Positioning, Messaging, and Branding for B2B tech companies. Keep it simple. Keep it real.
Publishing 13 articles every 13 weeks sets the tone for consistent content marketing, especially when starting from scratch. Over the last six months, weekly activity is gradually building a following on both my website and LinkedIn profile. It’s early days but it shows why sticking with content pays off—especially for B2B tech companies. If you’re starting out, expect a slow burn. If you already have an audience, you’ll see faster gains.
Six months ago, I set out on a simple mission: to walk the talk.
I tell my clients—and former employers—to post a new blog every week for one quarter. That’s 13 articles in 13 weeks.
Then I tell them to do it again… and again… and again.
Why? To get into a rhythm. See where I’m going with this?
It sounds easy, but it takes discipline—kinda like going to the gym every day.
Let me be super-clear: This recap is NOT about me or patting myself on the back. It’s about showing YOU what can happen when you’re committed to weekly activity—even starting from scratch.
Some of the results you’ll see are OK, some are meh. But it’s only six months, not six years.
Stay with me.
If you’re in B2B tech, especially in the early stages and starting a B2B tech blog from scratch, you’ll see why sticking with a weekly publishing schedule is worth it.
Like you, I started at ground zero. I still have a ways to go before things really take off. I’m good with that. You should be too.
Ready? Let’s go!
There’s no overnight miracle or earth-shattering results here. We all start from the same spot. This is about gradual growth and the long-term benefits of consistent content marketing in B2B tech.
Here’s what my first six months looked like:
I created about 490 active users on my website (I know… wow…). Each new visitor, each engagement, is a step up from zero. Sure, the numbers are less than stellar, but for a one-man show, it’s still encouraging.
The average engagement time sits at around 3 minutes. That’s not bad for long-form content in B2B tech—enough to signal people aren’t just bouncing after a few seconds. They’re actually sticking around and reading.
Direct traffic leads by a mile, with organic search trailing behind (so, yeah, I got some SEO work to do). Most visitors find the blog via LinkedIn, newsletter subscribers, or existing connections. That’s good news: once SEO catches up, organic reach will boost results further. Time will tell.
There were a few spikes, notably one in June (around the time of the Product-Led Growth Trap article) and another in early September. These surges appear to show certain content may be capable of attracting more eyeballs when it strikes a chord. It also has the potential to let me know what my audience cares about. Again, time will tell.
The good news is that the weekly activity led to an invitation to appear on the StrategyCast podcast, where I discussed many of the topics I write about—the importance insight, positioning, and design in B2B tech marketing.
Publishing on LinkedIn added a whole new layer of reach.
My LinkedIn edition of Achim’s Razor racked up over 1,700 engagements over this period, which gave the content a much-needed boost in visibility. Each article is starting to get in front of more people in my network.
I’m getting roughly 60K impressions on LinkedIn. That adds scale compared to organic website traffic alone.
A steady climb in followers over the six months shows the content is being seen and consumed. Sure, I have lost subscribers and followers over this period. That’s par for the course. It’s not for everyone. That’s OK.
As I head into the next 13-in-13 cycle, I’ll keep honing my writing chops and building momentum.
Not every article was a home run (or even a base hit, haha!), but a few stood out.
10 One-Page Plans for B2B Tech Marketing Success (Free Templates)
The B2B Tech Guide to Customer Experience
What B2B Marketing & Product Teams Can Learn From Peter Drucker
B2B & B2C Marketing Trends: How They’re Converging (and Still Different)
5 Steps to Validate Your B2B Tech Startup and Improve Your Website
The Product-Led Growth Trap: Why B2B Tech Fails (and How to Fix It)
After six months of consistent publishing, a few key lessons stand out:
B2B content marketing is like building a fire: it starts small, requires constant tending, and takes time to grow. Six months in, the results are modest, but the foundation is there. The numbers may not be anything to write home about, but the signs of growth are there.
For anyone starting from scratch—whether you’re a B2B tech startup or, like me, building a consulting business—the biggest takeaway is this: stay consistent.
