Positioning, Messaging, and Branding for B2B tech companies. Keep it simple. Keep it real.
Building a reputable B2B tech brand is essential for creating the awareness, confidence, and trust that generates quality leads. Deep customer insights produce well-executed strategies that set the tone for communicating our unique value. And by showcasing our success with real-world customer stories, we gain the credibility we need to grow our brand reputation and win future business.
A reputable brand reputation is the key to generating quality leads. It give sales, marketing, customer service, and product teams the “air cover” they need to succeed today and tomorrow.
Brand reputation is earned, not bought. It can take 3-5 years to build it up, but too often, impatience kills momentum before it has a chance to stick.
Building a trusted reputation requires a commitment to the customer experience. Proof points—case studies, client testimonials, online reviews, and peer recommendations—establish credibility. For start-ups, it’s best to keep things loose and rely on existing relationships to generate early wins that can start building these proof points.
Start-ups also face the immediate challenge of needing leads ASAP. This creates a “chicken and egg” dilemma where brand reputation takes a back seat to quick wins. The problem with this approach is that we forget about brand and rarely fix it (out of sight, out of mind). It’s best to drive awareness through word-of-mouth early on while staying focused on building brand reputation.
In this article, I’ll break down how to create a “lead machine” by focusing on four key areas: Insight, Strategy, Creative, and Metrics. I wrote about these pillars in 2010 and they still form the foundation of a successful B2B marketing campaign. Get them right, and you’ll drive more leads—today and in the future.
Everything starts with insight. Better insight always produces better outcomes. And if you’re a subscriber, you’ve already heard me “beat the drum” about customer research. What customers think and see drives the positioning and messaging that resonates with them. Without insight, we’re just guessing (cue the Dilbert cartoons).
NOTE: You can also use surveys and focus groups but don’t go overboard or think they are good enough. Direct conversations are always better.
A Go-to-Market (GTM) strategy that’s rooted in solid customer insight is essential for generating quality leads. It ensures our brand message is consistent, clear, and relevant across all channels, making it more likely to attract and convert high-quality leads. Remember, brand reputation builds over time through a sequence of Awareness > Confidence > Trust and can take 3-5 years. Without insight, the business continues to struggle with each year feeling like Groundhog Day.
Creativity in B2B isn’t about flashy designs—it’s about delivering value. Content should differentiate our brand by addressing our audience's needs, not by how it looks. Yes, it should be well-designed and “on brand,” but that doesn’t mean going overboard with “artsy decoration.” Good design communicates. Bad design decorates. Too often, marketing creative becomes a committee project that ends in silly taste debates. Focus on showcasing value and credibility via proof points like case studies, client testimonials, testimonial videos, social proof, and online reviews. Leave the art to the galleries.
“If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.”
David Ogilvy
We can’t build and maintain brand equity without knowing what’s working. Tracking our marketing performance helps us refine our strategy and ensure our brand continues to grow. Causal analysis plays an important role by helping us measure and forecast brand reputation and understand marketing time lag, which directly impacts lead quality.
“What you see determines what you understand, and that, in turn, drives your decisions.”
Mark Stouse, CEO, Proof Analytics
Trusted brands get put on the shortlist. We don’t buy reputation, we earn it. The process of triggering awareness, confidence, and trust in our brand can take years, but it’s the foundation for winning new business now and in the future.
Remember: No one ever got fired for buying IBM for a reason.
To emulate IBM’s legacy, always put the customer first, deliver value, and build up case studies, testimonials, and online reviews. Update or replace success stories as you continue to build up your reputation.
Whatever you do, don’t wait or set your brand reputation aside. Every moment your brand lies dormant is like taking years off the life of your business. Start taking these steps now to build a brand reputation that will drive your company’s success today and tomorrow. Invest in brand equity as you would financial equity.
If you need specific advice for your B2B tech firm, reach out. I’m always happy to chat.
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B2B tech leaders can drive growth by focusing on customers instead of products. Understand your buyers, use data and AI wisely, and align your entire organization around delivering exceptional customer experiences. The goal? Build credibility and turn customers into fans.
