Extinct Tactics: What Modern B2B Brands Should Leave Behind
In honor of Pride Month, let’s talk about what needs to evolve.
For the past several years, B2B marketing has been obsessed with performance. Attribution. Conversion. Lead gen. If it couldn’t be tracked in a dashboard, it didn’t make the budget. But in the race for measurable outcomes, something got left behind: the brand.
Now, we’re seeing a shift. A quiet but powerful resurgence of brand awareness as a key growth driver—especially for startups and scaling companies that can’t afford to blend in. Because performance can get you seen, but brand is what makes people care.
And that’s where inclusion comes in.
If your brand still looks like it’s stuck in the prehistoric era—uniform headshots, predictable personas, tone-deaf messaging—it’s time for an evolution. Not just for Pride Month, but for the long-term health of your brand.
Let’s take a look at a few extinct tactics that modern B2B brands should leave behind—and what to replace them with.
Outdated: Stock imagery that doesn’t reflect your audience
Evolved: Visuals that signal inclusion, not exclusion
We’ve all seen them. The classic “business team” shot with a suspicious lack of diversity. Or worse—rainbow-colored versions of your logo once a year. In B2B, your visuals are your first impression. They should reflect the people you want to reach, not a sanitized version of what “professional” has looked like in the past.
If your audience spans generations, identities, and lived experiences, your imagery should too. Not for show—but to reflect the real world and create real connection.
Outdated: Gendered language and binary personas
Evolved: Language that respects complexity
You’re not selling to “working moms” or “IT guys.” You’re solving problems for people. Yet so much B2B messaging still relies on old-school archetypes that reduce humans to tired tropes.
Updating your personas—and the copy that supports them—isn’t just inclusive, it’s strategic. Because relevance drives resonance. And nothing kills resonance faster than making someone feel invisible.
Outdated: Treating brand as a soft metric
Evolved: Investing in brand to fuel long-term growth
This one’s big. For years, brand awareness was treated like a nice-to-have. Now? It’s a differentiator.
With crowded markets, longer sales cycles, and a growing distrust of traditional advertising, B2B buyers are turning to brands they recognize, relate to, and respect. And building that kind of brand doesn’t come from paid ads alone. It comes from consistency, values, visibility—and yes, inclusion.
When you build a brand that reflects the full spectrum of the people you serve, you’re not being political. You’re being smart.
Outdated: One-month allyship
Evolved: Year-round, inside-out inclusion
Performative support is easy to spot. A rainbow post in June with no follow-through. A DEI statement that doesn’t reflect the internal culture. Today’s buyers and employees alike are looking for authenticity. That means embedding inclusion into how you hire, how you show up, and how you market—every month of the year.
The Bottom Line
We’re not in the Stone Age of B2B marketing anymore. Buyers are more diverse, more discerning, and more values-driven than ever. If your brand is still relying on extinct tactics, it’s time to evolve.
Inclusion isn’t just a social checkbox. It’s a strategic advantage. And in an era where brand awareness is making a comeback, showing up as a brand that sees people—all people—is more powerful than ever.
Let Pride Month be your reminder: brands that evolve win.
