Host Daryl Pereira sits down with sales leader Gina Principato and Boundary Analytics CEO and Co-Founder Jeff Sirkin to explore the elusive topic of brand value in B2B marketing.
In B2B, brand is the invisible current that steers buyers long before a form‑fill ever appears in your CRM. Yet most teams still judge it with the same yardstick they use for performance ads—and then wonder why funding evaporates.
Why brand deserves its own scoreboard
Vanity impressions, PR reach in the “trillions,” and attribution models that reward the last click all understate brand’s contribution. They measure what’s easy, not what matters.
Buyers ghost you for 80 % of the journey. Peer forums, review sites, podcasts and social posts shape preferences while you’re none the wiser. Only brand can show up for you in those untracked moments.
Sales lives (or dies) on credibility. Reps who open with a known name skip the “who are you?” dance and jump straight to value. Pipeline velocity follows.
Finance wants proof, not faith. Absent a business case, brand spend is the first line item to get cut.
A smarter playbook
Before you re‑balance budgets, make sure your strategy covers the fundamentals below. Each move strengthens brand lift and shows the numbers your CFO wants to see.
- Split the funnel. Track demand capture with last‑touch attribution; measure demand creation (brand) with indicators that don’t rely on immediate conversions.
- Watch high‑intent inbound. Branded organic searches landing on your home page and converting on “talk to sales” are brand in action.
- Monitor share of search. Rising branded search volume versus competitors is today’s brand‑lift study.
- Account for time lags. Use rolling three‑ to six‑month windows to link brand impressions to pipeline; set expectations with the C‑suite upfront.
- Calibrate budget mix quarterly, not blindly. Re‑evaluate channels like LinkedIn: costly for leads, priceless for awareness.
In this model, brand, sales, and product form one go‑to‑market engine. Align on metrics, celebrate joint wins, and give reps the confidence to outbound knowing the market already recognizes you.
The bottom line
Measure brand on its own terms and you’ll unlock the budget—and belief—needed to grow it. Ignore it, and the deals you never saw coming will keep going to someone else.
