In B2B, everyone is looking for the next differentiator. More content, more campaigns, more creativity. But behind all the noise, one theme keeps cutting through: trust.
Trust is the commodity that buyers trade in. Without it, you don’t even make the list for consideration. With it, you can open doors, accelerate sales cycles, and build the kind of partnerships that endure.
We see three disciplines shaping how B2B businesses build trust today:
- Brand – how you show up, the promise you make, the consistency buyers recognise.
- Creativity – how you cut through sameness, spark emotion, and bring ideas to life.
- Positioning – how you pinpoint hard facts from the customer perspective of what your offer is, what it contains, what it does, and why it’s better than competitors – enabling you to sell it more effectively.
Each is a discipline in its own right. But none of them work in isolation.
The trust triangle that holds together
Think of positioning as the foundation of a triangle. Brand and creativity can only drive real impact when they’re anchored in a clear position. Get it wrong, and you risk:
- Investing in brand work that feels impressive internally but doesn’t shift external perception.
- Launching creative campaigns that attract attention but fail to build credibility.
- Delivering marketing activity that looks active on a dashboard but doesn’t build sustainable ROI.
When positioning is strong, brand and creativity amplify each other. And the outcome? Trust.
Beyond funnels
Too many B2B strategies are still built on outdated funnels or linear models that don’t reflect how buyers actually decide. In reality, buyers move in messy, non-linear journeys where knowledge, affinity, and trust are built over time – not through a single campaign touchpoint.
That’s why the old “know-like-trust” principle still holds water, even if the language feels a little dated. It maps more accurately to real buying behaviour than any performance funnel can.
A diagnostic for decision-making
This framework isn’t just a theory piece. It’s a diagnostic tool. It helps explain why investments in brand or creativity sometimes disappoint: because they weren’t underpinned by positioning.
For leadership teams, it’s a way to test where to invest next:
- If you’re brand-heavy but lack a sharp position, you’ll struggle to convert recognition into revenue.
- If you’re sales-led with no creative spark, you’ll struggle to differentiate.
- If you’ve only invested in positioning but not in how it shows up, you’ll stay invisible.
Balance matters. And getting positioning right is the lever that makes everything else pay back.
Positioning today for ROI tomorrow
As a core foundational element in the building of trust, positioning is the investment that unlocks future ROI, sustainable growth, and stronger valuations. Without it, you’re just spending to stay visible. With it, you’re building sustainable differentiation and long-term credibility and trust.
Trust is key to securing success – being in the right place at the right time to get on the list for consideration.
The Craft’s view
We’re not for everyone. If you want brand work for brand’s sake, or creativity without strategy, there are agencies for that. But if you want to use positioning to make brand and creativity pay back – to earn trust in a way that sales can feel – that’s where the conversation with us starts.