In B2B marketing, people often overestimate how many people actively reject a brand and underestimate how many simply don’t know it exists.
The real challenge isn’t rejection. It’s obscurity.
According to research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, lack of brand awareness is a far greater barrier to growth than negative perceptions.
That means trying to shift attitudes or “change minds” delivers far less ROI than many marketers think.
Instead, the focus should be on building mental availability, ensuring your brand comes to mind when a potential buyer enters a buying situation.
That’s a reach problem, not a persuasion problem.
And solving it requires consistent, broad-reach marketing, not just highly targeted campaigns.
