, however, must remain consistent and substantial.
Content therefore serves to demonstrate, not merely to publish. Case studies, analyses and expert commentary document what your company knows and what it achieves. This is what I mean here by ‘rich content’: making expertise accessible rather than simply proclaiming it. I have, in fact, devoted an entire blog post to this very topic.
AI introduces a new intermediary into B2B search
AI is now playing a role in research and comparison. A buyer can ask it which suppliers have specific expertise, what criteria to use to compare them, or which solutions best address their problem. They do not necessarily need to be familiar with your company for it to be included, or excluded, from the answer.
This shift in AI visibility in B2B towards selection can be illustrated as follows:
Being found → being understood → being mentioned → being recommended → being selected.
SEO, GEO and AEO can all contribute to this progression. However, AI simply adds a new layer to an already fragmented journey. And this is where the real challenge lies: Generation Z isn’t just putting your content to the test. It’s putting your entire B2B marketing system to the test.
Generation Z and B2B marketing: does your system stand up to the test?
Imagine a buyer comes across your company in three different contexts. On your website, you present yourselves as specialists in a very specific industrial market. On LinkedIn, your posts mainly cover much broader topics. Then your sales representative presents yet another way of defining your expertise.
Which message should they believe? Taken separately, your website, your LinkedIn presence and your sales approach may all be excellent. Taken together, however, they may still tell three different stories.
This, in my view, is where the topic becomes truly interesting for B2B companies. The question is no longer simply about how to produce the right content or choose the right format. You need to ensure consistency between your positioning, your experts, your evidence, your content, your digital presence and your sales.
This continuity is all the more important given that the buyer may approach your sales team having already done a significant amount of their research. Your sales representative no longer necessarily starts from scratch. They must confirm, expand upon and put into context what the buyer already believes they know about your company.
This is precisely why I view B2B marketing as a system
The website, LinkedIn, SEO, content, experts, AI and sales should not operate as separate silos. They must help the buyer understand the same company, even if they approach it via different routes.
So, do you need to rejuvenate your marketing to keep up with Generation Z? I think that question leads us down the wrong path. Generation Z isn’t asking B2B companies to become ‘younger’. It’s forcing them to become clearer, more accessible, more verifiable and more consistent.
And, just a quick aside: AI is asking us practically the same thing. Generation Z therefore acts less as the driving force behind a new approach to B2B marketing and more as its catalyst. It shows us where positioning remains unclear, where expertise remains invisible, where evidence is lacking and where different touchpoints tell different stories. It is then up to us to decide whether we simply want to follow their habits or use this insight to improve the entire system.
Does your marketing stand up to this test?
At ExoB2B, we help businesses build a B2B marketing strategy that remains relevant as the ways in which people search, evaluate and make decisions evolve. Positioning, personas, buyer journeys, content, experts, SEO, GEO, AEO and sales must all contribute to a clear, credible and consistent presence.
Speak to an ExoB2B strategist to explore what these changes reveal about your own marketing.
To give you further food for thought
Redefining Brand Perception in B2B Marketing in this Age of AI
The current limitations of B2B marketing in the context of integrated buying
The augmented persona: the new weapon in industrial B2B marketing
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FAQ
Generation Z and B2B marketing: what is really changing?
Above all, it is accelerating changes that are already underway: independent research, a proliferation of sources and peer validation. In doing so, it highlights the strengths and weaknesses of B2B marketing systems.
What does Generation Z expect from a B2B supplier before contacting them?
They want to be able to understand the supplier’s expertise, verify their claims and consult credible sources before making contact. The supplier must therefore make sufficient information and evidence available during this independent research.
How does Generation Z influence B2B purchasing groups?
They bring their research and verification habits to decisions that remain collective. Marketing must therefore meet the needs of the various roles and generations involved in the purchasing process.
Should a B2B company adapt its brand to Generation Z?
Not necessarily by making its image or tone more youthful. Above all, it stands to gain by making its positioning, expertise and evidence clearer, more accessible and more consistent.