NOTE: This is a deeper dive than normal. I tried to do this in a 5min read, but it ended up being 3x that because there is so much to cover. So grab your fav cup of joe and let’s go!
Meeting or exceeding expectations is no longer enough; we must delight and amaze customers at every opportunity to turn them into loyal fans. With over 14,000 martech solutions alone, prioritizing customer experience (CX) can mean the difference between thriving and merely surviving.
In our pursuit to build the next big thing, we often neglect the voice of the customer and set aside our brand reputation. But standing out requires more than just a great product—it requires an unwavering commitment to the customer. Instead of focusing solely on product-led and sales-led strategies, becoming customer-obsessed and business-led elevates our brand reputation for future growth.
If there was ever one domain that could achieve better marketing results from customer research it would have to be B2B tech. Too often we end up building solutions for ourselves and subsequently create insular marketing.
Investing in customer research early and often is key to creating better CX. Here are a few things to consider:
As previously highlighted in The Product-Led Growth Trap, and The Foundation of B2B Tech Marketing Success, neglecting customer research can lead to developing products that no one wants or perceives as too risky.
Many B2B tech firms tend to be overly focused on products, often to their detriment. Shifting to a customer-obsessed approach can make all the difference:
Adopting a customer-obsessed mindset give us a better chance at sustainable growth and building credibility that product-led and sales-led strategies alone cannot achieve. This is also how we create raving fans, as described in Fanocracy by David Meerman Scott and Reiko Scott.
In B2B tech, the customer experience can be long and complex. Here’s how to navigate it effectively:
In the 1990s, Maximizer CRM was one of the top contact management solutions. But with Salesforce’s rise, the brand lost ground. However, by focusing on customer research, Maximizer uncovered that SMBs found Salesforce too expensive and lacked sufficient support. They didn’t want complex and pricey solutions—they wanted to grow their business with confidence. This insight led to the “Grow With Confidence” campaign, which rejuvenated the brand, resulting in 20% month-over-month growth and over $1.6M added to the sales pipeline. Five years later, the campaign’s impact still resonates.
Read more about Maximizer’s success story here.
Data is a powerful tool for understanding and enhancing customer experience. Here’s how predictive and causal analytics can elevate your CX strategy:
Use historical data to forecast future customer behavior and trends:
Go beyond predictions to understand the underlying reasons behind customer behavior:
If you’re interested in exploring predictive and causal analytics, take a look at Proof Analytics.
Generative AI—large language models (LLMs) and AI image generators—offers significant potential for enhancing customer experience in B2B tech. However, like any tool, AI can create a mess in the wrong hands.
Generative AI can enhance various aspects of CX:
While generative AI is powerful, it comes with challenges:
To deliver a seamless customer experience, our internal processes must align with business goals that are customer-centric across the entire business. Otherwise, we waste resources hoping our solution will eventually hit—hope is not a strategy.
Improving our business processes involves a few key steps:
Here are some tools to explore:
When it comes to CX, leaders have the most to gain and the most to lose because they set the tone and direction for the entire company.
Leadership’s Impact on CX:
Measuring customer experience is essential to understanding what’s working and where improvements are needed:
The transformation of BELLIN, a global enterprise treasury software brand, highlights the power of leadership in driving customer-centricity. Martin Bellin, the company’s founder, actively invested in customer research to understand their needs and align the organization around a shared customer-centric vision: elevating the role of corporate treasury.
By focusing on customer experience, BELLIN’s “Treasury That Moves You” campaign achieved significant success, contributing to its acquisition by Coupa. This commitment to customer-centricity not only differentiated BELLIN in the market but also elevated its brand reputation over several years.
Read more about BELLIN’s remarkable run here.
A strong customer experience is the cornerstone of brand reputation. The investments we make in our customers, processes, and tools like generative AI and predictive analytics will not only enhance current relationships but also lay the groundwork for future success.
