Why B2B Brand Marketers Should Stop Playing It Safe
I recently spoke with a video journalist who had worked for some of the world’s most prestigious media organizations. His latest employer? Lyft’s brand journalism publication Rev, which the ride-hailing company calls a “guide to the transportation revolution.”
Lyft is, of course, a B2C company, and Rev aligns with ambitions typical of pioneering B2C brands. As of the time of writing, some of the top Rev headlines include: “Could rideshare help trans people get around more safely?” “Juneteenth round-up: four Black history bike tours.” “Flood, sweat, and gears: the tumultuous, triumphant history of Citi Bike.”
These stories clarify — and, through effective distribution, reinforce — the narratives Lyft is aiming to build about itself as a brand. Unlike Uber, which is inextricably tied to the “baller” ambitions of its enterprising but controversial founder, Lyft wants to be the friendly, progressive, and urbanist ride-hailing app.
Not every consumer will gravitate toward Lyft’s brand. But Lyft conscientiously cultivates differentiating narratives that harken back to its early pink mustache days and say to consumers who align with that ethos, “Ride with us. We may not be the market leader. But we are the market leader for you. If you’re progressive, care about urban planning, or even just vibe more with a friendly pink brand than the try-hard black aesthetic of Uber, we’re your no. 1 option.”
There is no reason B2B brands can’t aspire to what Rev represents: narrative differentiation, proactive and inventive editorial planning, and world-class content (you know, the kind that involves hiring Grey Lady journalists). But so few do. Instead, B2B brands stay small in their thinking — and the results speak for themselves.
But why is that the status quo? And what are the stakes of B2B brands shifting from what, following the entrepreneurial thought leader Dan Sullivan, we might call 2x thinking to 10x thinking?
Why B2B brands play it safe
If you’ve spent a lot of time around B2B marketers, you know that very few of them, when discussing their goals, feel empowered to speak boldly about building a singular brand identity, becoming a category of one, or developing into their sector’s genuine thought leader. Instead, B2B marketers seek incremental gains. They don’t feel safe aspiring to transform their brands. They feel they need to draw within the lines.
In short, B2B marketers too often operate from a place of needing to accomplish something, not wanting to. They need to increase demo requests 20% this quarter. They need to become more efficient by slashing their budget or replacing humans with ChatGPT. They need to create a gated asset to prove to their boss that the $5k they invested in content last month generated sufficient pipeline.
But brands that matter — brands that are memorable, genuinely differentiate a company from its competitors, and inspire loyalty — are not built by marketers operating out of a scarcity mindset linked to needs they are afraid of failing to meet. Brands that matter are built by leaders who don’t need to be good enough to keep their jobs for another quarter but rather want to be world-class. It is from that place of visionary imagination and emotional safety that industry-leading brands emerge.
Why it’s worth aspiring to build more than a 2x brand
In 10x Is Easier Than 2x, entrepreneur Dan Sullivan and business psychology PhD Benjamin Hardy argue that 10x’ing a business is counter-intuitively easier than doubling it. Their point is that 2x’ing requires incremental thinking and tough improvements between competitors fighting tooth and nail for inches. 2x’ers are people who need to be a little bit better and strain their bandwidth to accomplish that. But 10x’ing requires something entirely different. 10x’ers don’t need to be good enough to maintain the status quo; they want to produce a transformative impact that will change the trajectory of their lives and their companies.
When you aim to 10x, Sullivan and Hardy argue, you can’t afford to make incremental improvements. You need to transform how you do business. You need to do something so much more valuable — as marketers, foster a connection with your customers that is so different and so meaningful — that you’re no longer competing for inches in a game of small gains. You’ve created a league of your own.
Rev attests to Lyft’s ambition to be what we might call a 10x brand. The company is not telling ride hailers about the safety features or convenient widgets that will make it a mildly more attractive ride-share experience than Uber. It is aiming to become its chosen customers’ only option through bold narrative differentiation that says, “We are not for everyone, but we are the best possible choice for our ideal target audience.”
B2B brands can and should aspire to more than feature-oriented differentiation. That doesn’t mean that, in finding its purpose, every B2B brand needs to get political. But it does mean that B2B marketers shouldn’t limit their vision to needing to increase metrics by 10% this quarter. Instead of focusing on a need for incremental improvements, the best B2B marketers operate from a place of abundance and desire. They bring together the world-class people and processes that transform their brands into one of a kind through shared purpose.
That depth of differentiation — not greater efficiency, another sales pitch masquerading as thought leadership, or product feature-oriented copy — is the stuff world-class brands are made of. World-class brands are built on a world-class vision, and that vision is based on the connection between what the company does and who its customers are.
Of course, no brand, and no marketer, needs to 10x; 2x’ing will do just fine. But if becoming world-class — or your customer’s only option — is what you want, you can make much more than incremental gains. The question is: Are you going to put out another series of forgettable blog posts next quarter? Or are you going to hire the talent and take the time to analyze your competitive set, build truly differentiating narratives, and create world-class content?
One isn’t necessarily harder than the other. But the first starts with maintaining the status quo. The second starts with a transformative vision. Rev suggests that Lyft knows what its brand destination is. As marketers, we, too, need to decide whether we’re going somewhere or staying put.
