In the last five years, the business world has changed more dramatically than in the entire decade before. As companies were adapting to constant changes in workplace dynamics, consumer behavior, and the global economy. This was a shock to business compared to the Internet revolution of the 1990s.
Companies that once led the digital transformation now face an unexpected reality: They are having tough trade-offs as competitors leverage AI to match the capabilities of much larger, better-funded teams.
The playing field has not been leveled yet. It has been completely redeveloped.
Through months of market research focused on customer needs, HubSpot revealed how growth-driven teams are responding to this new environment. They are abandoning linear playbooks in favor of market strategies that operate in the infinite Loop – A continuously adaptive cycle of learning, experimenting, improving and scaling.
The 2025 study of 1,800 brand professionals (including marketers, advertisers, content strategists, brand experts, and GTM decision makers) identified key tactics brands are using to navigate the dramatic tech shift. This insight forms what HubSpot calls Loop marketing scenario.
3 Takeaways from HubSpot’s Loop Marketing Landscape Report
1. Brands must document clear brand positioning.
This may sound obvious, but it’s far from a given. While every marketing textbook raves about the importance of documenting a unique value proposition (UVP), HubSpot found that only half do. (51%) Global marketers actually have one.
The rest 49% The following disclosure:
- 39% Say, “We have a general idea, but it’s not formally documented.”
- 8% “We have a number of competitive price propositions no matter who you ask,” he says.
- 3% Say their brand completely lacks brand positioning (documented or undocumented).
Why does it matter?
When you compare overall goal attainment (in the previous year) across respondents, 52% of marketers on teams exceeded goals There was a clearly defined and documented UVP. only 36% Among teams that only hit their targets (without much regularity). And only 24% Among respondents who regularly missed their goals.
The connection is clear: If your own teams can’t articulate what makes you valuable, your customers won’t either. Misunderstandings in marketing, sales, product and leadership can quickly lead to conflicting messaging in the market.
How to create a brand identity that grows with you
Each brand identity should enhance how your business uniquely solves the customer (and outpaces the competition). Respondents with clearly documented brand positioning leaned into the following best practices when developing and refining them:
- Competitive Research: If you have a limited customer base or don’t yet have access to customer data, start with competitor research (like 25% Global Marketers HubSpot surveyed the dos and don’ts of high- and low-performing brands in your niche.
- Customer Data Analysis: 48% We asked the respondents (and 97% (of non-US respondents) leverage accessible customer data to create positioning statements or value propositions based on the needs and opportunities of target groups with high purchasing power.
- Strict analytics monitoring: 31% Use web data, such as social media analytics or site engagement, to test, monitor and validate content that tests new messaging, value propositions, brand mission statements, brand aesthetics, or other parts of their brand identity.
- A/B or Multivariate Testing: A/B or multivariate testing enables teams to create two or more alternative brand identities for the same audience to determine which one “wins.” Although it depends a lot on the tools you’re working with, 11% American marketers and 38% Non-US marketers still use it for refinement or validation steps.
- Regular audits and refinements: 64% Respondents whose teams regularly exceed goals say they take time to audit and refine their brand identity at least every five years (with 34% (saying that they do it at least every two years).
In a loop framework, brand positioning becomes the anchor to which each iteration returns.
2. Brands need to create personalized customer content.
While most global respondents use some form of personalization in their marketing or advertising materials, 50% No going deeper than entering a name, company, or address token.
only 25% They segmented audiences by easily searchable demographics such as gender, country, or industry, he said. And only 15% Buyers were more likely to segment content according to personas (groups or targets) or buy their products based on their personality.
Why does it matter?
Let’s face it. Contact tokens are cute, but they’re not glamorous.
As marketing teams gain wider access to generative AI, core personalization is no longer a differentiator in the market — it’s the norm. What actually moves consumers to take action is content that speaks directly to their needs, motivations, and behaviors.
The performance correlation is striking:
- 93% of respondents in teams exceeding the goal In contrast, they have been reported using some form of basic to advanced personalization techniques in their marketing. 49% Respondents from teams that easily accomplish their goals.
- Half of respondents from teams exceeding these goals also say their brand uses at least a high degree of personalization or precision.
- In addition, 56% More than a quarter of respondents from Goal Exceeding Teams report that their monthly content leverages some form of personalization or segmentation, in comparison. 26% Among respondents from teams that do not regularly exceed targets.
How to get personal
You can’t create content without first knowing WHO You are talking and where They bide their time.
Basic demographic data of respondents with personalized strategies in motion (43%) and shopping habits (36%) Most valuable to them when making a decision were:
- Who hit the perfect buying opportunity?
- Which channels to target them?
- What kind of content will resonate with them the most?
Once you’ve developed buyer personas for your target audience, start identifying the channels they use and what kind of affordable, personalized or classy experiences you can provide them.
The two channels that respondents said their brands regularly use for personalized or segmented content were email. (61%) and paid media, such as website or social ads (47%).
In the loop model, personalization is how brands learn in real time, feed insights into the system, and improve the next iteration of content.
3. Brands are diving into channel diversification.
The web landscape is always changing and evolving, especially with the expansion of generative AI. As new channels emerge and gain virality, others may lose effectiveness or ROI over weeks or months.
HubSpot’s survey found that:
- 73% Global respondents say they use three or more distinct marketing channels (e.g., email, advertising, social platforms, video, SEO, AEO, podcast, influencer, etc.).
- This experience is growing even more in the US, where 56% Respondents say their brands have more than five marketing channels, compared to one-third of global respondents.
Why does it matter?
It’s easy to find a channel working well and become complacent, thinking you can hook into it forever. But that’s not how the world works today.
In the last 12 months, for example, web brands that invested most of their resources in SEO experienced significant ROI declines when Google’s AI reviews unexpectedly evaluated it. 60% Fewer search results clicks on other websites.
This is probably one of many reasons 48% Respondents now say their brand allocates more than one-fifth of its budget to channel experience and diversity.
Where to expand next?
When looking at the data, these channel expansion opportunities stood out the most:
- 79% Among respondents, compensation in more than one channel is embedded in some form of brand promotion (although each brand’s investment may vary).
- 74% Leverage global respondents’ influence or brand partnerships (especially on channels less familiar to their marketers).
- Most marketers on teams with goal meetings or more are building or experimenting with some kind of online community.
Diversification ensures that if one part of your loop goes bad, the rest of your strategy stays in motion.
Going into a loop
As brands adapt to a world where AI accelerates the pace of change, the business winners are those that can constantly learn, adapt and refresh their strategies.
This is the power of loop marketing: it turns growth into a continuous cycle rather than a one-time roadmap.
Teams that consistently exceed their goals are not relying on static playbooks. They are:
- Uniting their teams around clearly documented value propositions.
- Embracing customer data at their fingertips.
- Leaving critical time for experimentation and channel expansion.
- Using AI to improve workplace performance leverages human-driven creativity that makes their brand relevant and unique.
This is the next era of marketing.
For more information on these findings and how to build a strong loop marketing playbook, read the full report here.
