B2B growth · 3 min read
Laura Bergström
B2B growth needs new customers — and a balance of brand and activation
Growing the customer base means serving active buyers now while building familiarity with the people who will buy later.
New customer acquisition is, in my view, the most important strategy for growing — even in established B2B companies.
But isn’t it cheaper to grow through existing customers? For a long time, that was what I thought too. The Double Jeopardy Law offers a different perspective: brands with fewer customers tend also to have lower loyalty levels than brands with more customers. Retention matters, but a smaller customer base is not usually compensated for by exceptional loyalty.
I saw a pattern consistent with this in a case I worked on. A large customer base in one market showed higher loyalty and quicker recovery after a product delivery disruption. The situation was different in another market, where the customer base was smaller. That experience made the relationship between customer-base size and resilience tangible for me, even though one case alone does not establish a general rule.
So how do we choose the best tactics for new customer acquisition? It is a balance between activating people who are buying now and building the brand over time for people who are not yet in the market.
1. Activate demand that exists today
Active buyers need a clear, functional narrative: product features, relevant proof and a useful next step. Lead capture and sales pipeline KPIs help us understand whether we are converting that existing demand.
2. Build familiarity before the buying moment
Non-customers also need a chance to get to know us before they are ready to buy. A more emotional narrative, consistent brand presence and reach measures serve a different job: making the brand familiar and easier to recall over time.
The growth balance: promotion tactics for growing B2B brands
Activation and brand building need different budgets — and different playbooks.
The growth balance · 1/4
The general rule
Activation reaches buyers already in-market; brand building reaches the other ~95% who aren't yet.
Binet & Field, IPA 2013. In B2B the split is closer to ≈54:46 (The B2B Institute).
The growth balance · 2/4
What shifts the balance
Strategic context pulls the split left or right — never a fixed number.
Pulls toward activation
- New brand or launch phaseNormalises once penetration builds
- Category in decline
Pulls toward brand building
- Growing market share
- Growing category
- High-consideration or premium purchase
- Price pressureProtects pricing power
A hybrid case
Products with low-friction adoption (SaaS)
Use CEP-targeted, or "specific need-moment", content — not broad brand spend.
The growth balance · 3/4
How to do it
Same split, a different playbook on each side.
Activation · pipeline KPIs
- Product features & samples/demos
- Lead capture & forms
- Sales enablement content
Brand building · reach KPIs
- Category-level thought leadership
- Executive visibility & PR
- Distinctive brand assets
- Broad-reach awareness content
The growth balance · 4/4
Where loyalty fits
Loyalty is largely a by-product of successful acquisition — except in SaaS businesses, where retention justifies its own focus (LTV).
In my experience, the second part is the most difficult to get buy-in for in industrial B2B companies. Its contribution is less immediate than a lead entering the pipeline, but that does not make it less important.
One of marketing’s hardest jobs is balancing resources and internal mindshare across these audiences. It is also one of the most important. We need to win today’s buyers without becoming invisible to tomorrow’s customers.