Brand or Demand?
A call to embrace the generosity of ‘and’ in B2B marketing.
We can all agree that the world has enough division as it is, so we don’t need to wade into marketing debates that encourage more. That’s why our Lead Consultant for SaaS and Transformation, Amanda Holmes, is calling for marketers to embrace the generosity of ‘and’ in B2B marketing when it comes to brand and demand following her recent visit to The Drum’s B2B World Fest in London. Over to you, Amanda.
The Drum’s B2B World Fest in London this year featured a lively debate: Brand is more important than demand in B2B (Or is it?). Sure, they were trying to inject interest and entertainment into the typical event presentation, not start a rumble between B2B marketers, but it did spark discussion none the less. And although the brand team was narrowly awarded the win, the room was pretty evenly split, because understandably, there are valid points on both sides.
The case for brand building
Brand awareness in B2B is not just a vanity metric for CMOs. It’s a crucial tool to create a lasting impression that influences decision-making with the entire buying committee.
Recent studies have shown that 80-90% of B2B sales are won by companies that all, or most of, the buying committee knew on day one of the selection process. Even the technical user won’t fight for products the rest of the committee don’t know, even if they think it’s a better solution.
There’s a reason why “no one ever got fired for buying IBM” remains a timeless mantra in B2B tech. As Mimi Turner, Head of Marketplace Innovation at LinkedIn, put it: “In B2B marketing we’re selling ‘not getting fired’”. Sacrificing potential functionality and quality is a risk we’re willing to take if the alternative is persuading colleagues to choose an option they don’t know – putting the target on ourselves if things should go wrong.
This is a fascinating insight into the importance of building brand awareness before intent signals are shown, particularly within the buying committee, from Procurement to Finance and IT. Having a well-established brand and brand salience with your target market translates into trust, which streamlines the sales process and reduces overall price sensitivity.
This isn’t to say it’s just about increasing your ad spend. Creativity is critical, boosting purchase consideration by 40% and brand favourability by 34%, reinforcing the idea that emotional connections can elevate brands from transactional to meaningful. It’s essential to ensure that your brand is remembered and respected in those crucial day one moments.
Demand: driving immediate results
Some brand marketers have gotten a bit, dare I say, snobby about the idea of ‘short-term results’ as of late. But while brand fills the top of the funnel, demand keeps the lights on today.
In the era of Chief Revenue Officers (CROs), ROI-driven KPIs, and tightening budgets, marketers are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that our work is directly contributing to company pipeline growth. Demand generation focuses on immediate results, delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time throughout the buyer’s journey. Optimizing spending to ensure resources are allocated efficiently for maximum impact.
One of the most significant advantages of demand generation activity is the access it provides to real-time data analytics. By allowing businesses to track user behavior over various touchpoints, we can make more informed decisions in targeting each member of the buying committee with tailored messages that resonates with their unique challenges.
Even better if those insights are used to build collaboration between marketing and sales to align on key accounts. Allowing demand activity to focus on quality over quantity, ultimately directs what day one lists we want to be on and provides sales with the right leads that they can get over the line, improving overall efficiency.
Of course, it depends on the size and position of the company. Established enterprise companies have the market space to focus on brand to keep their dominance. Whereas start-ups and SMEs need to start with a focus on demand, product features and benefits, to ensure that it meets market needs.
As Dom Burch, Managing Director of Why Social, said arguing for the demand side of the debate: “There’s demand without brand, but no brand without demand.”
The Generosity of ‘And’
So this is my plea for us to stop framing it as either/or. Instead, embracing the power of “and” to craft strategies that harmonise creativity with analytics, short-term wins with long-term impact.
It’s not about choosing one over the other, it’s about weaving brand and demand into a cohesive, high-performing marketing strategy. Let’s move forward together, building campaigns that not only generate leads but also create lasting impressions.