Technology marketing now competes for buyers it never meets

Technology buyers have taken control of the journey: 67% of B2B buyers now prefer a rep-free experience, and the budgets behind them face sharper scrutiny — marketing holds at 7.8% of company revenue, and 39% of CMOs plan to cut back on agency budgets, streamlining rosters and eliminating unproductive relationships (all Gartner). AI is the declared priority, with 15.3% of marketing budgets already committed, yet only 30% of CMOs report mature AI readiness. The gap is not ambition; it is the operating model. VA helps technology leaders govern roster, media and AI investment as one system — connecting marketing to pipeline, and holding every partner to measurable value.