Known as “The Man in the Chair”, it depicted a sceptical business buyer confronted by a company he knew nothing about.

“I don’t know who you are.
I don’t know your company.
I don’t know your company’s product.”

The list continues, before concluding with a line very much of its time:

“Sales starts before your salesman calls – with business publication advertising.”

Today’s buyers spend less time talking to suppliers and more time researching independently. They’re building a mental shortlist of companies they already know and trust long before they complete a contact form or agree to a meeting.

Too many technology and engineering-led businesses ignore this reality. They invest heavily in refining products, perfecting propositions and training sales teams, but forget about the steady stream of content needed to ensure their brand becomes instantly recognisable in the market.

It’s the reason why companies with genuinely superior products can remain invisible, while less capable competitors continue to win work.

Not because they’re better – but because they’re better known.

You can’t buy what you don’t know

Sounds obvious.

But many B2B businesses behave as though technical superiority is enough.

Buying any new high-value solution carries risk, and human nature means we naturally gravitate towards companies that feel familiar, credible and established.

Familiarity doesn’t replace technical excellence. It simply gives it the opportunity to be considered.

It’s about the long game

One of the biggest misconceptions is that B2B marketing’s job is simply to generate leads.

It is, but that’s only part of the story. Its bigger role is ensuring that when a need eventually arises, your business is already one of the names buyers recognise.

Which is why consistent visibility matters: not because every LinkedIn post or article will spark a flood of enquiries, but because every interaction builds familiarity.

Good marketing creates opportunities today and builds familiarity for tomorrow.

So why don’t more companies do it?

Because staying visible has traditionally been expensive in both time and resource.

We’re currently piloting a new model designed to help businesses build familiarity more consistently, at a level that previously demanded far more time and investment.

Who are you?

Almost 70 years on, the challenge captured by “The Man in the Chair” hasn’t gone away.

“I don’t know who you are.”

If your marketing isn’t addressing that before your sales team gets involved, you’re relying on buyers taking a leap of faith. And most won’t.

You don’t have to be the best-known company in your market. But if you’re not known at all, you’ll rarely get the chance to prove you’re the best.

Do they know who you are?

If you’re not sure your business has the visibility it deserves, let’s talk.