Kate here. This is the second issue of the Quarterly, our roundup of what we're seeing across our B2B tech clients, where the market is moving, and what we're changing in response at Zmist & Copy.
This quarter, we kept seeing the same thing: old ways of selling and marketing are becoming harder to justify. AI is making software easier to build, content cheaper to produce, and generic positioning easier to copy.
So we picked four things we'd do differently:
- Stop putting AI in the tagline. Everyone else is doing it too.
- Sell the first software win, not the six-month project.
- Stop paying for content by the article. Look at the system behind the outcome.
- Invest in earned media, not just backlinks. A mention can be worth much more than a link.
Here's what caught our attention this quarter.
1. “AI washing:” everyone is rushing to put AI in the tagline. Don't rush
Noticed how AI is suddenly everywhere in B2B taglines? We did too! AI is not a differentiator anymore. Read that again.
Most companies have it, and most companies are saying the same thing. We've been seeing a few common messaging patterns:
Naming your agent. Meet Devin, your team's autonomous software engineer.
Calling yourself an OS. The AI operating system for [industry].
Putting “agentic” in front of an existing category. Agentic CRM. Agentic content platform. Agentic SDLC.
Promising everything, everywhere, 24/7. Handles your workflow end to end, works around the clock, does it all autonomously.
Should you do the same? You shouldn't. The more AI becomes table stakes, the more important it is to say what your product enables and give buyers a reason to choose you.
For example:
Weak: The agentic CRM
Better: Know which accounts need your attention before your sales team does.
That said, AI might be an important search term. Buyers may actively look for “AI + your category.” And if you don't mention it anywhere, you risk disappearing from that conversation. So use AI in the subhead, product pages, feature descriptions, and demos but don't make it your positioning.
If your homepage sounds like everyone else's, our Positioning Sprint can help you find the thing worth saying instead. Learn more about our Positioning service →
2. Nobody wants to buy your 6-month project. What to offer instead
AI has changed what's possible in software development. Your client can now prototype things themselves, they don't need your MVP in 3 to 6 months.
So the old promise, “Give us six months and we'll transform your business” is harder to sell. You need your own version of Palantir's AIP bootcamp.
Take a logistics company that wants to automate its entire operation. It may eventually do that. But it doesn't need to buy a six-month project to get started. Here is what you can do for them:
- Find the most painful workflow. Start with something people hate doing.
- Measure how long it takes and how much it costs for the client to run. How many people are involved? How often does it happen?
- Scope the automation. Define what you're going to change (don't try changing too much, it needs to be a quick project)
- Put a fixed price on it. It needs to be affordable.
- Build it in 2-4 weeks.
- Measure the ROI. How much time, money, or manual work did you remove? Now the client is buying a measurable outcome, not your hours.
- Expand to other workflows.
You want to make it easier for the client to say yes.
3. Stop asking “how much is an article?” Ask what you’re buying
“How much is an article?” is a bad question. An article can cost $150. Or $1,000. Or $2,500. But you're not necessarily buying the same thing.
Before you compare the prices of content agencies or freelancers, ask:
- Who decides what gets written?
- Who researches the market?
- Who finds and interviews the experts?
- Who writes and edits it?
- Who distributes it?
- Who measures what happens after it goes live?
- And if it doesn't work, whose problem is that?
When you're evaluating an agency, ask them: “What am I getting for that price?”Look at the strategy behind the content, the expertise going into it, the distribution, the measurement, and, most importantly, how much of the outcome the agency is accountable for.
We broke down what content marketing agencies (and freelancers) charge, if you want to check that out.
If you're looking for a content team rather than a pile of articles, our Content Program combines strategy, content, operations, and reporting in one monthly retainer. Learn more about our Content Program →
4. Backlinks are the old way to build authority. Earned media gets you more
For years, SEO teams have bought backlinks to build authority. Companies routinely spend from 3,000 to 12,000+ a month on link-building campaigns, with quality links often costing $300-$750 each.
But what are you actually buying? A link. When was the last time you clicked on a link?
Companies that invest in link building don't expect that people will actually click (they don't even expect anyone to read the article). They just want Google and LLMs to notice somebody is referencing their company, so they move them up in search results.
PR also delivers this result, plus it helps you become popular. Instead of paying someone to put your URL into an article, you give a journalist, podcast host, newsletter writer, or industry publication something worth talking about.
Link building: Pay → get a link → move on.
Earned media: Pitch an idea → get a mention → build a relationship → get invited back → become a source people recognize.
That relationship can keep producing opportunities without paying for every new placement.
There's another reason we're betting on earned media: AI visibility.
AI systems need sources that establish you as a credible answer to a question. Earned media puts your name, people, data, and ideas into third-party sources. It gets other people talking about your company. That builds credibility with buyers and gives LLMs third-party sources to associate with your brand.
We're currently preparing to launch earned media authority building as a service at Zmist & Copy.
We're offering the first few programs at a lower introductory price while we build the service with our first clients.
If you'd rather build a reputation than a backlink count, get in touch.
See you next quarter.
