Over the past few months, clients have been coming to me with the same urgent questions — and, interestingly, all of them point toward a deeper concern about their marketing strategies for 2026. These aren’t casual queries. They’re signals. And they say more about the state of professional services marketing than any glossy trend report ever could.
Here’s what I keep hearing:
“How do we use AI without ruining our brand?”
“Why isn’t our content converting anymore?”
“What are we supposed to personalise, and how?”
“Is LinkedIn even working for firms like us?”
“Are we already behind going into 2026?”
When you hear these questions enough times, you stop calling them “queries” and you start calling them what they actually are:
warning signs.
So I did what I always do when the market starts getting restless — I stepped back, cut through the noise, and looked at what the smartest CMOs are doing as we head into 2026. Not the loudest. Not the flashiest. The smartest.
And after reviewing research from Deloitte, McKinsey, Gartner and HubSpot — and comparing it with what I’m seeing inside professional services firms — a very clear picture emerges.
Below is what I’ve found, what I believe, and what I’m advising every client going into 2026.
Why these questions matter — and what they reveal
When clients ask me about AI…
they’re really asking how to keep up without losing control.
When they ask about personalisation…
they’re asking how to stay relevant in a world that doesn’t tolerate generic messaging anymore.
When they ask about LinkedIn…
they’re asking why doing “more” of the same isn’t working.
And when they ask whether they’re behind…
they’re asking for permission to change the way they’ve always done things.
These aren’t tactical worries.
They’re strategic ones.
And they tell me professional services firms are finally waking up to the fact that marketing in 2026 requires a completely different operating model than the one they built ten years ago.
What today’s CMOs are doing differently
(Full details in the Adviser Atlas article I published — linked below.)
The CMOs I studied aren’t reacting to the market.
They’re shaping it.
They’re using AI to increase precision, not output.
They’re using personalisation to drive revenue, not vanity metrics.
They’re using first-party data to build predictable, compounding pipelines.
And they’re using content to build authority, not fill calendars.
In short:
2026-ready CMOs aren’t playing harder. They’re playing smarter.
You can read the full list of nine moves in the Adviser Atlas piece — but here on Expert Circle, I want to focus on what this means for my clients, and the best practices I recommend to every firm right now.
My Expert Circle advice: the best practices your firm should adopt before 2026
These are the fundamentals I suggest to every client who wants a serious competitive advantage next year.
1. Upgrade your AI expectations
AI isn’t here to replace judgement — it’s here to replace inefficiency.
Use it to sharpen research, speed up content drafts, improve segmentation, and analyse performance.
But keep the narrative, nuance and expertise firmly human.
2. Personalisation is no longer optional
Stop sending blanket emails.
Stop posting content “for everyone”.
Start tailoring by role, pain point, and buying stage.
It doesn’t need to be complex — it just needs to be relevant.
3. Clean your data before you create your strategy
2026 belongs to firms who know who they are talking to.
A clean, segmented CRM is no longer a luxury — it’s the backbone of every intelligent marketing decision.
4. Build authority, not noise
Publishing more doesn’t build trust.
Publishing what matters — consistently, clearly and with conviction — does.
Clients don’t need more content.
They need leadership.
5. Fix your social presence by telling the truth
LinkedIn is not for announcements.
It’s for insight, expertise, and validation.
Talk about what clients are thinking.
Explain what the market is doing.
Say what others are afraid to say.
6. Treat 2026 as a year of consolidation, not chaos
The best strategies for 2026 are about tightening, aligning and elevating.
No more fragmented efforts.
No more disjointed content.
No more marketing-by-committee.
Why I looked at top CMOs — and why you should too
The questions my clients are asking aren’t unique.
They’re the same concerns CMOs across the world are wrestling with — and solving.
So I pulled their strategies together in one place.
If you want the next step — the tactical side — read the companion article on Adviser Atlas:
Marketing strategies for 2026: 9 moves the smartest CMOs are making now
That piece shows you how the top CMOs are preparing.
This piece shows you why you should follow them.
Together, they give you a head start.
