On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your customer research? Well, don’t! Why? Because rating like these are extremely likely to not tell you anything. Chris Robson explains why decision-based surveys outperform ratings in predicting behavior.

Did you know that half of all Americans use AI? Did you know that holds true pretty much every way you slice the demographic pie? Did you know that I write a short essay for each week’s roundup of AI-powered martech releases? Well, now you do.

If you’ve read this far, you probably already know that on Tuesday we’ll kick off The MarTech Conference, our free, online confab about how to do better marketing. However, you can still see the agenda here and get your free pass. 

Constantine von Hoffman
Managing Editor

Customer experience

Why forced choices reveal more customer insights than ratings

Better CX insights start with forced choices. Learn why decision-based surveys outperform ratings in predicting behavior.

HubSpot

The 16 best HubSpot updates from February 2025

With a whopping 115 updates launched last month, we’ve identified the 16 most impactful changes to optimize your team’s performance and strategy.

Marketing artificial intelligence (AI)

AI-powered martech news and releases: March 20

Half of all Americans use AI, and that holds true for nearly all demographic slices.

Analytics & conversion

How does your landing page stack up?

If you’re driving traffic but not seeing results, it might be time to take a hard look at your conversion rates. Get industry-specific data to help understand what “good” performance really looks like.

Email marketing

3 high-impact email automations you need to drive revenue

Maximize your email marketing ROI with three simple yet powerful automations — welcome series, abandoned cart and re-engagement.

Content marketing

The 3 pillars of real thought leadership

Real thought leaders don’t chase engagement — they create value. Here’s how to create content that actually matters.

Email marketing

Email’s not dead — it’s your agency’s growth engine

Your clients may be chasing the next big thing — but smart agencies know email still delivers. Discover how your agency can turn email into a high-impact, data-driven growth engine.

B2B marketing

Why the MQL model is failing B2B marketing and what to use instead

MQLs mislead marketing, misalign sales and fail to drive revenue. Here's why GTM teams must move to causal AI and revenue-centric metrics.

Free online event

[Next week] What if one idea could transform your marketing?

Listen in on eye-opening discussions about GTM, ABM, influencer marketing, and more — and add your voice to the conversation during live Q&A — all at MarTech, online March 25-26. Free registration, on-demand access, endless possibilities.

See the agenda

What else we're reading

• What is a tool that saves you at least 10+ hours every week for marketing?
• Marketers confess their sins
• Marketers helping marketers deal with AI are the friendliest marketers of all. 
• SEO is about to die (again) — but this time it’s different. 
• Today in LinkedIn drama, corporate espionage and the spy who locked himself in a bathroom.
• CMOs feeling more besieged than usual

MarTech research

• The 2025 MarTech Intelligence Report on Marketing Automation Platforms is here. Get an overview of the MAP market and profiles of 14 vendors.

• Improve your understanding of the CDP market and get profiles of 21 vendors in the space. It’s the 2025 MarTech Intelligence Report on customer data platforms.

• Check out our MarTech Intelligence Report on Call Analytics & Conversation Intelligence Platforms, featuring profiles of 11 vendors.

• NEW! MarTech’s new buyers guide for identity resolution includes profiles of 11 identity resolution platform vendors, pricing information, capabilities comparisons and recommended steps for evaluating and purchasing.

• NEW! Get in-depth profiles of the top players in the marketing project and work management space. Download the MarTech Intelligence Report on Marketing Work Management platforms.

What they're saying

• “When it comes to surveys, standard rating scales often fail to predict actual behavior. People may say they are “extremely likely” to do something, but their actions tell a different story. Forcing individuals to make trade-offs — rather than simply rating options — leads to far more accurate predictions.” – Chris Robson in Why forced choices reveal more customer insights than ratings.

• “Marketing processes accumulate over time: more data, reports, approvals, campaigns and steps. But how often do we step back and ask: Do we really need all this?” – Jaimon Hancock in How more tools and tactics hurt marketing performance.

From Search Engine Land

• Search behavior, decoded: What platform preference really tells us
• 4 ways to connect your ads data to generative AI for smarter PPC
• Apple rebrands Search Ads as Apple Ads
• TikTok Ads introduces new exclusion lists
• Google hit with $6.6 billion lawsuit over search dominance