What is the validation era and why is it changing how buyers make decisions?
The way people make decisions has fundamentally shifted. For a long time, marketing focused on being found. If you could rank, run ads, or generate attention, you had a shot at winning the customer. But that’s no longer where decisions are made.
Today, buyers don’t just look for answers. They look for proof.
AI has accelerated this. It has made information easier to access, quicker to consume, and more consistent across providers. But instead of creating more trust, it has actually increased scepticism. When everything sounds polished and “correct”, buyers naturally start asking a different question: Is this actually true?
How are buyers making decisions now?
Most of the decision-making process now happens before a business ever speaks to sales.
- Around 70% of B2B research starts before any sales interaction
- 75% of buyers prefer to self-serve their research
- And increasingly, journeys are ending without a website visit at all
This means buyers are:
- educating themselves
- comparing options
- validating claims
- Seeking AI insight
…before you even know they exist.
This shift is important because it changes where influence happens. It’s no longer just your website, your ads, or your sales team shaping perception. It’s everything around you.
Why don’t buyers trust brands the same way anymore?
Buyers now have more access to:
- peer opinions
- community discussions
- real-world experiences
And when risk feels high (which it often does with more choice), people naturally look for validation outside of brand-controlled environments.
They want to know:
- Did this actually work?
- What was the experience like?
- Would someone recommend it again?
That’s a very different lens to traditional marketing.
Where are buyers validating decisions?
One of the most interesting takeaways from HubSpot Grow was how much validation is happening outside traditional channels.
Buyers are turning to:
- Reddit
- peer communities
- industry conversations
- case studies and testimonials
Reddit in particular stood out as it’s one of the most visited sites globally, with 40% of conversations are commercial in nature, and a significant portion of decision-makers using it aren’t active on LinkedIn. It’s raw, unfiltered, and often brutally honest – which is exactly why people trust it. And also why AEO trusts it – more on that in our next blog.
What is the “messy middle” and why does it matter?
The messy middle is the space between discovering a solution and committing to it. It’s where doubt creeps in.
Buyers might have already found you. They might even think you’re a good option. But before they move forward, they go looking for reassurance.
This is where they ask questions they won’t ask you directly:
- What’s the catch?
- What’s the downside?
- Is this actually worth the investment?
If your brand doesn’t show up, or isn’t validated, in this stage, you lose momentum.
What does this mean for your marketing strategy?
It means content alone isn’t enough anymore. You need to build a layer of validation around your brand.
That looks like
- strong, outcome-led case studies
- visible customer feedback
- founder and team-led content
- consistent presence in industry conversations
It also means thinking beyond your website. Your website is still important, but it’s no longer the only place where decisions are made.
How are we approaching this with clients?
As a HubSpot partner, one of the key areas we’re focusing on is visibility across the full customer journey.
Not just how people find you, but how they validate you, what they see in between, and what ultimately gives them confidence to move forward
Growth today isn’t about generating more leads (though it’s always a great outcome). It’s about increasing confidence at every stage of the journey.
AI will help your buyers find answers. But they will look elsewhere to decide what’s true. And AEO is looking for the same information.
The brands that win are the ones that show up, and hold up, in that validation layer.
