Brand as a Revenue Multiplier
Brand as a Revenue Multiplier
A guide for B2B marketing leaders.
Brand has long been seen as a ‘nice-to-have’ in B2B, but this guide reveals how brand investment is actually a revenue multiplier, delivering ROI in the short and long term. Read the guide below or download a full copy.
Contents
The CMO’s Dilemma – Navigating the Impossible
Marketing leaders stand at the centre of an impossible paradox: tasked with demonstrating immediate ROI, building long-term brand equity, and navigating an increasingly complex buying landscape – all while dealing with shrinking budgets. The pressure is relentless.
For many B2B organisations, particularly those that are sales or product led, brand can be an after-thought in the pursuit of leads. Finally, that pendulum is shifting as CMOs and executive teams deal with the aftermath of intense (and sometimes exclusive) focus on lead generation. Although leads may have been growing at volume, progression, cross-sell, renewal, and ultimately revenue at profit, have not always followed.
Where brand was once seen as a secondary marketing function—something to tweak and optimise like a performance campaign—increasingly there’s a recognition that this reactive approach is no longer sustainable. How you show up in market, and what your audience and team associate with your brand and services is critical.
The truth is, buying decisions are being made before marketing and sales know who the buyers are. 6sense research confirms a staggering 84% of deals are won or lost before providers know they even exist. Modern customers self-select, moving through independent research cycles, their decision-making is influenced by a web of unseen signals.
The reality of this B2B buying behaviour demands brands show up earlier in the research phase and be accessible and relevant to a broader group of stakeholders, who make up diverse buying committees across
target accounts.
By addressing the unique needs of stakeholders, brands can build trust, influence perceptions and position themselves as the go-to resource.
The solution is clear: shift from an exclusive focus on lead-gen to a balanced approach investing in brand as a driver of demand, and a tool to align teams, streamline activity and integrate all efforts across the buyer journey.
Telling Signs of a Brand Challenge
In reality, brand challenges are often masked by other problems, or there are business circumstances that require an intentional look at your positioning so it’s future-fit. Brand positioning is not static. The market constantly shifts, and your brand must evolve to remain relevant. If your positioning isn’t evolving with the market, it can hold you back.
Here are a few signs that your brand positioning may need some work:
Big Brand, Poor Awareness
A Company in Transformation
Entering New Markets
Sales Confidence and Capability
When salespeople are struggling to articulate your proposition, something is amiss. In B2B, while marketing focuses on building positioning statements, the team on the ground are often having very different conversations – typically about specific pain points or products – creating a big gulf in messaging. Even when the brand positioning is in place, if it’s not supported with the tools to make it accessible to sales, they can’t action it.
Not in the Consideration Set
It’s a common concern – not being invited into RFPs, or you are completely unaware those bids exist. Perhaps you are aware but not winning your fair share. Even outside of formal tenders, perhaps deals are getting stuck in the pipeline? All point to likely issues with brand salience and credibility.
Acquisition and Consolidation
The Myth of “Doing More with Less”
Budget cuts and headcount reductions have become routine and the demand for efficiency has never been higher.
But working harder isn’t the answer – working smarter is. Strong strategy requires ruthless prioritisation. Instead of spreading resources thin across disconnected tactics, it’s important to focus on high-impact initiatives that drive the greatest business outcomes. And at the core of these initiatives? Unified brand positioning supported by an integrated strategy.
By prioritising brand positioning, you can reduce wasted effort and focus on what truly drives growth. When your brand is clearly defined, and you have a connecting narrative and platform which brings it to life, this can serve as a uniting thread to help connect previously siloed activities, eliminate
ambiguity and streamline efforts across
the entire organisation.
Why Positioning is the Real Demand Generator
Brand isn’t a support function—it’s a revenue multiplier. A well-positioned brand creates interest, trust, and preference. It ensures that when decision-makers are ready, your business is the one they turn to. The most successful brands don’t just rely on lead gen. They invest in creating a consistent, compelling brand narrative that sales teams can rely on to attract, close and grow accounts.
