Purpose

The brand: The Trojan horse of B2B

Purpose

The brand: The Trojan horse of B2B

Purpose

The brand: The Trojan horse of B2B

Because the brand isn’t here to be liked, it’s here to sneak in

Something curious happens in B2B. You can have a strong offer, a committed team, solid processes, long-lasting relationships. You can do things right for years… and still feel like something’s stalling, like selling takes more effort. And most of the time, it’s not a problem of acquisition, channel, or design. It’s a problem of meaning. Or rather, the absence of it.

What we’ve learned (not just from working in this, but from seeing it over and over again) is that a B2B brand isn’t there to be liked. It’s there to get in. To get into a pricing conversation, a technical demo, a committee decision. But what happens when every competitor delivers? Then what gets you into those spaces can’t just be what you do.

You need a Trojan horse.

A new paradigm

For years, many industrial and tech companies—or any company whose clients are other companies—thought a brand was just a nicely placed logo. That was in the best of cases. In the worst, they started slapping logos on every product, unit, or service, as if building a brand was just labeling things. Being on a website, a catalog, a product sheet… that was the bare minimum. But they believed doing more didn’t really help the client decide.

Today, it’s exactly the opposite. Buyers not only care about what you do, they care about “why you?”, “why now?”, “why should I trust you?”. They spend weeks researching before making a decision, and they’re not just looking for a supplier. They’re looking for signals, reasons, the story of why you and not someone else. And that’s where purpose and real values sneak in.

That—your brand (not the logo, not the design)—is what makes you eligible. And in a world where everything looks the same technically, the only thing that can’t be copied is how you think. That’s where B2B buyers make decisions, even if they think they’re deciding based on price.

Brands already doing it

You don’t need to make up examples—it’s happening right now.

We saw it in Figma (without plastering cities with ads)
Before being acquired by Adobe, Figma already had it all. Yes, an excellent product, but also something harder to replicate. A culture of collaboration that came through even in their emails. Their brand was the way they thought, how they listened to users, how they built with them. They understood a need no one else was addressing and turned that truth into both product and narrative. That’s why they didn’t just win users, they won believers—and that’s what let them outpace the giants of the industry.

We saw it in Stripe
Their brand transformed something as technical and boring as digital payments into an aspirational platform for entrepreneurs and high-growth companies. Their identity is sober, but their storytelling is razor sharp: “We’re here to help ambitious ideas turn into business.” That message has set them apart in the market.

We saw it in Salesforce
They’ve been building a narrative for years around the future of work, the role of trust, and the importance of ecosystems. They’re no longer selling software; they’re selling a business vision. And when a brand does that, the conversation shifts away from prices or features.

Even brands like Kavak or Clicars (operating in the toughest side of automotive B2B) are elevating their brand beyond product, building trust in markets where no one trusts.

Very different examples, yes, but they share one thing: all of them understood that the brand doesn’t kick in after the product—it’s already there, hidden in how everything works, how it feels, how it connects, and how the company tells its story.

Like a Trojan horse.

So… what’s a brand really for in B2B?

Sometimes teams ask for a brand like they’d ask for a new sign—something that “looks better, more modern.” And sure, looks matter, but the real impact lies elsewhere.

A well-thought-out brand solves business problems: attracting talent, speeding up sales, differentiating without competing on price, raising prices without losing demand, and much more. But more importantly than all that, it helps you tell what you do and why you matter to your clients in a way no one else can.

That’s what many B2B brands still don’t see. Their challenge isn’t selling more, it’s selling better—by connecting with the big questions: why do you exist? why you? And you don’t achieve that with a pretty website, but with a relevant purpose and a brand that helps you connect with your audience beyond prices and features. One that stops you from chasing clients and starts attracting people.

The Trojan horse

We say this because we’ve seen it countless times. A brand doesn’t operate in marketing—it operates in the mind of the decision-maker. It doesn’t work through visuals, but through symbols. It doesn’t just amplify what you say, it shapes how you’re remembered when you leave the room.

That’s why the Trojan horse metaphor fits: when it’s done right, a brand opens doors and sneaks into trust, margins, decisions, the pitch.

Into why you, and not someone else.