Inside day-1 shortlists: What B2B brands often miss
Why half of B2B companies are fighting for deals they've already lost.
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In our recent State of B2B SaaS Brand Marketing report, we used Wynter to survey 100 marketing leaders in B2B SaaS companies with $50M+ in revenue to find out how brand impacts shortlist decisions, and why most aren’t tracking it.
The stat that changes everything: 92% of B2B buyers only purchase from their day-1 shortlist.
By the time they reach out for demos or contact your sales team, the vendor selection is essentially complete and the shortlist is set in stone.
We discovered half of companies don't even track whether they're making these shortlists. They’re competing without knowing if they’re in the race.
This disconnect between what we know matters (being on the shortlist) and what we actually do (not measuring it) is one of the most common gaps in B2B marketing today.
The research reveals three distinct camps when it comes to understanding this critical dynamic:
The teams who get it (32%): These teams organize their entire strategy around getting on buyers' initial shortlists.
One CMO put it bluntly:
"If we're not landing on every single RFP shortlist, we fail."
Another marketing leader from this group explained:
"Day-1 vendor short list is critical as customers do 60+ % of research before ever talking to the company so being on the short list to be considered is very important."
One respondent shared their entire ROI framework:
"This is literally how our marketing ROI is now justified --- 'brand lifts → more RFP invites → more opportunities.'"
They've connected the dots between brand awareness and pipeline in a way their CFO understands.
The teams who ignore it (10%): These companies have never even discussed the day-1 shortlist concept.
The responses are stark in their simplicity:
"We are not talking about this at all. We know it is important… This is not part of a brand strategy discussion."
They know it's important, but it's not part of brand strategy. Then what exactly is brand strategy for?
"Never heard of 'day-1 vendor shortlist' here, so it's not discussed."
Running B2B marketing without discussing whether buyers consider you from day one means you're operating without the most crucial feedback loop. All that effort, all that spend, but no clarity on whether you're even in the game when it matters most.
Same goal, different language (10%): They get it but call it something else. "Mental availability," "thought leadership," "top-of-mind signals." Different words, same reality - you need to exist in buyers' minds before they start shopping.
One marketer explained:
"We discuss brand as mental availability: 'Are we the first name that comes to mind when someone Googles our space?'"
Another framed it differently:
"We've never called it 'brand' it's always 'thought leadership' for us. But the conversation is the same. We need to lead with ideas so prospects know our name before they know our product."
The buying process has fundamentally changed. B2B buyers are researching more intensely and showing up for demos well-informed. The majority of their time is spent researching independently, reading reviews, asking peers, and yes - building their shortlists.
By the time they reach out, they're not looking to discover options. They're looking to validate decisions they've already half-made.
This creates a brutal reality: if you're not already known when the buying process starts, it's much harder to compete.
This marketing leader summed it up perfectly:
"Being on the 'day-1 vendor shortlist' means buyers think of you first, before they first identify a problem, before they start researching options. We discuss it as the ultimate brand goal --- being the automatic first call for a solution. It's about mental availability, not discoverability."
That last line deserves repeating: It's about mental availability, not discoverability. In a category full of information overload, being findable isn't enough. You need to be remembered.
Here's where it gets worse. We found that 52% of B2B companies don't measure brand impact at all. Not poorly, not occasionally. They simply don't track whether their brand exists in buyers' minds.
Another 33% rely solely on share-of-search metrics - essentially using Google Trends as their brand tracking tool. While directionally useful, share-of-search tells you what people are searching for, not whether they'd actually consider buying from you.
One respondent noted:
"Even share of search does not directly track to revenue or pipeline."
Only 13% run actual brand tracking surveys to understand consideration, preference, and purchase intent. These companies know exactly where they stand in buyers' minds. The other 87%? They're guessing.
The measurement breakdown by company size reveals interesting patterns:
This measurement gap creates a vicious cycle:
One marketing leader captured the frustration perfectly:
"It's hard to track, we likely know it works but hard to prove."
They know brand matters. They just can't prove it with the certainty their CFO demands. The barriers to measurement compound the problem:
For companies between 50-500 employees, it's even worse - they average 1.34 barriers versus everyone else's one or less. They're stuck in the middle: some budget but not enough, some tools but they don't connect, some support but not full buy-in.
The companies succeeding with brand measurement share some key behaviors:
They track the right metrics: Not just awareness, but also consideration set inclusion.
They connect brand to business outcomes: These teams track RFP invites religiously. It's not perfect attribution, but it's pipeline-connected attribution that CFOs understand.
They measure consistently: The winning companies run brand tracking every 6-12 months, not just when convenient. This lets them spot trends, prove progress, and course-correct quickly. As the research shows, only 14% track 2+ times per year, but these companies have dramatically better insight into their market position.
They ask the right questions: During win/loss analysis, they always ask: "Were we on your initial shortlist?" This simple question reveals whether brand or sales made the difference.
They accept imperfection: These companies have made peace with the fact that brand measurement will never be as clean as performance marketing metrics. As one leader noted, they "measure what they can, acknowledge what they can't, and invest anyway."
The research revealed another critical factor: who owns brand determines its success. The breakdown is telling:
When brand is nobody's primary job - which is true for 93% of companies - it becomes everyone's afterthought. The 7% with dedicated brand teams report better measurement, clearer strategy, and more consistent execution. Not because they're smarter, but because someone is dedicated to thinking about brand and actually acting on it.
If you're in the 52% flying blind on brand measurement, here's how to start:
"It actually does not come into conversation. It's not being discussed, but now I am going to bring it up."
The data is clear: 92% of buyers purchase from their day-one shortlist. Yet most B2B companies operate without knowing if they're on it. They're optimizing sales processes for deals they've already lost and they're spending valuable time perfecting their pitch for buyers who've already chosen someone else.
The companies that understand the importance of brand marketing and tracking are pulling ahead. They're measuring what matters, investing with confidence, and earning their spot on day-1 shortlists. They're making decisions and building their brand while others are still stuck in debate mode.
In B2B, where 92% of decisions are made before you even know there's a decision to be made, you can't afford to leave brand to chance.
The question is whether you can afford not to invest in brand. Because every day you're not building brand awareness and consideration, your competitors are. And when the next buyer starts building their shortlist, whose name do you think they'll remember?
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