For small and medium businesses (SMBs) and startups, staying ahead of marketing trends is essential for maximizing limited budgets and competing with larger brands. That’s why, every year, we survey 4,450 marketers and leaders (890 of which are in the SMB segment) in the State of Marketing Report.

TLDR? This year, the data showed that the era of one-way conversations is over. Today’s customers expect hyperpersonalized experiences, and the rules of modern marketing are being rewritten to accommodate this shift. Here’s how marketers are adapting to the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and agents, and what this means for SMBs. 

What’s the State of Marketing Report and why does your SMB need it? 

The Salesforce State of Marketing Report is an annual survey of marketing leaders and experts worldwide to uncover the latest trends in data, personalization, and AI. 

This annual report is your personal guide to marketing trends, with insights from global leaders on the cutting-edge of technology. These insights help you stop guessing, start competing with larger brands, and build marketing strategies to deliver the hyperpersonalized experiences that fuel deep customer loyalty. 

Here are three critical takeaways from the report that small and medium businesses can use to fuel growth:

Takeaway 1: Generative and predictive AI are now tablestakes for SMBs

Breaking news: Marketers are using AI. Try to contain the shock. The latest State of Marketing data reveals that 75% of marketers are already dabbling in some form of AI — whether it be predictive, generative, or agentic AI. That means using your favorite large language model (LLM) to create email copy is no longer a competitive differentiator, it’s merely the baseline. 

But here’s where the narrative shifts: While the vast majority of marketers are using AI to write copy, spin-up visuals, and tweak content for personalization, teams are still early when it comes to “agentic marketing.” In fact, only 13% of marketers are currently using agentic AI — autonomous AI agents that can take action on your behalf. 

Digging deeper into the data, we saw something very interesting — the highest-performing marketing teams are nearly twice as likely to be using AI agents compared to underperformers. 

This presents a massive opportunity for SMB marketers. For SMBs with lean teams who need to grow quickly and efficiently, adopting agentic AI early — while 87% of the industry is sitting on the sidelines — can help improve performance and build a durable advantage. In fact, 80% of SMB marketers expect major to moderate improvements to their marketing return on investment (ROI) by using AI agents.

The best part? Using AI agents actually lets marketers reduce manual execution work and frees up 6-7 hours a week for creative and strategic tasks. 

Takeaway 2: The megaphone era is over — enter two-way conversations

For decades, marketing was a one-way street: Brands held the megaphone, and customers were forced to listen. Those days are officially over. Today, an overwhelming 83% of SMB marketers report that customers increasingly expect two-way conversations, not just broadcasted messages.

But there’s a massive gap between what customers want and what lean marketing teams can realistically deliver. More than half (52%) of SMB marketers admit their current tools are completely inadequate for managing two-way conversations at scale. 

This is where AI steps in to bridge the gap. We’re already seeing a massive shift in confidence: 78% of SMB marketers now trust AI to respond to customer inquiries. By letting AI agents nurture and qualify leads, lean teams can finally deliver the hyper-personalized, conversational experiences buyers demand, without needing to add massive headcount to pull it off.

Takeaway 3: Your data is your only real differentiator

Right now, messy data‌ — ‌whether it’s siloed, low-quality, or just too much to process‌ — ‌is the number one blocker stopping SMBs from getting real value out of AI. In fact, only 27% of SMB marketers are completely satisfied with their ability to unify customer data and use it to create relevant experiences.

Here’s a harsh truth: In an era where AI can generate infinite content, your proprietary data is your only real differentiator. If your data is fragmented across a dozen disconnected platforms, spreadsheets, and apps, your AI doesn’t know who it’s talking to or what they want. It won’t make your marketing smarter‌ — ‌it’ll just blast out generic spam at faster rates. 

That’s why you need a CDP to gather all those scattered details into one place. With Data 360, you can pull in any data — ‌from sales call notes and ERP records to offline identities and product usage — ‌and unify it, empowering your team to turn it into deeply personalized experiences. The better your data, the more you can get out of AI and your marketing tools by sending the right messages and offers to the right customers at the right time.

The future of marketing for growing businesses is agentic 

The rules have changed, but that’s actually great news for small teams. When you get your data in order and put AI agents to work, you don’t need a giant budget or hundreds of employees to wow your customers. You just need the right tools working on your behalf. See how you can turn every marketing campaign into a conversation with AI agents on the free demo.

Curious about the rest of the findings? Download the 10th Edition State of Marketing Report for free to explore the global benchmarks shaping the industry. Or, if you’re ready to start building your competitive edge today, check out how Agentforce Marketing supports SMBs.

AI supported the writers and editors of this article.