State of B2B Marketing in Quebec in 2026: What Our Exclusive Study Reveals

The Quebec B2B marketing landscape is undergoing a period of transformation, shaped by the rise of artificial intelligence, the growing importance of video, and increasing budgetary caution. Our 2026 study, conducted with 211 Quebec-based companies, paints a revealing picture of an industry balancing growth ambitions with resource constraints.

In 2026, B2B marketing in Quebec is characterized by widespread AI adoption, cautious marketing budgets, and very small internal teams.
According to the Bang Marketing 2026 Study, B2B marketing performance now depends more on strategic structure and tool integration than on the sheer volume of actions deployed.

Why this study exists

Since 2024, Bang Marketing has published the only study dedicated exclusively to B2B marketing practices in Quebec. Why? Because our clients kept asking the same questions:
“What are other companies doing?”
“What’s a normal budget?”
“Which tactics actually work?”

We had impressions, of course. But we wanted solid, local data tailored to Quebec’s reality. This second edition confirms a real need: the ability to benchmark against peers and make informed decisions based on what’s actually happening here, not in San Francisco or New York.

Who participated in the study?

The sample accurately reflects the diversity of Quebec’s economy. More than 60% of respondents hold executive-level positions (Director, VP, CEO), ensuring a strategic perspective on the issues. The sectors represented are varied, with professional services, manufacturing, industrial, technology, construction, and real estate leading the way.

Company size spans the full spectrum: 41% have fewer than 50 employees, 37% are SMEs, and 22% are large organizations. This distribution allows meaningful trends to emerge for both small businesses and established enterprises.

Finding #1: Caution sets in despite optimism

Slower growth

Half of companies expect to grow in 2026, down from 62% in 2024. Economic uncertainty, trade tariffs, and a more subdued global environment likely explain this slowdown.

Not all sectors are affected equally. Companies with 200–299 employees are the most optimistic (70% expect growth), followed by those with 25–49 employees. Smaller organizations (2–10 employees), on the other hand, anticipate a mostly stable year.

Budgets lag behind ambitions

Here lies the paradox: 50% of companies expect growth, yet only 26% plan to increase their marketing budget. It’s like climbing a mountain with half the required equipment.

Half of organizations plan to keep their budget stable, while 12% will reduce it outright. This caution is understandable in an uncertain context, but it raises a critical question: how can ambitious growth objectives be achieved without adequate marketing investment?

Digital continues to gain ground

One-third of companies now allocate more than 50% of their budget to digital marketing, up from 28% in 2024. Information technology leads the way, with 53% of budgets devoted to digital, followed by professional services at 45%.

Manufacturing (27%), construction (36%), and distribution (25%) maintain a more balanced mix between digital and traditional channels. Trade shows, in particular, remain essential for many B2B organizations and can consume up to half of the annual budget.

Where is the money going in 2026?

Budget priorities reveal the underlying convictions of Quebec marketers:

• Content creation (67%): the clear winner. No surprise, given that AI simplifies production and GEO demands high-quality content.
• Digital advertising (45%): Google Ads and social media advertising are still trusted for generating fast results.
• Strategy and planning (41%): the most encouraging statistic. Strategy was long seen as a luxury, but companies now recognize that limited resources must be used intelligently.
• SEO and web optimization (41%): organic visibility remains critical in the era of GEO.
• Trade shows and events (39%): B2B is still fundamentally about human relationships.

By contrast, traditional advertising and influencer marketing remain marginal. As for account-based marketing (ABM), only 13% plan to invest more, even though Salesforce reports that ABM represents 14% of global B2B marketing budgets. There is room to catch up.

Finding #2: Small teams, big ambitions

The human resource reality

Nearly half of companies (47%) have only one or two people running marketing. And 16% have no dedicated marketing resource at all. In many cases, marketing is handled by the CEO, the head of sales, or an employee wearing multiple hats.

This reality directly limits what can be achieved. Even large organizations (300+ employees) may have larger teams, but resources still fall short of ambitions.

Demanding objectives

When asked what is expected of marketing teams in 2026, the answers are clear: increase sales (3.94 out of 5) and generate new leads (3.88 out of 5). These are among the hardest objectives in marketing.

Brand awareness (2.83) is easier to pursue. You publish, create, produce. But proving that marketing generates qualified leads and directly contributes to revenue is far more complex, especially with a two-person team.

