Sadly, brand building isn’t a priority for most B2B SaaS companies.

But it’s a missed opportunity and a strategic mistake.

Instead, B2B SaaS companies are focused on non-brand-building activities up and down the sales funnel.

There’s a lot of brute force being deployed to drive leads and sales. Let’s spend a bunch of money on Google ads and retargeting!

But here’s the thing: 90% of people aren’t looking to buy right now. They’re either happy with the status quo, don’t have the budget, or it’s not a priority.

As a result, companies focus on the small group of people looking to make a purchase right now, which makes sense given the need to generate revenue in competitive markets.

But companies must also invest in brand to drive awareness and affinity.

They need to prime the pump so that when a company is ready to buy, your product is top of mind.

Jon Lombardo thrust this reality into the spotlight during Jon Evans’ podcast.

“At the end of the day, you don’t need a PhD to figure this out. You cannot buy a product if you don’t know it exists. There’s great research….showing that when a B2B buyer enters the category, something like 80% of the time, they choose whatever brand came to mind on day one.”

Lombardo argues that brand building is the “single biggest opportunity.” If he could distill five years of research done at the B2B Institute, it would be that B2B businesses need to invest in brand.

So, here’s the question: why don’t companies enthusiastically invest in brand given its importance?

A few theories:

• In an instant gratification world, brand isn’t sexy or a priority. It’s a slow burn rather than a raging fire. It usually doesn’t generate short-term results.

• While CMOs know that brand is important, they’re reluctant to allocate budget given the demand for leads and sales.

• In B2B SaaS, the product is king. There’s a belief that if we build it, they (customers) will come. It explains why more features are seen as a lever to drive demand and growth.

• In fiercely competitive markets struggling with slow growth, it’s hard to spend money on a long-term proposition like brand. It’s easy to spend money on things that could move the needle quickly.

But brand building is like exercise.

While you may not notice the results of your workouts right away, you’ll get in better shape and happier over time, setting you up for long-term health.

Question to CEO and marketers? How would you describe your investments in brand branding?