The Power of Brand in B2B Marketing: Why Awareness Is Your Most Valuable Asset

Digital Marketing

June 7, 2025

In B2B marketing, it’s tempting to chase the next lead. Sales teams want results now. Marketing dashboards are filled with click-through rates and pipeline metrics. But if you're only marketing to buyers who are ready today, you’re missing the bigger picture.

New research from the B2B Institute at LinkedIn and Tracksuit makes the case for a better way: brand building. Not instead of performance marketing , but as the multiplier that makes performance more efficient, and sustainable growth possible.

Why Brand Awareness Matters in B2B

Let’s recap the two key insights from the reports:

The 95-5 Rule (LinkedIn & B2B Institute):

Only 5% of B2B buyers are in-market at any given time.
The remaining 95% will enter the market later , and if they’ve never heard of your brand, they won’t consider you.
Ads don’t drive buyers in-market. Needs do. Your job is to be remembered before that moment.

Awareness Drives Performance (Tracksuit x TikTok):

Brands with higher awareness see significantly higher conversion rates on paid media.
A brand known by 4/10 people is 43% more efficient than one known by 3/10.
Conversion efficiency improves as awareness grows, especially up to a 37% awareness threshold.

What This Means for Running B2B Campaigns

Brand and performance aren’t competing forces. They are allies , and the most effective B2B marketers are those who blend both seamlessly into a strategy that meets today’s sales targets while building tomorrow’s revenue.

Here’s how to apply this thinking to real-world B2B campaign planning:

1. Define Your Split: Brand vs. Performance

The first step is to set expectations, internally and externally, around the dual role of marketing.

Recommended starting point:

60–80% of budget → Brand building
20–40% → Performance marketing (lead gen, retargeting, offers)

Adjust this based on sales cycle length, brand maturity, and revenue urgency. Early-stage brands may temporarily skew more performance-heavy but should transition to brand investment as soon as possible.

2. Align KPIs to Both Goals

Performance campaigns should be optimised for immediate actions:

MQLs, SQLs, pipeline value
Retargeting website visitors
Demo requests or gated content downloads

Brand campaigns should be optimised for long-term brand health:

Share of voice
Prompted brand awareness
Familiarity with category entry points
Content consumption metrics (video completions, time on site)

Avoid letting lead-gen metrics define brand success. Clicks and conversions ≠ brand impact. Use brand tracking tools (like Tracksuit) to measure shifts in awareness and perception over time.

3. Educate Sales Teams on the Brand Impact

Sales will always ask for more leads. That’s their job. But you can help them understand where leads come from.

“The better our brand is known, the easier it becomes to close deals. High awareness = higher conversion rates = lower acquisition cost.”

Hold joint marketing-sales reviews where you:

Share awareness and engagement data
Show how branded search volume or direct traffic is rising
Demonstrate how conversion efficiency improves in high-awareness markets

Tip: Use examples from The Awareness Advantage to show that a brand with 40% awareness outperforms one with 30% , by 43%.

4. Run Always-On Brand Campaigns

Don’t stop brand activity just because a quarterly target looms.

Run lightweight, always-on brand ads that:

Speak to emotional and rational drivers
Highlight your value proposition consistently
Position your brand against future buying triggers (Category Entry Points)

Platforms like LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube are ideal for broad-reach, awareness-driving campaigns with video content and storytelling.

5. Use Performance Campaigns to Test Brand Messaging

Your lead-gen campaigns can double as real-time brand research. Use A/B testing to trial:

Different emotional appeals
Headlines that connect to different pain points
Category entry point phrases (e.g. “when your IT systems go down…”)

Track which messages not only convert, but resonate , and scale them into broader brand campaigns.

6. Build a Long-Term Content Engine

Support both brand and performance with:

Top-of-funnel content: Thought leadership, industry trends, podcast appearances
Middle-of-funnel: Case studies, explainer videos, buyer’s guides
Bottom-of-funnel: Product comparisons, ROI calculators, testimonials

Great B2B content is evergreen and compounds over time , much like your brand.

Be the Brand They Remember (When It Counts)

Brand building in B2B isn’t about fluffy storytelling or feel-good campaigns. It’s about earning a place in buyers’ minds before they need you , so that when they do, you’re the first name they think of.

By combining the long-term power of brand with the short-term urgency of performance, you’ll not only satisfy today’s pipeline pressure but also secure tomorrow’s revenue.

Because in B2B marketing, if they don’t know you, they won’t buy you.