Liza Adams

Hello go-to-market leaders, strategists, and innovators! 👋 Thank you for dropping by to learn practical AI applications and gain strategic insights to help you grow your business and elevate your team’s strategic value.

Quick Take

Every brand wants trust. Now we can measure what it’s worth: 5× lower acquisition costs, 50% higher retention, 20% premium pricing. But a big change is that AI evaluates your brand before humans do.

Let me share a recent experience that shows why this matters. When I received an invitation to be listed in a business directory, I didn’t schedule calls or review materials. I simply asked AI about the organization. Within seconds, the AI response showed concerning patterns in their business practices. Decision made, before they could even make their pitch.

This is B2B buying in 2024. The value of a strong brand is no longer just measurable, it’s immediate.

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For those who prefer to consume information through audio, I’ve used Google’s NotebookLM to transform this newsletter into a short podcast episode, featuring a natural conversation between two AI hosts. You can listen to the podcast here.

Disclaimer: This podcast was generated by AI based on this written newsletter and reviewed by me to ensure ethical and responsible AI use. It’s designed to provide an efficient, more inclusive way to consume information.

The Real Impact of Brand Trust

“We need more brand awareness.”

“Our brand needs a refresh.”

“Brand building is important, but we can’t measure the ROI.”

Sound familiar? For years, marketing leaders have struggled to quantify the business value of brand investments. Board meetings and budget discussions often end with brand initiatives being viewed as a cost center rather than a value driver.

But what if we could measure it and show, in real numbers, how brand strength drives business value?

Amy Heidersbach, CMO of DHI Group Inc., has spent years proving that we can. Working with data from Harvard Business Review, McKinsey, Bain & Company, and other leading firms, she’s developed a framework that quantifies brand impact.

Our research, combining AI analysis of thousands of industry data points and market studies, validates these metrics across the B2B landscape. We’ve partnered to make this framework accessible through an interactive calculator.

“For too long, brand value has been treated as intangible – important, but impossible to measure. That’s a narrative we need to change.

The data is clear: strong brands drive measurable business outcomes. And in the AI era, these impacts are becoming even more pronounced and measurable.

What used to take months or years to demonstrate can now be seen more quickly through AI’s lens.”

Here’s what the numbers tell us for a sample SaaS company targeting the mid-market segment. See the demo below:

1. Customer Acquisition Becomes Dramatically More Efficient

Strong brands can experience up to 5× lower CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost). If you’re currently spending $1,000 per new customer, that’s an $800 savings each time. With your current user base of 100,000 monthly active users, applying this to just 10% of new acquisitions could mean $800,000 in lower acquisition costs annually.

2. Retention and Loyalty Create Compounding Value

Strong brands see 50% higher retention. With your current 85% retention rate and 10,000 premium users paying $100/month, improving retention could generate over $5.1 million in additional retained revenue over the course of the year. Plus, loyal customers are 4× more likely to refer others, with potential referral revenue from premium users who convert at your 10% rate.

3. Pricing Power Gives You More Options

Strong brands can often charge up to 20% more for their services. With your 10,000 premium users paying $100 per month, that extra 20% can translate to $2.4 million in additional annual revenue through premium pricing power alone.

The revenue impact is just the start. Strong brands also:

• Drive 2x higher conversion rates (with top B2B companies achieving up to 11.7% conversion rates)

• Contribute 20-30% of company market valuation (as seen across S&P 500 companies)

• Reduce talent acquisition costs by 43% while improving employee retention by 28%

The SaaS Multiplier Effect kicks in when customers trust you. They spend 25-40% more on additional features, creating a virtuous cycle where user growth leads to exponential value creation.

Want to calculate these numbers for your business? Try our calculator.

I created this calculator with AI (Claude Pro Sonnet 3.5), using simple instructions and no code (Yes, this engineer, many decades ago, turned GTM leader can’t code 😉).

In using the calculator, note that the results represent potential improvements if each brand impact is realized fully. In practice, results may overlap, and brand gains tend to build over time rather than immediately. Use these results as a guideline for possible outcomes, not a guaranteed one-year forecast.

To Amy’s point, the time to lean in on brand is now. The numbers above show the baseline value of a strong brand. But here’s what’s exciting: AI amplifies and accelerates all these KPIs. Let me show you how.

How AI Changes Everything

Yesterday, companies controlled their story through marketing and sales. They built their brand one meeting at a time. Today, AI evaluates your company before any interaction starts. 

Sure, people should verify what AI tells them. But let’s be honest: how many actually do? It’s like Google search results – we know there’s more beyond page one, but we rarely look. When AI gives an answer about your company, that often becomes the only answer most people see.

Here’s what we’re seeing:

• Speed of Impact. I asked AI about a business directory invitation. Within seconds, it showed poor BBB ratings and concerning business practices. Decision made. No calls needed. This happens thousands of times daily across B2B buyers. See my entire conversation with AI.

• Trust at Scale. While checking board game reviews at Target, I watched AI instantly verify trust signals. If buyers expect this level of verification for $30 games, imagine their expectations for six-figure B2B software contracts. Here’s the AI exchange.

• Earlier Influence. Universities now get evaluated through AI before the first campus visit. The same happens in B2B. Your brand opens or closes doors before your sales team knows about the opportunity. See my full collaboration with AI.

AI is an amplifier. It takes your brand’s existing signals, good or bad, and multiplies their impact. Strong brands see their advantages compound faster. Weak brands find their challenges exposed more quickly.