Keep publishing, even when it feels like you’re wasting your time, because many “lurkers” are watching you from the sidelines.
Each post is another log on the fire, and with time, it’ll catch. In fact, Achim’s Razor has already led to opportunities, like my guest spot on the StrategyCast podcast.
For those with an established audience, leverage your foundation. You’ll likely see faster results, but the discipline of regular posting is the same. The 13-in-13 challenge is a marathon, not a sprint.
The next 13-in-13 is already underway, and I’m excited to see where it leads. I look forward to sharing the results of the next six months with you.
Thanks for sticking with me through this journey so far! Let me know if you have any topics you’d like me to write about.
If you like this content, here are some more ways I can help:
Cheers!
This article is AC-A and also published and discussed on LinkedIn. Join the conversation!
Positioning and messaging can make or break a B2B tech brand. Understanding the cause and effect of good and bad marketing helps us make better decisions. When grounded in solid insight, strategy and execution produce better outcomes. Focus on your best-fit customers, clear messaging, and give your marketing time to work.
Positioning and messaging can make or break a B2B tech brand. This is especially true for startups struggling to get noticed.
When we nail our positioning, messaging gets easier, as mentioned in last week’s article, How to Create Effective Marketing Messages for B2B Tech Companies.
But when we don’t know who it’s for and what it’s for, we just add to the noise.
A few weeks ago, I was a guest on Strategy Cast, an excellent marketing insights podcast hosted by Lori Jones, CEO of Avocet Communications.
We explored how the right positioning and messaging can elevate a campaign, broke down common myths and pitfalls, shared some juicy examples, and offered tips to stay on track.
The walkaway? Understand the ripple effect of good (or bad) positioning and messaging and you’ll be able to build a reputable brand.
Check out the full episode next Tuesday, October 22.
Every business starts at ground zero. We can all relate to the stress of finding new opportunities. And when potential buyers trickle in, we tend to panic.
But chasing more leads without stopping to ask the right questions is like throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something sticks.
And hope ain’t a strategy, folks.
When the pipeline’s dry, the issue isn’t always volume.
Is it a messaging problem? Could we be creating cognitive barriers with vague or self-serving messages? If people don’t know how our stuff solves their problems, they’re not going to buy it.
Is it a positioning problem? Maybe we’re targeting the wrong audience. Maybe we think our product is something it’s not. Maybe our brand doesn’t have the cache to stand out. Without clarity on who it’s for, what it’s for, and why anyone should give a damn, we’ll keep blending in.
Or is it a sales and marketing alignment issue? Revenue gaps often start upstream. Misalignment here could be the elephant in the room no one’s talking about. If we’re not on the same page, how do we expect to instill confidence and trust in our customers?
In A More Beautiful Question, Warren Berger offers a three-part Why–What if–How framework to help ask better, deeper questions to get to the root of the problem.
Throwing more leads at a broken system won’t help.
Be curious. Be inquisitive.
Look for the root cause instead of reacting to the effects.
Marketing is all about people. It doesn’t matter if it’s B2B, B2C, or B2Whatever. We are irrational creatures. What works today, doesn’t guarantee it will work tomorrow.
But we do business with people we like and trust.
Marketing is hard. Effective marketing is even harder. And it’s frustratingly hard to measure.
When things aren’t working, it’s easy to jump to conclusions (the most exercise we tend to get) and fixate on more ads, more leads, bigger campaigns, blah, blah, blah.
But that’s just a band-aid on a broken leg.
To get to the real issue, we have to diagnose before we prescribe.
Are we solving the right problems? Or are we throwing tactics at something that needs a strategic fix?
A good example is when we tinker with messaging. Always validate messaging against positioning BEFORE making any updates. Why? Because content quickly becomes a rat’s nest when it no longer aligns with our positioning.
The C-Suite thinks big picture. It’s all about strategic alignment—how do we tie marketing’s efforts to the broader company goals?
Managers? They’re down in the trenches bridging strategy and execution—real, tactical steps they can implement today.
And for team members, it’s about execution. Their world is day-to-day. If the strategy and plans aren’t clear, how can we expect them to carry it out effectively?
