This article is based on a conversation with demand generation marketing experts in a TrustRadius Leaders Tell All panel. You can watch Convergence of Hyper-Personalization, Brand, and Tech in Modern Demand Gen here.

B2B buyers no longer move through static funnels or wait to be “nurtured.” They expect relevant, immediate, and personalized experiences—and demand gen leaders are responding by ditching volume-based playbooks in favor of smarter, data-driven strategies.

“We’re trying to essentially teach [buyers] more about us before they even get to our website—without them knowing—through demos and click-through tours and that type of stuff,” said Candace Gregg, Senior Director of Demand Gen at Bloomreach.

In other words, marketers are no longer just reacting to demand—they’re predicting and shaping it.

From One-Size-Fits-All to Buyer-Led Journeys

The static nurture stream is dying. In its place, demand gen teams are building dynamic, responsive experiences that let the buyer lead.

“Based on what someone’s consuming, they can jump campaigns,” explained Kristen Hogan, now CMO at Apptio, an IBM Company. “They’re not forced to go through a specific sequence… that lead is who is dictating the information that they’re seeing.”

Using tools like PathFactory and multitouch attribution, Kristen’s team personalizes the journey without over-orchestrating it. “We measure multitouch attribution, which is amazing… We have multiple products, so they can jump through different sequences based on what they’re consuming, what they’re attending.”

AI Is Powering Smarter, Faster Execution

At Bloomreach, Candace’s team leverages AI to improve lead engagement, not just automate it. The goal is to provide useful context to the sales team while keeping outreach timely and on point.

“We actually use AI to enhance an autoresponder based on all of the data we have in HubSpot and Salesforce,” Candace explained. “We essentially craft a message saying, ‘This is XYZ about the company. Here’s the page they converted on. Here’s a first email you might want to personalize further.’” The SDR then drops it into a SalesLoft sequence and hits send.

It’s a practical example of how AI can close the gap between lead behavior and human outreach—without losing relevance.

Precision at the Top, Personalization Through the Funnel

Kristen emphasized that personalization isn’t just a top-of-funnel effort. It’s designed into her team’s campaigns and flows all the way through sales execution.

“This messaging… it follows and flows down the funnel so that when our SDR and our sellers are using messaging, it’s aligned messaging that’s been crafted for their use,” she said. “Obviously SDRs and salespeople, we want them to personalize, and some will personalize utilizing some of the AI tools that we have, but we also are following best practice there.

“You don’t want to do any more than 20%. You don’t want to be hit by the spam blocker when it detects AI and the usage of AI.”

They also apply rules to avoid overwhelming decision-makers: “If you’re a CFO, I limit the number of touches you’re ever going to get or the types of information… so that we’re not overburdening.”

Strategy First, Then Stack

For all the enthusiasm around AI and automation, both leaders were clear: technology is only as good as your strategy.

“It really has to start with a strategy of how you’re going to use it, how you’re going to implement it,” said host Allyson Havener, CMO at TrustRadius. “A few years ago where there was something new and shiny on the market, ‘let’s add this to the stack. Let’s start using this. It seems like it’s going to solve all of our problems.’ But if it doesn’t really start with the strategy or the people that are going to be managing it, it’s mostly going to sit on the shelf.”

Candace shared how Bloomreach manages tech bloat by piloting fast and cutting quickly.

“We test it quick, we get it implemented quick, we try to get everybody on board fast, and then we ultimately have somebody who does a review with us where we decide whether we renew. I would say five out of six times, if something’s not successful within that first year of using it, we usually will part ways,” she said. “Although it sucks if you’re the one managing that project, you feel like, ‘Wow, I essentially wasted money.’”

“I like that,” Allyson said. “Fail fast, move on.”

And in some cases, staying with a startup tool paid off:

“We had one provider that we struggled with in the first year… but they got on with us… their founder got involved, and we helped them build their roadmap. That is one of our favorite tools now.”

The Takeaway: Meet Buyers Where They Are—Not Where You Want Them to Be

The core of predictive, real-time demand gen isn’t the tools—it’s the mindset: listen first, respond intelligently, and be ready to pivot.

“We’re making sure that we’re serving [buyers] the right information at the right time,” Kristen said. “Whether that’s a prospect or an existing customer, it’s the same concept.”

The brands getting ahead today aren’t just using personalization. They’re operationalizing it—with strategy, tech, and team alignment to match.