Keep in mind that marketing efforts often have a significant time lag. The brand reputation we build today will provide essential air cover for future sales, helping us weather market shifts and competitive pressures. Prioritizing CX not only improves day-to-day interactions, it gives us the chance to keep our brand top-of-mind when prospects are ready to buy tomorrow.
Take action now to fine-tune your CX strategy, align your teams, and measure your progress. The work you do today will pay dividends in the long run, positioning your company as a trusted source.
If you have any questions or want to discuss any of these ideas, reach out any time.
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B2B tech companies tend to overthink their marketing, delaying action out of fear of imperfection. This stems from ego and insecurity (both tied at the hip). By focusing on action and experimentation, we can drive innovation and adaptability without needing to be perfect from the start. This approach balances short-term results with long-term goals, something many B2B tech companies lack.
B2B tech companies, especially those led by engineers, often aim for perfection in everything they do. This mindset can hurt their marketing. Product launches get delayed and opportunities get missed.
A recent MDPI study shows how a perfectionist mindset can hinder progress. While the study focuses on consumer intentions to purchase imperfect products, there are similarities with B2B tech products.
Say the average hall-of-famer hits .310. That means they strike out 69% of the time. Marketing is no different. Not every campaign will be a home run. There are many unknowns and many factors that rarely align the same way twice.
Forget trying to create flawless campaigns. Focus instead on deeply understanding your best customers and making solutions that fit their needs.
Perfectionism often comes from ego. Dig a little deeper and insecurity will rear its head.
In tech companies, especially those led by engineers, people sometimes think perfect execution equals success. This belief can create an authoritarian leadership style focused on perfection no matter what. But perfectionism can actually hold us back.
Perfectionists care more about looking perfect than doing excellent work. CEOs often inflate performance and progress for investors and board members, adding to the pressure on marketing. This focus on image leads to endless changes, delays, and mixed messages. When the goal is perfection, it’s easy to never finish a project because you can always make it better. That hurts productivity and efficiency.
Just like with innovation, we need to focus on continuous improvement with marketing, not perfect execution. When we accept that nothing will ever be perfect, we can move forward and make real progress. This mindset creates a better work environment and encourages innovation and adaptability.
Perfectionism doesn’t improve quality, production, or efficiency. It disrupts and destroys them. Perfectionism is a fancy cover for ego and procrastination.
Brian Kight, Daily Discipline
Be excellent at continuous improvement rather than flawless execution because perfectionism undermines progress and innovation.
Yes, of course, high-quality marketing materials build brand reputation and trust. However, we shouldn’t let the pursuit of perfection hinder progress.
Mistakes are part of the path to success. Launch campaigns, gather intel, and adapt based on your findings. Treat mistakes as opportunities to learn.
Experiment, take risks, and find alternative creative solutions. If you’re going to fail, fail forward.
If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.
Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn
Just like innovation, marketing needs experimentation. But unlike tech, marketing often lacks the freedom to experiment due to pressure for immediate results.
We need to afford marketing a culture of safety like we do for innovation. By testing different strategies and tactics, gathering insight, and iterating, we can create marketing solutions that produce consistent results.
For example, running A/B tests, trying new channels, and being open to change based on what our audience tells us gives us a better chance at achieving future success.
Experimentation leads to better marketing and builds a more adaptable team. It reduces the fear of failure and encourages creativity.
Real artists ship.
Steve Jobs
B2B tech companies are pressured to achieve results quickly. Marketing is often solely responsible for creating campaigns to generate fast leads.
Considering that B2B tech CMOs have the shortest leash at the CxO table, this might not be the best approach.
Focusing only on immediate results leads to a short-sighted view of marketing. Instead of understanding customers and building brand reputation, companies lean into short-term gains. But this rarely resonates with the audience or builds credibility.
B2B tech companies need to balance quick wins with long-term growth by balancing marketing and innovation. Set realistic expectations together with the CxO and invest in brand reputation.
B2B tech companies can overcome the obstacles of perfectionism by focusing on continuous improvement rather than perfect execution.
By testing different approaches through experimentation, we can quickly learn what works and pivot as needed, ensuring that our marketing strategies are both innovative and effective.
