Marketing is changing faster than TikTok trends. And that’s saying something.
HubSpot just dropped their new Loop Marketing framework. It’s a smart response to the way AI is blowing up the old funnel. But here’s the thing: no single playbook has all the answers. The real winners in this new era won’t be the ones who cling to a framework like it’s gospel. They’ll be the ones who stay curious, test everything, and aren’t afraid to get a little scrappy.
Let’s break this down.
The Funnel Isn’t Funnelin’ Like It Used To
Remember when inbound marketing flipped the script? Instead of interrupting people with ads, we started attracting them with content, helpful resources, and SEO. It worked. Buyers Googled, clicked, and the funnel filled up.
That funnel is toast.
AI is now taking over discovery and research. Google’s AI overviews and tools like ChatGPT are giving buyers the answers before they even hit your site. That means fewer visitors. The upside is the people who do show up are further along and more serious about buying.
Less traffic. More intent. Quality finally beats quantity.
Playing It Safe Is the Riskiest Move
If your 2025 marketing plan is “let’s just write more blogs,” congrats. You’re adding to the internet’s junk drawer. Volume alone won’t save you anymore.
And personalization? Slapping a first name on an email subject line doesn’t count. Buyers can smell lazy automation from a mile away. Rely too much on AI without a clear brand voice and you’ll sound like a robot who just discovered LinkedIn.
Playing it safe means blending into the noise.
Personalization That Actually Feels Personal
The good news is the buyers who land on your site are ready for real conversations. They want to feel understood, not processed.
That’s where true personalization comes in. Not just “Hello [First Name]” but “Hey, we get what you’re struggling with, and here’s how we can help.”
AI can help you scale your messaging. But the flavor, the taste, the authenticity comes from you. Feed AI your unique brand voice and customer insights and suddenly your content doesn’t just exist. It connects.
Curiosity and Testing Are Your Growth Superpowers
Forget the six month campaign plan. By the time you launch, the world will have changed three times.
The marketers who win now are the ones running small, fast experiments. Try new channels. Test different hooks. Get weird. Even dust off the old school tactics like direct mail.
Worst case? It flops. Cool. Now you know what doesn’t work. And you’ve already lapped the competition still stuck in campaign planning purgatory.
Community Beats Clicks
Here’s the secret no one wants to admit: buyers trust people more than they trust your brand.
They’re in forums, Discords, LinkedIn groups, and following creators they actually like. They’re listening to peers, not your gated whitepaper.
So stop shouting into the void and start showing up where your people already are. Partner with creators. Build communities. Host events. Even snail mail has a shot at making a comeback because it stands out from the endless scroll.
A Mindset Shift for Marketers
AI is changing the game. That doesn’t mean you should panic. It means you should get curious.
Stop asking “What worked last year?” and start asking “What can we try this week?”
Curiosity is your cheat code. It’s how you evolve faster than your competitors. And in this new loop-shaped world, the brands that experiment, learn, and stay human will always outpace the ones clinging to the old funnel like it’s their favorite hoodie from college.
Final Word
The funnel is looping. HubSpot’s Loop Marketing is one approach to navigate it, but the bigger lesson is clear. Curiosity, personalization, testing, and community are what will separate thriving brands from fading ones.
So get weird. Run experiments. Embrace the loop. And above all, keep it human.
