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b2b brand | And You Thought You Didn’t Want Another Group Chat...

Your deal is being debated in Slack right now. Are you even in the chat?

Author

Sophie Bruxner-Randall
March 19, 2025

b2b brand is your weekly source for essential B2B insights, trends, and expert analysis to inform your business decisions.

B2B Brand Vol. 17: Decisions Are Happening Without You

You know what’s brutal? The deal isn’t won (or lost) when the decision-maker signs the contract. It happens before that, in a Slack thread, a quick side chat, or a late-night “thoughts?” email.

And here’s the kicker, the exec isn’t the only one making the case. It’s their team. IT, Ops, Finance, the people who actually have to use your product every day. They’re the ones who decide if this deal moves forward or if it dies before it even gets to the table.

📌 92% of B2B buying decisions are made by groups of 2 or more people (LeanData).

So, if your marketing is only speaking to the C-suite, you could be losing deals.

Here’s how to fix it.

1️⃣ Give the Buying Group Something They Can Actually Use

🚨 The Problem: Most B2B marketing speaks to “the decision-maker,” but 6-10 people weigh in before anything gets signed (AdvertisingWeek).

💡 What to Do Instead:

  • Make it easy to pass around. No one’s forwarding your 30-page whitepaper. But a killer one-liner stat? A “this tool saves us 10 hours a week” case study? That’s getting dropped into the chat.

  • Equip your champions. A marketing manager won’t approve the spend, but they will send your deck to their boss. Give them short, sharp proof points they can pass up the chain.

  • Format for real life. If it doesn’t look good in a Slack preview, a WhatsApp screenshot, or a quick LinkedIn DM, rethink it.

📌 94% of people are more likely to view content with compelling visuals (WebFX).

2️⃣ Buyers Don’t Want Vendor Promises, They Want Proof

🚨 The Problem: Your brand’s most powerful advocate isn’t you; it’s your customers. What they say about you carries more weight than anything you could say yourself.

💡 What to Do Instead:

  • Turn case studies into punchlines. Instead of “Company X optimized workflow efficiency,” say, “Company X cut manual work by 76 hours a week. Here’s how.”

  • Let customers do the talking. A LinkedIn post or video testimonial from an actual user saying, “This tool saved me so much time” is sometimes more powerful than a polished case study.

  • Make sure IT and Ops buy in. The exec trusts their team’s opinion. If IT says, “This won’t work with our stack,” the deal’s dead.

📌 92% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase after reading a trusted review (Forbes).

3️⃣ Be Where the Buying Group Already Trusts Content

🚨 The Problem: Your audience isn’t actively searching for your product every day. But they are scrolling newsletters, reading reports, and paying attention to trusted industry content.

💡 What to Do Instead:

  • Put your content where decision-makers already engage. Sponsored placements in industry newsletters aren’t ads—they’re credibility boosts.

  • Make it easy to vouch for you. If a buyer has to explain why your solution makes sense, they probably won’t. The goal? Create content that makes the case in one sentence.

  • Give them insights they actually want. Decision-makers trust content that helps them understand industry trends, challenges, and best practices. If you educate, you influence.

📌 Branded sponsorships generate 51% more engagement compared to non-branded content in B2B media (MarketWatch).

The Bottom Line

If your content isn’t making its way into Slack conversations, teams chats, or group huddles, it’s not helping you close deals.

📩 Want to put your brand where your audience is already paying attention?

🎧 What We’re Listening To

This week, we’re hooked on the latest episode of Prof G Markets — and this quote on brand building hit hard:

"The thing about great brand builders, the analogy I use is like working out. When you work out, it's time expensive, it's a pain, and you're sore. And so is brand building. It's expensive. And the next day, it just hurts. But if you're disciplined about spending and offering the services that buttress your brand associations, over time, you get stronger. You have an easier time getting supplier relationships. You have an easier time recruiting employees. You have an easier time raising prices."

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About B2B Brand
B2B Brand brings you cutting-edge insights on the B2B landscape — from marketing tactics and sales enablement to the latest industry trends. We deliver real-world strategies from industry leaders, helping you engage buyers, close deals, and build long-term success.

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