Godard Abel, CEO of G2, sees how this shift transforms business growth.

“Companies can no longer rely on traditional marketing messages and sales conversations to build brand and trust.

Your prospects now use AI LLMs to synthesize all information about your company in real time: website content, educational resources, customer reviews, social media discussions, employee feedback, and community engagement.

Market leaders aren’t just telling a great story. They’re focusing on creating amazing customer experiences that those customers share with the world across digital channels. That authentic customer feedback loop is what drives growth in today’s market.”

In the end, AI creates a faster path to either success or failure.

The AI Multiplier Effect

Here are three ways AI changes the speed and scale of brand impact:

• Customer Acquisition flips completely. AI recommendations put you on shortlists before competitors know about the opportunity. The typical 5x savings in acquisition costs is just the start. Your prospects now come pre-qualified, asking about solutions instead of credentials.

• Sales Velocity jumps forward. No more long cycles explaining who you are. Buyers arrive having seen your customer success stories and industry validation. The conversation starts at “how can we work together?” instead of “why should we trust you?”

• Revenue Impact compounds naturally. Strong brands command 20% higher prices because buyers see proof before discussing cost. Your customer success stories and validated outcomes show up in every AI search. Customers buy more features because they start with trust, not skepticism.

Where Do You Stand?

This new reality means you need to know exactly where your brand stands. Here’s a simple way to think about it:

The matrix shows four possible positions. Each one means something different in the AI era:

• Market Leaders combine high trust with strong product-market fit. AI shows their credibility and customer success stories automatically. They don’t just stay ahead. They pull further ahead.

• Hidden Gems have great products but low trust signals. Even with strong offerings, they might not show up in AI recommendations. Their focus should be building trust markers that both AI and humans can verify.

• Missed Opportunities have strong brand trust but haven’t aligned their product value. Their good reputation buys them time to improve, but they need to move fast. AI increasingly exposes the gap between brand perception and product reality.

• Danger Zone companies face tough choices. Low trust combined with poor product-market fit creates a compound problem as AI amplifies both weaknesses. They need to rebuild fundamentals before scaling.

Alexandra Gobbi, CMO of Veracode, understands how technology companies move between these positions.

“Getting product-market fit or building trust alone isn’t enough anymore. The most interesting shift I see is how quickly companies can move between these quadrants.

A startup with a great product but low trust can rapidly become a market leader by consistently proving their value. Meanwhile, established brands can’t coast on reputation – AI makes it clear when your product isn’t keeping up with market needs.

Success comes from treating trust and product excellence as one connected goal.”

Want to know where you really stand? Ask AI what the market thinks about your company. You’ll get an unfiltered view of your product-market fit and trust signals. The answers might surprise you, but they’ll show you exactly where you are on this matrix and what to fix first.

Making This Practical

1. First, know your numbers. Use our calculator to set your baseline metrics for price premiums, customer acquisition costs, and retention rates. You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

2. Next, see what AI says. Ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI assistants about your company. What key insights are shared? What strengths get highlighted? What concerns come up? This is what your prospects see when they research you.

3. Finally, build trust signals that AI can find and verify. Start with customer proof. Share success stories with real metrics, customer reviews that show specific value, and case studies with clear outcomes. These give AI concrete evidence of your impact.

Add expert validation to strengthen your position. This includes recognition from industry analysts, mentions in research reports, and recommendations from respected voices in your field. AI picks up these third-party endorsements and uses them to validate your claims.

Keep your digital presence strong and consistent. Create helpful content, engage with your community, and maintain a clear message across all platforms. This helps AI build a complete picture of your value.

Want to dive deeper into the data behind these insights? I’ve used AI (Gemini Advanced Deep Research) to analyze hundreds of industry reports, academic studies, and market data. Here’s the research report for your reference.

Also check out these practical guides on optimizing your AI search strategy (an important part of your overall brand trust equation):

• Beyond AI-Generated Content: A Guide to Standing Out When 50% of Web Traffic Disappears

• Make Your Brand Sourced and a Top Result in AI Search: Practical Strategies for Marketers

Note that in the AI era, your brand value isn’t just what you say it is. It’s what AI tells everyone else it is.

Looking Ahead

AI isn’t changing what makes a great brand. It’s changing how fast the world notices. Great products, happy customers, and genuine value still matter most. AI just makes sure everyone knows about it sooner.

Think of AI as your brand’s megaphone to the market. Build something worth talking about, and AI will spread the word. Create real value, and AI will help you prove it.

Your brand has always been valuable. AI just makes it worth more.

Instead of just asking how to show up in AI, maybe we should ask: Who do we want to be when AI tells our story?

What did you discover when you asked AI about your brand? What surprised you most? Let me know in the comments.

The Practical AI in Go-to-Market newsletter is designed to share practical learnings and insights in using AI responsibly for go-to-market strategy, product, brand, demand, content, and digital, and growth marketing. Subscribe today and let’s learn together on this AI journey!

For those who prefer more interactive learning, explore our applied AI workshops, designed to inspire teams with real-life use cases tailored to specific go-to-market functions.

Also check out this team transformation case study and step-by playbook of how we helped transform a lean GTM team into a human-AI powerhouse with human and AI teammates.

Or, if audio-visual content is your style, here are virtual and in-person speaking events where I’ve covered a variety of AI topics. I’ve also keynoted at many organization and corporate-wide events. Whether through the newsletter, multimedia content, or in-person events, I hope to connect with you soon.