The key takeaway here? Diagnose the real problem before diving in with solutions.
Building a successful B2B tech brand is rooted in solid insight. The better the insight the better the strategy. And the better the strategy, the better the execution.
Here’s a quick rundown of my chat with Lori:
For the full scoop plus examples, tune in to my conversation with Lori next Tuesday, October 22.
In B2B tech marketing, everything is connected. Insight drives strategy, strategy shapes execution, and execution determines outcomes. It’s a chain reaction—the better your positioning and messaging, the better the engagement.
If you’re trying and failing to generate more leads, build trust, or create lasting customer relationships, start by digging up the root cause, which is typically a lack of insight. Fix that, and the results will follow.
Remember: A pretty house of cards is still a house of cards. One small gust and down she goes.
For a deeper dive into the cause and effect of successful campaigns, watch the full episode with Lori this coming Tuesday, October 22.
And if you haven't already, connect with Lori on LinkedIn.
If you like this content, here are some more ways I can help:
Cheers!
This article is AC-A and also published and discussed on LinkedIn. Join the conversation!
Digital marketing is a minefield. Algorithms constantly change, AI is taking over tasks, and platforms like Google and LinkedIn can make your business disappear overnight. But there’s one thing that can’t be yanked away—your brand. Invest in it. Build trust, loyalty, and long-term growth that no algorithm can touch. Don’t put it off.
We’re living in unpredictable times. Between algorithm mood swings and AI creeping into every task, one thing’s clear: we’re not in Kansas anymore.
Case in point:
“Google’s inconsistent treatment of smaller businesses is unfair... the traffic of large brands is surging while organic traffic is a roller coaster for smaller companies.”
Elie Berreby, Senior SEO Specialist
One day our website is ranking high. The next? Back of the bus. We’re left scratching our heads, thinking, “WTF just happened?”
But while algorithms are all over the map, one thing remains constant: our brand reputation.
The importance of brand-building has never been greater. No algorithm or LMM can yank our brand reputation from under us.
Think of your brand as your safety net.
It will always be there to cover you when things go sideways.
SEO ain’t what it used to be. It’s become a lottery—and the odds aren’t in our favor.
One day, we see a surge in organic traffic. Awesome! But then, POOF! It’s gone. No changes made, no warnings given.
Is Google running a casino?
Take a look at this:
Elie Berreby recently shared this on LinkedIn. It shows a small but reputable company enjoying a 55% boost in organic traffic over 45 days. Pretty good, right?
But then, out of nowhere, Google crushes their visibility. WTF?
“Hope and despair in 45 days... Organic traffic divided by almost 10. Again, absolutely nothing changed.”
Elie Berreby, Senior SEO Specialist
Read Elie’s post for the full story.
How do we build a business on something this unpredictable?
We can spend months perfecting our SEO strategy, but one algorithm update can knock us off the map overnight.
So, what’s the answer?
Diversify and build up your brand. Don’t put all your eggs in the SEO basket.
Who cares about ranking when people remember your brand?
We’re in the middle of another industrial revolution (the 5th), this time driven by AI. And yeah, AI will replace jobs—just like every innovation leap before it.
Sure, AI can pump out content, automate tasks, and crunch data—it’ll only get better at it. But let’s be clear: AI can’t replace creativity or spark emotional connections. Only people can do that. And people buy from people they know and trust—not from machines.
“Will LLMs and GenAI replace jobs? Absolutely. Will it put people out of work? Yes and no. It depends on who adapts and who doesn’t.”
As long as we manage and maintain our brand consistently, it can last indefinitely—think IBM or GE. Google’s algorithm might pull the rug out from under us overnight, and LinkedIn’s false positives can “ban” us anytime, but a credible brand reputation? That’s something no algorithm can touch.
Elie Berreby’s story is a wake-up call of how unpredictable digital platforms can be. We can be riding high one day and then freak out the next—and we didn’t even do anything differently! It’s a tough pill to swallow, but that’s the reality of blind faith.