Customer retention (2.22) and reputation management (2.13) rank far behind. Typical of B2B: the focus remains on acquisition, often at the expense of existing customers.

The number one challenge: doing more with less

No surprise here: 35% of companies say their main internal challenge is a project workload that exceeds team capacity. This issue is particularly acute among SMEs with 2–10 employees (47%) and those with 50–99 employees (43%).

Traffic and lead generation (29%) follow closely, especially among organizations with 11–24 employees. ROI measurement (14%) completes the top three.

As organizations grow, challenges evolve. Larger companies more frequently cite sales and marketing alignment (13%) or lack of executive support (4%).

What actually works

We asked companies what delivered the best ROI over the past 12 months:

• Strategy and planning (45%): nearly half say this contributed most to their results. Taking time to think before acting pays off.
• Content creation (74%): content remains king. Blog articles, social posts, videos, it’s what delivers the most tangible results.
• Brand image (35%): one-third recognize the impact of defining their identity, values, and differentiation.

Conversely, influencer marketing (6%) and traditional advertising struggle to prove their value. Webinars and automation, while useful, require deeper integration to deliver results.

Finding #3: AI and GEO, the new frontier

AI adoption

AI is no longer a futuristic promise, it’s part of everyday operations. 83% of companies already use it, mainly for:

• Writing and content creation (87%)
• Integration with software suites like Microsoft or Google (41%)
• Visual and graphic creation (30%)

Data analysis (19%) and video or audio creation (19%) remain underutilized. Most organizations are still at the basic usage stage.

Comfort level remains moderate

While adoption is widespread, mastery is not. Nearly half (43%) of professionals say they are “moderately comfortable” with AI tools. One-third (32%) feel more at ease, but only 14% consider themselves experts.

AI fascinates, but it still intimidates. The learning curve is real.

Expected impacts in 2026

When asked what AI will change this year, responses reveal pragmatic expectations:

• Creating more content and personalizing campaigns (33%)
• Automating repetitive tasks (29%)
• Changing certain roles or ways of working (11%)
• Optimizing budgets and resources (10%)

The last point is striking. If AI enables doing more with less, why do so few see it as a budget optimization lever? The potential may still be underestimated.

Personalization: a powerful yet underused lever

According to a HubSpot study cited in our webinar, personalization has a dramatic impact on sales: 44% report a major increase, 44% a moderate increase, and 8% a slight increase. That’s 96% seeing a positive impact.

The challenge? Without advanced technology, personalization at scale is impossible. And as we’ll see, marketing tool adoption in Quebec remains limited.

GEO: the next revolution

Generative Engine Optimization is the adaptation of SEO to the era of large language models such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot. Instead of optimizing for Google alone, companies now optimize to be cited as reliable sources by generative AI.

Nearly half of respondents (44%) are just discovering the concept. One-quarter (25%) are actively interested, while 31% have only vaguely heard of it.

Opportunity or threat?

The overall attitude is optimistic: 59% see GEO as an opportunity, compared to only 13% who view it as a threat.

At Bang, we believe it’s both. When a technology can disrupt 15–20 years of SEO efforts that generate a significant share of revenue, it can’t be dismissed as harmless. But early adopters stand to gain a decisive advantage.

Impacts remain difficult to measure

Half of companies (50%) say it’s currently impossible to measure GEO’s impact. Many saw SEO traffic decline in 2025, but was it due to LLMs, Google algorithm changes, or the economy? Hard to say.

Only 12% report positive effects and 11% mixed effects. However, action is underway: 34% have already taken steps to improve their visibility on generative tools, and 33% plan to do so soon.

Finding #4: Content and video, the attention economy

Content, always content

Content creation remains central: 67% of companies will invest more in 2026, and 74% say it delivers their best ROI.

Publishing frequency is impressive: 65% publish weekly or more. Unthinkable five years ago. Tools have democratized content creation.

But where is the strategy?

Here’s the paradox: massive production, yet only 26% have a documented content strategy. The majority (56%) operate partially or informally, often meaning there’s no real strategy at all.

When strategy lives on a napkin or in a Trello calendar, it’s not a strategy. And it’s a missed opportunity, because companies that plan report better results.

Preferred formats

Social media posts dominate, followed by blog articles and newsletters. Testimonials, videos, and case studies trail behind.

