Author: Alessandra Illarramendi

The biggest sporting event on the planet is about to land in North American cities for 39 days. And the brands spending a billion dollars on World Cup marketing are not your competition. Your competition is the shop three doors down that's going to do absolutely nothing this summer. Because they assume World Cup marketing is a big-brand game. They assume that without a sponsorship check, there's no way to play.

You’re working hard, but your marketing still sounds generic. That’s the frustration most marketing leaders can’t quite put their finger on right now. Everyone’s busy, the calendar is full, the posts go out on time, but the work could come from any other company in your category. This is where Claude Code becomes a game-changer.

Most B2B marketers know they’re supposed to run retargeting. Most of them also know their B2B retargeting isn’t really working. The ads show up—the pixel fires. The budget gets spent. Three months later, the same prospects remain in the warm-audience bucket. The only measurable outcome? You’ve become the agency or software company that follows them online without offering anything new. This is the B2B retargeting trap.

Let's get one thing straight: abandoned carts aren't a "no." They're a timing and trust problem, and that's where retargeting can be your best ally. Think about it. Someone found your product, liked it enough to add it to their cart, and maybe even started entering their payment info. That's high intent. But something stopped them. Doubt about sizing. Surprise at shipping costs. A phone call that interrupted their flow. Or just needing to sleep on a bigger purchase. Most brands treat cart abandonment like a failure. I see it as an opportunity.

I need to tell you something that might make you uncomfortable. By 2026, your competitors will use AI to send thousands of "AI-personalized" messages every day. Your customers' inboxes will overflow with subject lines that start with their names and content that claims to understand their needs. Everyone will have access to the same tools, data, and "revolutionary" automation platforms.

Let me be honest—I'm exhausted by the word "personalization." Not because it doesn't matter (it absolutely does), but because somewhere along the way, we convinced ourselves that adding {{FirstName}} to an email subject line was revolutionary. Meanwhile, our customers are getting 147 "personalized" messages a day, all starting with "Hey Alessandra!" and ending with the same generic pitch.

Listen, we need to talk about something that's been weighing on me for years. Every October, my inbox explodes with the same recycled Black Friday advice. "Start early!" "Discount deep!" "Email more!" But here's what nobody's saying: The brands crushing it during BFCM aren't just following a checklist—they're building genuine connections that happen to peak during the biggest shopping weekend of the year.

Stop chasing everyone and start attracting the right ones. Here's the thing about marketing that nobody talks about: You don't need more leads. You need better leads. We see it all the time. Companies invest heavily in campaigns, generating thousands of leads, only to see their sales teams become frustrated with unqualified prospects who fail to follow up after the initial call. Sound familiar? The problem isn't your product. It's not your sales team either. It's your marketing strategies.