When people know and trust our brand, they’ll seek us out—no matter what Google, LinkedIn, Meta, or any other third-party platform arbitrarily decides. That’s brand equity.
A credible brand reputation creates something no platform can take away: human connection and loyalty. Customers who trust us will come back, share our story, and advocate for us—even when big tech shuts us out.
The platforms we rely on—Google, LinkedIn, Meta, etc.—hold all the cards. One algorithm tweak, one policy change, and we’re instantly invisible. And it’s not just SEO.
Entire profiles can disappear in a heartbeat, just like Elie Berreby’s LinkedIn account.
His account was automatically banned all because a false positive in LinkedIn’s algorithm flagged him as a spammer. It took over a month to get it restored—with an apology—but only because he knew someone on the inside.
“People searching for me could not find me anymore. Every trace of my existence was removed from LinkedIn.”
Elie Berreby, Senior SEO Specialist
One false positive from an algorithm, and suddenly, you’re gone—without warning. And if you have thousands of followers and rely on that network for business, you are at the whim of the platform. That’s a digital monopoly.
Big platforms control our visibility, and when we rely too much on them, we’re playing with fire. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
We can’t control the algorithms, but we can control how and where people see and remember us.
TIP: Always own your content. For example, if you publish a blog, make sure it lives in multiple places. If one platform “goes down” you’re still covered.
Platforms change, algorithms evolve, and AI will keep pushing boundaries. But through all that, one thing remains constant—our brand reputation. It’s the only thing we can fully control in a world where digital monopolies and unpredictable algorithms are out of our control.
Look at companies like GE, IBM, Disney, and HP. They’ve stood the test of time—surviving multiple industrial revolutions—because of their solid brand reputations.
Our brand is our safety net. As Warren Buffett once said, “The brand is the economic moat of the business.” In other words, a strong brand is what protects us from unforeseen changes.
It’s what people remember when the platforms fail, the rankings drop, or our account gets suspended. Customers don’t stick around because of where we rank—they stay because they trust us and the value we bring.
So, if you haven’t already, now’s the time to invest in your brand. Build something that lasts. Because while the digital world is always shifting, a strong brand will always keep you grounded.
If you like this content, here are some more ways I can help:
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Messaging for B2B tech marketing starts with positioning, not the other way around. Get positioning right and messaging gets much easier. And when we focus on value over features, and make customers the heroes of the story, we create marketing that generates interest and intent.
You nailed your positioning—fantastic! Now it’s time to turn positioning into B2B tech marketing messages your audience will notice and understand.
If you’re still figuring that out, hit pause and check out my step-by-step guide: How to Position B2B Tech Solutions.
And a quick heads-up: It’s easy to go overboard and overwhelm people with too much info. Don’t. Just provide enough to spark interest and get them to ask for more. Keep it clear, relevant, and, most of all, useful.
Think of messaging as a conversation starter. It connects, educates, and builds brand reputation.
Sticky content gets attention and makes people care. Skip the fluff and get to the point.
Let’s not drown our audience in technical jargon or overcomplicated product-speak. We want people to immediately understand our value, not work for it.
One of the best movie lines that encapsulates this is from Denzel Washington in “Philadelphia.”
Focus on clear, simple sentences that get the point across quickly. And remember, we’re not just listing features and benefits. We’re putting the spotlight on our differentiated value—what our solution does that no one else can. Speak directly to customers’ pains, fears, and motivations, using language that anyone can understand.
A good example is Slack. Initially, their messaging focused on specific features like “team communication” and “chat platforms.” When they shifted to “Where Work Happens,” Slack became known as a workspace, connecting more with the collaborative needs of teams rather than just chat functions. This change allowed Slack to create messaging that resonated with a wider audience of businesses, from startups to large enterprises, and helped them become a dominant tool in business communication.
The simpler the message, the faster and better it sticks.
When creating marketing messages for B2B tech, make the customer the hero. They saw something special in your stuff. Find out what that is. Ask them… yes, it is really THAT simple.
Customers will tell us what to say and how to say it. Once we get in tune with them, we can create marketing messages that mean something to them.