Take the time to do it right, yes, but don’t get stuck in making it perfect.
Keep testing. Keep iterating.
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B2B tech CMOs have the shortest tenure among CxOs. Unrealistic expectations, overpromising, and marketing lag have a lot to do with it. Tech companies can help their marketing leaders succeed by creating a safe, transparent environment. Set realistic goals, invest in marketing and innovation, and encourage honest communication.
B2B tech is a high stakes game and the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) has the shortest leash.
With an average tenure of about 26 months, CMOs are pressured to deliver immediate results in a landscape where deals and market shifts are anything but immediate. It makes zero sense.
Understanding these challenges is key to fostering a culture that supports long-term success.
Marketing efforts in B2B tech have a significant time lag. Closed-won deals often take longer than a CMO’s average tenure, making it almost impossible to meet the instant gratification demands of the CxO. This highlights the challenges faced by CMOs in B2B technology companies and why maintaining realistic expectations around time lag are at the core of longer tenures.
As marketing leaders, we need to do a better job of educating (and reminding) the CxO about the time delay between marketing action and revenue recognition or business outcome. Unlike in the B2C world, where a purchase often takes place within minutes of an ad click, B2B customer journeys are notoriously long and complex.
B2B tech is often ego-driven, with CEOs making overly inflated promises to boards and investors. This pressure trickles down to sales and marketing, forcing them to suck water from rocks. For instance, 95% of business clients are not in the market for many goods and services at any one time, indicating a much longer sales cycle that conflicts with short-term expectations. Understanding why CMOs have short tenures in B2B tech is critical to addressing these issues.
CEO’s get trapped in their own web because they overpromise results to their board members and investors. This puts tremendous pressure on Sales and Marketing to make good on these inflated promises.
Angeley Mullins, CCO, Resourcify
In B2B tech, the mantra often is “Failure is not an option.” But this is unrealistic. Success is a string of failures. Without failure, there is no success. This mindset needs to extend to Sales and Marketing, where experimentation and learning from failures can fuel innovative and creative ideas.
A culture of safety doesn’t exist for Sales and Marketing. There are no heroes come forecast time.
Eric Quanstrom, 5X CMO | 4X Inc 5000 | 3X Exits
Engineering and R&D enjoy a culture of safety, where failures are seen as steps toward success. Sales and Marketing should be afforded the same culture of safety to innovate and grow. This disconnect is reflected in the fact as much as 60% of in-market deals end in no-decision, underscoring the need for a realistic approach that mitigates buyer risk.
40% to 60% of the average salesperson’s pipeline is lost to “no decision.”
Matt Dixon, “The JOLT Effect”
For good reason, the C-suite is often suspicious of what’s happening inside the marketing and sales “black box,” fearing that too much is being “cooked up” to meet (ironically) their inflated promises and unrealistic expectations.
This suspicion, combined with the pressure to deliver on unrealistic promises, leads to “cooking the books” (aka covering one’s ass). It also fosters dishonesty and a culture of fear. Additionally, 75% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free sales experience, highlighting the shift towards more transparent and customer-centric approaches.
I’ve experienced this dynamic firsthand and I’ll be the first to admit I was partially responsible (you don’t know what you don’t know).
On two occasions, I was let go after 24-26 months because I couldn’t deliver the immediate results the CEO was expecting. What’s funny is that 3-6 months later, the go-to-market (GTM) efforts my team initiated months prior began to materialize.
The company then enjoyed success from the lag and making boatloads of money, only to face a downturn months later when they failed to sustain the momentum. They ended up getting caught with their pants down scrambling to find another marketing leader to repeat the cycle.
Can you say, “Groundhog Day?”
B2C companies invest heavily in both Marketing and Innovation, understanding that both are equally important for success.
In contrast, B2B companies, led by engineering and sales, often invest only in innovation, believing their product is so cool that everyone will want it. This mindset neglects the importance of marketing in driving awareness, confidence, and trust, particularly when it comes to brand reputation.
Read more about Peter Drucker’s position on marketing and innovation and the converging B2B and B2C marketing trends.
