3 REASONS WHY growth-minded B2B leaders can’t afford to ignore brand awareness
In conversations with marketing leads at growth-oriented B2B companies, we keep hearing the same frustrations.
Marketing leaders are under constant pressure to deliver quick results, and leads are often the only metric that gets real attention. Anything that cannot be directly tied to sales today is seen as less important.
The tension between sales and marketing is another common theme. Closing deals is prioritised, while the early work that makes selling easier is often overlooked or under-resourced.
The common thread behind these challenges is a narrow focus on short-term performance. However, if you want marketing to support long-term growth, you cannot afford to ignore brand awareness.
Here are three reasons why growth-minded B2B leaders should prioritise brand awareness now, not later.
REASON 1: Only 5 percent of buyers are ready to buy now
In B2B, the majority of your ideal customers are not actively buying right now. A report by Professor John Dawes for LinkedIn’s B2B Institute shows that up to 95 percent of potential buyers are out of market at any given time. Only the remaining 5 percent are actively researching solutions or making purchasing decisions.
The 95 percent are still paying attention. They are seeing your content, forming opinions, and building mental associations with your brand. You cannot force a company into the buying process, but you can ensure that when they are ready - a contract ends, a new priority emerges, or a leadership change opens the door - your brand is already on their radar.
This is the role of brand awareness. You must invest in awareness that creates demand before the buying process even starts. In other words, expect sales results in the long term, not in the short term.
Building brand awareness is influencing future buyers so that when they do enter the market, your company is top of mind and already on the shortlist.
REASON 2: Trust is built long before sales conversations start
In B2B, where purchase decisions are often high-stakes and carefully considered, trust is everything. It gives decision-makers the confidence that working with your company is safe and smart.
Trust is built long before any sales conversation takes place. It is formed through a combination of signals that shape how decision-makers perceive your company: how visible and credible you are, the clarity and consistency of your communication, what others say about you, the partnerships you form, and how you show up in public spaces like media and events.
According to Harvard Business Review’s framework there are three core drivers of trust:
LOGIC: Potential customers must see that your company knows what it is doing, that you have the expertise, competence, and professionalism to deliver real value.
AUTHENCITY: Buyers trust companies that are transparent, communicating with honesty, and true to their values.
EMPATHY: Your audience needs to know that you see their challenges and genuinely care about them and their success.
Trust is also embedded in culture. In Finland, reliability is considered a core value defined by keeping your word and delivering on what you promise. In this context, trust is communicated through recommendations, referrals and good reputation.
In B2B, trust is a strategic asset and brand is one of the most powerful tools for building it over time.
REASON 3: Brand is the most scalable way to build trust and demand
Trust is built gradually, through every interaction, impression and touchpoint. Brand is the system that holds the trust-building signals together and makes them visible.
So how does a brand build trust?
It starts with clarity and consistency in your visual identity. Good design can communicate professionalism, attention to detail, and reliability at a glance. Next comes your tone of voice and messaging: how you speak and what you say. Trustworthy brands sound confident, clear, and credible. They speak like experts and they back their claims with proof points. Additional trust signals come through your values, how consistently you show up, and what others say about you. These are the key building blocks of brand awareness.
A strong brand makes all of your other marketing and sales efforts more effective. It lays the foundation for future conversions by creating familiarity and positive perception long before anyone fills out a form or books a meeting.
About the writer:Sanna Määttänen is Senior Advisor and Co-founder at Brighten. She has studied the dynamics of trust, and already her master’s thesis explored how trust is formed between B2B leaders in the Finnish ICT sector. Her ongoing work focuses on helping companies turn brand and thought leadership into long-term growth.At Brighten, we believe brand is the foundation for long-term growth. We help companies build brands that earn trust, stand out, and connect meaningfully with their audience. At the heart of a strong brand is clear and memorable messaging. For our clients, especially growing tech companies, brand awareness is closely tied to building thought leadership and earning a place in future buying decisions. From there, we activate your brand through targeted actions that create visibility, credibility, and business impact.