That is relevance—and relevance generates interest, intent, and growth.
Not to brag, but one of my favorite examples of this is the work I did for BELLIN Treasury. Their primary challenge was effectively communicating their unique value to the US market. Their German positioning, “Treasury das glücklich macht” (Treasury that makes you happy), didn’t capture the spirit BELLIN aimed to establish with potential customers. “Treasury That Moves You” created the emotional connection for English-speaking markets, going beyond mere functionality and growing the business 4x in four years.
For more on this story, check out the BELLIN Case Study.
It’s a good idea to create boilerplate marketing messages for B2B tech companies. It’s easy to get lost in our tech and boilerplates help ensure consistency and clarity across all channels.
They lay the foundation for every conversation we have with customers, partners, and even with ourselves. They ensure we’re always aligned and speaking with one voice, no matter the context.
Here are some templates to consider when building a boilerplate toolkit:
Remember to always validate any messages against your positioning—never the other way around. Always start with positioning. If you need to change your messaging, you will need to go back and update your positioning first.
If you need a template to work through your boilerplates, check out Page 5 of my Brand Playbook.
A brand pyramid helps organize our messaging by starting with the details and working up to the bigger picture. It keeps everything aligned, from features to our overall brand personality and tone.
Build it starting from the bottom and move up one level at a time:
A brand pyramid is a bird’s eye view of how our messaging connects at every level.
If you need a template to work through your brand pyramid, check out Page 6 of my Brand Playbook.
At the end of the day, creating sticky marketing messages for B2B tech companies means simplifying, staying relevant, and making sure to communicate value for your audience.
Since we’ve already nailed our positioning, we can use that insight to translate what make us unique into clear, relevant messages that connect with our audience and make them care a lot about the stuff we make.
Customers will tell us what they need to hear, so listen, stay consistent, and create messaging that supports every conversation, from elevator pitches to brand stories.
Messaging that communicates our value gets noticed, remembered, and acted on.
Keep it simple, keep it real, and always lead with value.
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You just finished a stellar product demo. Your prospect is nodding along, clearly impressed. But then you hear, “We need to think about it.” Sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. B2B tech start-ups and scale-ups often find themselves battling the silent killer of B2B sales: indecision.
Guess what? You know that thing that keeps your deals in limbo? Or your sales team ghosted? It’s not you. And it’s not “so-and-so’s cool new widget.”
A lot of the time we’re dealing with the status quo.
That said, indecision is also deeply rooted in something much bigger than the status quo: fear.
Sometimes it’s FOMO: the Fear of Missing Out. But it’s more likely FOMU: the Fear of Messing Up.
In a nutshell, think of FOMO as the anxiety of missing out on something great, whereas FOMU is driven by the fear of making a bad decision that backfires.
“Where overcoming the status quo is about dialing up the fear of not purchasing, overcoming indecision is about dialing down the fear of purchasing.”
Matthew Dixon, Ted McKenna, The JOLT Effect
Here’s the good news: you can overcome indecision, and I’ll show you how.
Most of us think our biggest challenge is beating out the other guy’s bright shiny object. But the real opportunity is showing customers why staying the same is riskier than moving forward.
Doing nothing feels safe, but it comes at a cost—time, money, and missed opportunities. Our job is to help buyers overcome indecision and make change feel like the obvious, logical choice.
The status quo is our comfort zone, sure, but when we see how much better life can be and how much easier our jobs can be, that’s the Aha Moment.
Customers don’t always compare us to another solution—they compare us to whatever they currently use and as long as that keeps the business running, they’re good.
It could be a spreadsheet, a manual process, an intern, or just doing nothing. That might just be good enough and not worth the hassle to switch.
We sometimes overthink this and “ass-u-me” it has to be a better whatchamacallit.
The fear of making the wrong choice is very real. I personally experienced this with a well-known marketing automation platform. It ended in a classic bait-and-switch that cost me my job at the time. To say I was gun-shy afterwards is putting it lightly.
