Getting the Brand Advocacy Meaning Right for B2B
In short
Brand advocacy means people who have experienced your work recommending you, inside and outside the companies you want to sell to. In B2B, it decides who makes the shortlist before you ever pitch.
This guide shows how to build it: find your position in the market, win the person before the company, and turn clients into advocates. For the evidence behind it, see our B2B sales statistics report. For why it matters so much in Jordan, see our Insight on the price war.
Brand advocacy means people who have experienced your work recommending you, inside and outside the companies you want to sell to. In B2B, it decides who makes the shortlist before you ever pitch.
This guide shows how to build it: find your position in the market, win the person before the company, and turn clients into advocates. For the evidence behind it, see our B2B sales statistics report. For why it matters so much in Jordan, see our Insight on the price war.
Where Brand Advocacy Fits Among the Four Seller Positions
Every seller sits in one of four positions. Where you sit decides how much advocacy matters to you.
Which one are you?
Advocacy matters most in the third position. When buyers can’t tell you apart from ten competitors, they default to price. The only thing that breaks the tie is someone they trust saying, “Use them. I have.”
- 1. You sell something people don’t want. Find out why before you spend on marketing. If there’s no real need, no campaign will fix it. If people just don’t know they need it, your job is to create that demand.
- 2. People want it, and you’re alone in the market. Life is easy, for now. Someone will enter sooner or later, so invest in staying ahead.
- 3. People want it, and the market is crowded. You look like everyone else, prices keep falling, and every deal turns into a negotiation. This is the hardest position.
- 4. The market is crowded, but you’re genuinely better value. You can sell almost as if you were alone. You still have to keep proving it.
Why Vanity Metrics in Marketing Don’t Win Shortlists
The usual answer to a crowded market is more marketing: more ads, more reels, more posts. None of that is wrong. The problem is that everyone else is doing exactly the same, so it can’t set you apart. Worse, it gets measured by likes, followers and website visits. Those numbers are easy to grow and easy to report, but they rarely tell you whether a buyer is any closer to choosing you.Vanity Metrics vs Actionable Metrics for B2B Sellers
Vanity metrics aren’t useless, though. At any given time, up to 95% of potential B2B buyers aren’t in the market. Being remembered by them before they are is worth a lot. What matters is measuring the right things:| What most firms measure | What actually predicts B2B sales |
|---|---|
| Likes and followers | Inquiries from the companies you want to work with |
| Website visits | Invitations to pitch or quote |
| Reach and impressions | Referrals and introductions from existing clients |
| Engagement rate | Repeat clients and contract renewals |
Table 1: Vanity metrics and the actionable metrics that matter for B2B sellers.
The right-hand column is harder to grow and slower to move. It’s also the one that pays the bills.B2C2B: The B2B Buying Process Starts With One Person
Companies don’t buy. People inside them do. That’s the idea behind what I call B2C2B: business to consumer to business. You win the person first, as an individual, and that person brings you into their company. It’s not the same as B2B2C, which means selling through a business to its consumers. B2C2B runs the other way, from a person back into a business. The data backs it up. Buyers start 79% of contacts with sellers themselves. And 97% of the time, at least one vendor on their shortlist is someone they have already had personal experience with.Inside the Brand Advocacy Funnel, From Person to Company
- A person meets your work through something useful: content, a product, a small job.
- They become a user, a client or an engaged follower.
- Trust builds through feedback, attention and results.
- When their company needs a supplier, they put your name forward.
- Their colleagues hear about you from someone they trust, not from an ad.
The B2B Buying Committee Picks Its Shortlist Early
By the time a company asks for proposals, the real decision is mostly made. Buyers put four of the five vendors they will evaluate on the shortlist from day one. They then buy from that list 95% of the time.Internal and External Influencers Shape B2B Buying Groups
One contact is rarely enough. An average business purchase decision involves, at some point, 13 internal influencers within the company. It is also shaped by an average of nine external influencers from outside it. That changes what advocacy means. It isn’t one champion. Advocacy means several people, inside and outside the buying company, who speak for you when you’re not in the room.
Numbers that matter
- About 97% of buyers already know at least one vendor on their shortlist personally.
- 95% of purchases come from the day-one shortlist.
- 13 internal and 9 external influencers shape an average purchase decision.
- Up to 95% of potential buyers aren’t in the market right now.
How to Build a Brand Advocacy Program as a Small Firm
This is how we do it at Checkers Inc. The principle is simple: build a base of individual users inside the companies you want to sell to, and let them carry you in.
The four steps
Thought leadership speeds this up. Among US decision-makers who shape purchases without meeting sales, 79% are more likely to champion proposals from companies with strong thought leadership.
- 1. Solve a problem for the individual. Create content or a simple solution that helps one person do their job better.
- 2. Cater to them. Onboard them as users, clients or engaged followers.
- 3. Build trust. Ask for feedback, stay engaged, and keep improving what you give them.
- 4. Retarget them and their company. Offer the B2B product or service that solves their company’s problem.
Products or services? Two routes
- If you sell a product: build a simple B2C version inside your target companies first, then sell the business version. We cover this in our guide to product led growth.
- If you sell a service: either adapt a B2C version of your service and build a customer base around it, or build a personal brand and a following people trust. Sarah Refai’s long-running marketing podcast [LINK NEEDED: official channel] is a good example of the second route. We cover both in our guide to personal branding for founders.
Real Brand Advocacy Examples From Our Client Work
Most of our clients came to us through a person, not a pitch. A few examples from clients already listed in our portfolio:- IMKAN: the owner knew our work before any proposal was written.
- Al Aman Fund: a senior figure who knew us opened the door.
- Hmoud & Zeidat: one of the named partners brought us in himself.
- Nuaymi Law: the founding partner hired us from his own experience of our work.
- Pilot Studios: many clients came through people who had worked with us before.
From inside Checkers Inc.
Since we founded Checkers in 2018, more than 80% of our contracts have started with the client reaching out to us. That’s one firm’s records, not a survey, but it’s how we’ve grown.
Bottom Line on Winning a Saturated Market Without Discounts
In a crowded market, you can’t outspend everyone and you shouldn’t undercut them. You can make sure the people who choose suppliers already know you, and hear about you from someone they trust.Key Takeaways for Turning Clients Into Brand Advocates
- Know your position. Advocacy matters most when buyers can’t tell you apart from competitors.
- Measure what predicts sales. Track inquiries, invitations and referrals, not just likes.
- Win the person first. Individuals bring you into their companies.
- Think in groups. Build advocates across internal and external influencers, not one champion.
- Pick your route. Products and services build advocacy differently.