We need to get back to basics. We need to stop the survey slapping and marketing malpractice in b2b.
Alan Hale, Consight Marketing Group
B2B tech companies can become agents of change. But they must be willing to (as Seth Godin says) create a ruckus by creating a culture based on innovation AND marketing.
It’s not your fault that you’re fucked up. But it is your fault if you stay fucked up.
Jen Sincero, “You Are A Badass”
It’s time for a reality check. The short leash on marketing leadership in B2B tech is stupid and we B2B marketers have only ourselves to blame.
By understanding and addressing the inherent lag in marketing, setting realistic expectations, and treating marketing as a strategic business function, tech companies can better support their marketing leaders and drive scalable growth.
But it starts with Marketing leading the way. When we become change agents, we give ourselves permission to build confidence and earn respect, ensuring our efforts are recognized and valued.
This approach is absolutely critical for improving CMO retention in B2B technology.
Strong marketing leadership cannot be attained in a revolving door. Neither can long-term growth.
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B2B tech companies often waste resources by trying to appeal to everyone and chasing immediate results. Instead, prioritize deep customer insights and brand equity. This approach boosts engagement, conversions, and long-term growth.
In B2B tech marketing, it’s easy to spread ourselves too thin. We pour all our energy into chasing immediate results and end up missing opportunities staring us in the face.
We live in a society addicted to instant gratification. Social media is a good example. We’ve become jaded to instant feedback and that fuels our desire for quick wins.
However, this often leads to waste. Instead, we should focus on building lasting relationships and brand equity by deeply understanding our customers’ needs and challenges.
Casting a wide net may seem a like good idea, but it only creates more problems. Diving deeper into insights helps us hone in on our best-fit customers and find more of them today and tomorrow.
Many B2B tech companies try to appeal to everyone, believing a broader reach guarantees success. This is wrong.
Some of my clients struggled because they didn't understand their target audience. They spread their marketing efforts across multiple sectors without focus, leading to ineffective campaigns. One SaaS client tried to target five different industries simultaneously, resulting in generic content that didn't work.
Many B2B tech companies try to appeal to everyone, believing a broader reach guarantees success. This is wrong.
Some of my clients struggled because they didn’t understand their target audience. They spread their marketing efforts across multiple sectors without focus, leading to ineffective campaigns. One SaaS client tried to target five different industries simultaneously, resulting in generic content that didn’t work.
Further Reading: Niche Marketing for B2B Tech: Unlock Faster Growth and Higher ROI.
In sales-led organizations, there’s a tendency to throw everything into the mix, including the kitchen sink. Driven by the fear of missing out (FOMO), this scattergun approach leads to unnecessary anxiety and wastes resources on strategies that don’t align with our goals.
When we rush things, we often end up wasting resources on strategies that don't align with our core objectives.
Driving depth means sticking to a strategy and choosing the most effective marketing tactics, not trying to do everything at once. When we narrow our focus and dedicate our efforts to understanding and serving a specific niche, we create relevant and meaningful marketing campaigns and build a stronger brand reputation.
To market well, we must understand our customers. Interviewing our best-fit customers is the simplest and most effective way to do this. Direct conversations directly reveal what they really need, what frustrates them, what motivates them, and how they talk about problems and solutions. Without this knowledge, marketing is mere guesswork.
Many tech companies think they know their customers, but they’re often wrong. Interviewing ten of our best-fit customers can unveil patterns and information we wouldn’t find otherwise. They tell us what really matters to them, how they decide, and what influences their purchases.
I once had a client who, after interviewing their top customers, realized their marketing was off. They had focused too much on product features instead of the value their customers cared about. Adjusting their messaging based on what they learned led to significant increases in new business and brand reputation.
Further Reading: Customer Research: The Foundation of B2B Tech Marketing Success.
B2B tech companies, particularly SaaS, focus too heavily on lead generation, often at the expense of building a strong, lasting brand. This short-term thinking can undermine future success.
Building brand equity is the added value our brand brings to our solutions tomorrow. Like financial equity, it doesn’t happen overnight.