There’s a reason people say, “No one ever got fired for buying IBM.” They built a brand so trusted, buyers felt confident it was always the safest choice. You can earn that level of trust, too—by consistently delivering value and building your reputation over time.
If we want buyers to trust us, we need to create awareness and instill confidence in our company and the stuff it makes. Like developing any relationship, building a solid brand reputation like IBM takes time. The sooner we invest in it, the sooner we create the credibility we need to earn that trust.
Showing and telling customers that “staying the same will cost them in the long run” is one thing. Backing it up with credible proof is another. And that’s what it takes to help buyers feel confident about choosing our stuff.
Find out what’s bugging them. What’s holding them back? We may think their current solution isn’t ideal—but do we know why?
Pinpoint their fears and frustrations. Be crystal clear about the problems you solve and how to overcome their challenges. What pain do customers deal with every day? What’s working? What’s not? Why?
Oftentimes, they’re making it work with what they’ve got. “Good enough” is always a safe answer. We’re not just competing with other products—we’re competing with the way things have always been done.
If we’re stuck comparing features with other products, we’re missing the bigger picture. Step back, look at what’s keeping your customers comfortable, and show them how you can make things better. When we nail this, we demonstrate how well our solution fits.
The JOLT Effect is an excellent sales strategy book by Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna. It outlines a simple four-step process that assesses buyer indecisiveness.
By following the JOLT Method, you take buyers from uncertainty to confidence, helping them overcome FOMO and FOMU and making the decision to choose you a no-brainer.
Building trust takes time and every interaction you have with a customer is a chance to build it. The more they see you as a trusted partner—not just another vendor—the more likely they will eventually choose you over the alternatives. Over time, this trust becomes your biggest asset, and it’s how you beat the status quo every time.
“No one ever got fired for buying [insert your brand here],” has a nice ring to it, wouldn’t you agree?
Your competition isn’t just another bright shiny object—it’s indecision. But when you reframe the challenge, build confidence, and paint a picture of a better world, you’re not just selling a product—you’re helping buyers take a step forward. And that’s how you win.
Ready to build trust and crush indecision for your B2B tech solution? Let’s chat about how we can make it happen.
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Startups don’t have a problem starting. They hit a plateau when they try to scale. Typically that’s when spray-and-pray tactics occur. But before diving into random acts of marketing, let’s take a step back and evaluate who our solution is for and why anyone should care.
I often get asked by founders of tech startups how to take their company to the next level once they have built their solution and created their website.
Typically these companies know more about the stuff they make than who it’s for.
It usually goes something like this:
There are too many amazing products and services with little to no marketing muscle backing them up.
When we’re getting going, it’s very common to get caught up in our tech and leave marketing to the 11th hour. It usually ends up being very tactical—lots of pretty pictures but zero substance.
Before you jump on the tactics bandwagon like everyone else, take a breath and walk through this preliminary discovery checklist. It will help you figure out if your solution actually solves a problem, if there’s a viable market niche, and whether customers will pay for it.
At the end, I’ll throw in a few quick wins to improve your website experience while you’re at it.
Yup, I’m beating this drum again.
The first thing to remember is that marketing is all about people. Living, breathing human beings buy our stuff, not machines.
If you have amazing tech that people should know about, you need to be able to tell them you have it… in their language… from their perspective. Yeah, it’s harder than it sounds.
NOTE: If you don’t have any customers yet, don’t panic. Make a list of the characteristics that would make up your ideal customer. Then reach out to anyone in your network who fits the bill. Then do the work mentioned above.
As you work through your validation homework, you will unearth insights that can potentially clarify your positioning and messaging. Keep things loose in the early going. When you have clarity, you can make adjustments to your website and get feedback relatively fast.
Here are some things to evaluate:
Before you burn through your marketing budget, make sure you have something people need.
Use this checklist to help you validate your solution, sharpen your positioning, and avoid costly mistakes.
And while you’re working through the process, don’t forget to keep things loose, making adjustments to your website content along the way. Don’t worry about the design at this stage, focus on the messaging.
After you have completed the checklist, dive deeper into these topics:
Need help with your validation process? Let’s talk!
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