More demanding formats (white papers, guides, webinars, podcasts) remain marginal. They require more time and expertise, but they’re also what truly differentiate brands.

With AI making generic content easier to produce, differentiation will come from quality, originality, and demonstrated expertise.

The rise of video

Video is now the leading B2B medium: 57% plan to produce more in 2026, mainly short social media clips.

This aligns with global trends. HubSpot reports that short-form videos deliver the best ROI, followed by images, streaming, and interviews.

B2B companies are also targeting younger generations. Millennials and Gen Z are becoming decision-makers, influencing formats and platforms.

A moderate wave

Despite enthusiasm, investments remain cautious. Only 18% plan to significantly increase video production, while 39% will do so slightly.

There’s often a gap between declared trends and where budgets actually go.

Marketing technology: limited adoption

CRMs: one-third without a tool

Even today, 33% of companies do not use a CRM. Among those that do, HubSpot (16%), Microsoft Dynamics (12%), Zoho (11%), and Salesforce (10%) dominate.

Smaller companies (under 25 employees) are the least likely to have a CRM, limiting their ability to track leads and measure impact.

Automation: largely underused

The numbers are stark: 78% do not use automated marketing systems. Yet these tools enable segmentation, personalization, and lead nurturing.

Among users, HubSpot and Pardot stand out, but remain a minority. Without automation, personalization at scale is nearly impossible.

Social media management: mostly manual

Similarly, 68% do not use dedicated tools to schedule social posts. Solutions like Hootsuite or Later are affordable and save significant time.

Email marketing: more mature

This is where adoption is strongest. Mailchimp leads (24%), while 38% use other solutions (Cyberimpact, HubSpot or Zoho email tools, etc.). Still, 31% use no specialized tool.

Most organizations (70%) rely on one-off sends without segmentation or automation. Only 22% have a structured strategy, and just 5% use automated scenarios.

Intentions for 2026 suggest change: 50% want better personalization, 36% better segmentation, and around 30% plan to increase automation.

What lies ahead

Smarter marketing, not just more activity

The 2026 portrait shows an industry at a crossroads. Companies have completed the first phase of digital transformation: producing, testing, experimenting.

The next phase will be more demanding: structuring, integrating, and measuring. Shifting from volume to impact.

Persistent challenges

Limited internal resources, fragmented tools, uneven technology adoption, and intuition-driven strategies remain real obstacles.

Yet signals are encouraging. Content growth, video adoption, and gradual AI integration point to increasing maturity.

Key takeaways

• The most successful Quebec B2B companies in 2026 invest first in strategy, content, and intelligent technology integration.
• Artificial intelligence is now ubiquitous: 83% use it, mainly for operational tasks.
• Marketing budgets remain cautious, despite growth ambitions.
• Marketing teams are very small, limiting their ability to structure and measure efforts.
• Strategy and planning deliver the strongest ROI, ahead of isolated tactics.
• Content remains the primary performance lever, when guided by a clear strategy.
• GEO is emerging as a major new challenge, still poorly understood.
• The shift is from volume-driven marketing to impact-driven marketing.

A final word

Quebec’s B2B marketing community does not lack ambition or creativity. But success now depends on combining that energy with greater structure, better tools, and stronger data foundations.

The winners in 2026 and beyond won’t be those who do the most. They’ll be those who do things better, with intelligence, coherence, and a clear vision of where they’re headed.

Download the full study

This page presents the key highlights of our 2026 B2B marketing practices study in Quebec. To access the complete data set, detailed charts, and sector analyses, download the full report.

The study includes:

• 36 pages of exclusive data
• Analyses by company size and sector
• Comparisons with previous editions
• Concrete recommendations for your 2026 strategy

Download the full study

About this study

All figures presented in this article are drawn from the Bang Marketing 2026 Study (211 respondents).

Methodology: Online survey conducted from September 17 to October 21, 2025, among 211 Quebec B2B companies with two or more employees. Average completion time: 9 minutes.

How to cite this study:
Source: Bang Marketing 2026 Study. Survey conducted from September 17 to October 21, 2025, among 211 professionals from Quebec-based companies.

About Bang Marketing

Bang Marketing is a B2B agency that has helped Quebec companies position themselves and perform in their markets for over 25 years. Strategy, brand, content, and digital performance, our expertise is focused on driving your success.