B2B buying is not linear, and it’s not controlled by a single decision-maker. Research1 reveals that buying groups are getting bigger. Decisions are made long before a sales conversation even begins. And hidden buyers influence half of the buying decision, rejecting shortlisted brands they don’t know, more than half of the time. The benefits of strong brand positioning aren’t theoretical—they’re well established in The Long and Short of It by Les Binet and Peter Field3.
Strong brand positioning increases market share, boosts customer lifetime value, and reduces price sensitivity. Brands that stay top-of-mind during the buying process have a significant competitive advantage, as mental availability directly correlates with revenue growth.
When you factor in the 95:5 rule that only 5% of potential buyers are in the market at any given time, mental availability becomes even more critical.
In addition, category entry points—specific triggers that prompt buyers to consider your product or service—are essential.
Brands with clear, differentiated positioning capitalise on these moments, driving buyers into their pipeline before competitors even
have a chance.
The research is clear: brands that invest in positioning and perception consistently outperform those that focus solely on
short-term lead generation.4
83% of buyers initiate first contact with a vendor
Research shows that brands investing in positioning enjoy increased market share, higher customer lifetime value, and reduced-price sensitivity.
The Emotional Side of B2B Decisions
While there’s plenty of data supporting the importance of brand salience,
we shouldn’t overlook the emotional aspect in B2B. Ultimately, organisations are selling to people inside all those buying committees. Connecting on an emotional level, building trust, confidence and likeability on both a personal and brand level, are equally important—especially when it comes to making
a lasting impact on decision-making.
Emotions play a significant role in high stakes B2B purchasing, often outweighing logic. A Harvard Business Review study5 found that buyers who feel a strong connection to a brand are 60% more likely to buy. Similarly, Gartner research6 found that buyers are eight times more likely to pay a premium when they feel valued by the provider. The role of creativity is to connect with people on a deeper level, drawing them in and moving beyond just listing product features and tech specs that dominate many B2B campaigns. This helps create distinction, separating a brand from the saturated markets many compete in.
Building relationships is also key when engaging directly with a range of buyers within target accounts. A genuine connection fosters trust, aligning with client goals and ensuring a
lasting partnership.
Buyers who feel a strong connection to a brand are 60% more likely to buy.
Re-Thinking your Brand Strategy
Brand success isn’t about doing more—but positioning better. To differentiate your brand in a crowded market and drive demand,consider the following:
Brand success isn’t about doing more—but positioning better. To differentiate your brand in a crowded market and drive demand,consider the following:
Discover your Brand’s Unique Space in the Market
Positioning Statement
Message Alignment
Align the brand messaging across all channels and touchpoints — from CVP to core pillars and the reasons to believe — to create a unified message. This ties your positioning to the tangible proof points and customer triggers that the sales team can use in their discussions, and addresses nuances across segments and buyer personas.
Bring it to Life Through Content and Creative
Proving Brand Value
One of the biggest challenges for CMOs today is proving the value of brand investment. Too many marketing teams continue to report on metrics (including MQLs and vanity metrics) that don’t tie back to real business outcomes.
While these can be good leading indicators, brand ROI is more than surface-level metrics. It’s aligning your brand with revenue—customer acquisition, retention and expansion. The focus on MQLs, first or last touch attribution, complicates matters. But as brands move to consider the full influence of marketing activity toward the creation or progression of a deal, the more data points are available to demonstrate ROI. The goal is to define brand metrics that reflect real progress toward business goals, and measure and report consistently against these.
The Long and the Short of It by Les Binet and Peter Field suggests an optimal balance between long-term brand building and short-term activations—typically a 60/40 split. While short-term tactics drive immediate results, long-term brand investment lays the foundation for sustainable growth. Over-indexing on short-term tactics can lead to diminishing returns and erode brand equity over time.
While short-term tactics drive immediate results, long-term brand investment lays the foundation for sustainable growth. Over-indexing on short-term tactics can lead to diminishing returns and erode brand equity over time.
Brand-building and sales activation work over different timescales
