Brand is the decision in B2B, and AI decides first | MarTech

"It's easier, cheaper and faster than ever to build and ship software. Feature advantage now has a shorter half-life than ever. You can launch something on Tuesday and see a version of it in someone else's roadmap by Friday. That doesn't mean product is irrelevant. It means product alone can't carry meaning anymore. In a market where most tools look good enough on paper, buyers stop choosing what's best and start choosing what feels safe."

"Brand has always lived elsewhere. It's an expectation in a buyer's mind - a prediction of what it will feel like to choose you, trust you and justify you. That expectation is personal, emotional and psychological. It goes far deeper than "do you have feature X." If I choose this company, will I look smart? Will this be painful to roll out? Will this become a career risk? Will this create a problem I can't undo?"

B2B marketing historically prioritized clear value propositions, differentiation and proof points to enable rational buying decisions. Rapid, low-cost software development is compressing feature advantages and shortening their relevance, so product alone no longer provides sufficient meaning. In crowded markets where tools look similar on paper, buyers prefer options that feel safe and reduce perceived risk. Brand functions as a psychological expectation in a buyer's mind, shaping feelings about trust, rollout pain, career risk and defendability. That expectation now exerts decisive influence and increasingly forms outside of the controlled channels companies traditionally manage.

Read at MarTech