A strong brand helps future buyers choose us over the alternatives, including the status quo. Every interaction with our brand influences a buyer’s perception of our company and our solutions.
Ignoring brand building makes life harder for the sales team. Without brand recognition and reputation, they will continue to struggle to close deals, creating more pressure on marketing to generate leads.
Reputable brands build credibility and trust, providing the air cover to convert leads into customers and customers into fans.
Brand building is like investing in your finances. Think long-term by consistently communicating your brand’s unique value and benefits across every customer touchpoint.
Companies that invest in brand equity enjoy higher customer loyalty, better customer retention, and increased word-of-mouth referrals. It’s kind of like compound interest.
B2B tech marketing is fast-paced, and it’s easy to get distracted with quick results. But this often wastes resources. Instead, focus on driving depth instead of width.
Interview your customers, build your brand, and choose effective customer insights. This will provide the air cover you will need down the road.
Every day, you can either invest in your brand or chase leads. Understand your audience today so you can reap the rewards tomorrow.
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B2B tech companies often fall into the trap of broad targeting, trying to be everything to everyone. This dilutes their message and stunts growth. Niche marketing, on the other hand, is like being a big fish in a small pond. It focuses on a specific audience with unique needs, leading to faster growth, stronger brand loyalty, and higher ROI. By tailoring your solution, marketing, and sales pitch to a niche, you can establish dominance and expand from a position of strength.
Is your B2B tech company pouring resources into marketing programs and sales outreach, only to see minimal returns? Do you feel like your message is getting drowned out by the competition?
Over the past 30 years in B2B tech, I’ve often seen many companies overspend on marketing and sales, yielding minimal results. Their messages get lost because they cast too wide a net, trying to appeal to everyone. It almost always results in weak or copycat marketing, high customer acquisition costs, and stagnant growth.
The Solution: Niche Marketing
Niche marketing allows us to be the big fish in a small pond. It helps us stay focused on the audience most likely to care about our unique value. It helps us understand their specific needs and tailor our marketing accordingly.
We not only stand out and get noticed, we also create fans, grow faster, and build brand equity.
TIP: Word-of-mouth is much more prevalent in a single market niche.
A fast-growing cybersecurity software company (who shall not be named) tried to sell to every business: small, medium, enterprise, healthcare, education, retail, etc.
“We have no competition and we can sell to anyone,” proclaimed the CEO, with feeling!
They ended up spending too much on sales-led outreach and marketing trying to reach everyone.
The result?
Their messaging got lost in the sea of “me-too marketing” and only produced a handful of leads. The few leads who did find them didn’t understand their unique value proposition or how they could help. Sales cycles were longer, conversion rates lower, and customer acquisition costs (CAC) higher.
This is the trap of broad targeting: Trying to be everything to everyone makes us irrelevant.
This doesn’t mean we should only ever serve one type of customer. But when starting out, we need to stay focused on the smallest market that cares the most about our unique offering and build up from there.
The cybersecurity company eventually realized their mistake. They narrowed their focus to financial SMBs. They tailored their message to this sector’s cybersecurity challenges and partnered with industry associations.
The results were transformative: shorter sales cycles, higher conversion rates, lower customer acquisition costs. They become the go-to provider for financial firms, establishing a strong market foothold and grew rapidly.
Niche marketing is ongoing. Keep listening to your best-fit customers, adapting to their needs, and continuously refining your solution to stay ahead of the curve.
Following these steps will help you establish your brand reputation as a market leader:
Being a big fish in a small pond can be the best way to establish authority, build brand reputation, and scale a business.
Niche marketing sharpens our focus by forcing us to understand and cater to a specific audience instead of trying to “boil the ocean.”
Staying focused on a niche affords us with:
And as we dominate our niche, we can expand into new markets from a position of strength.
If you’re a B2B tech company tired of blending in, look to niche marketing as your path to success. Embrace your unique value and cater to a specific audience. The rewards are worth it.
Ready to uncover your hidden potential? Let’s discuss how niche marketing can transform your B2B tech business. Schedule a free consultation today.
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