Most B2B marketers obsess over the big brand stuff: major product launches, events, announcements, etc. That stuff matters, of course. But while you’re focused on those splashy moments, you might be neglecting your brand experience in small ways.
- The transactional email that lands like junk mail.
- The customer support call that feels robotic.
- The hiring process that feels disjointed and impersonal.
These details seem minor, but they make a big impact over time. And, frankly, they can be brand killers.
We recently welcomed Stephanie Bowker (Head of Marketing at Metaview) to our Best Story Wins podcast, where she shared insights from her time scaling brands at Gusto, Spendesk, and Metaview. Throughout our conversation, one theme kept surfacing: the brands that win don’t just nail the big moments; they obsess over the small ones that everyone else ignores.
If you want to build a brand that actually resonates (instead of one that just looks good in pitch decks), here’s what Stephanie has learned about making every detail count.
1. Brand failure happens in the details you ignore.
Stephanie says people tend to be very energetic behind big things like brand refreshes and out-of-home campaigns, but a lot of where brand falls through is in the small details.
The reality is harsh: you can spend months perfecting your brand campaign, but if someone calls your support line or gets a 404, that’s the frustrating experience they’ll remember. To them, that is your actual brand, not the polished version in your marketing materials.
Think about your own brand experience for a moment. What touchpoints might be lost opportunities (or actively turning people off)? Consider things like:
- Generic Autoresponders
- Boring CTAs
- Overly corporate job postings
- Outdated social bios
- Inconsistent team email signatures
- Basic onboarding directions
These items are so often overlooked, but they are the front-line touchpoints that can make a big difference.
Tip: Do a “small details” audit this quarter. Map out every touchpoint a customer has with your brand, from the first email confirmation to the final invoice, and ask: Does each moment feel intentional and on-brand, or does it feel like an afterthought?
2. Every touchpoint can be a delightful brand moment.
Stephanie points to Gusto as a masterclass in this approach: “We obsessed literally over every single customer touchpoint, making sure it was something delightful.” From their loader screen (a little piggy that walks) to the hold music (which they customized), they aimed to make every moment interesting and fun.
This isn’t about being cute for the sake of it. It’s about recognizing that every interaction shapes how people feel about your brand. Most companies treat these moments as operational necessities. The smart ones treat them as brand opportunities.
Even something as mundane as tax-related emails became a brand moment at Gusto. Stephanie says one of their key hires was a copywriter who made sure that every single email felt like something you wanted to receive, and not like something that just landed there by chance.
Tip: Pick three “boring” touchpoints in your customer journey this month. Challenge yourself to make each one memorable for the right reasons. Can you add personality to your error messages? Make your loading screens more engaging? Turn routine communications into moments of connection?
3. Internal alignment is the key to brand-building.
Here’s where most teams completely miss the boat: they think brand alignment happens through a Slack announcement and a PDF style guide. But Stephanie says she rigorously pursues internal alignment to make sure the team agrees on “who they are and who they are not.”
This involves consistent auditing of core brand elements. What do you want to shed? How do you want to evolve? How do you make sure everyone is excited and invested in being an evangelist for your brand?
Stephanie says if you don’t keep revisiting these elements and making sure people are on board, that’s when brands fall apart. Suddenly, you notice a breakdown everywhere.
- Your marketing feels off.
- Your sales team sounds unconvincing.
- Your product team builds features that don’t align with your brand promise.
Doing that internal work is actually more challenging than maintaining brand integrity in external-facing content. But it is the key to longevity.
Tip: The way you talk about your brand internally can influence the way people respond. Treat your next internal brand presentation like you would a customer-facing campaign. Make it compelling, memorable, and worth talking about. Use stories, not bullet points. Show impact, not just guidelines. Make people want to be part of what you’re building.
4. Small details create lasting differentiation.
When every B2B company starts to look and sound the same (and let’s be honest, many do), the details become your competitive advantage. They’re the things that make people say, “This company just gets it.”
“Getting uncomfortably close with customers” is Stephanie’s secret to success at every company. It’s not enough to know what your customers want from your product; you need to know how they want to feel when they interact with your brand at every level. Creating a great brand experience through these small details builds something more valuable than awareness or even preference. It builds loyalty. People don’t just buy from brands that pay attention to the details; they become advocates for them.
Tip: Start documenting the small moments that make customers smile, and the ones that make them frustrated. Create a system for capturing these insights and turning them into improvements. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s intentionality.
How to Make Small Details Your Brand Advantage
The brands that stand out don’t leave their customer experience to chance. They design every moment with the same care they put into their marketing campaigns. Here’s how to start:
- Map the real journey. Go beyond your ideal customer journey and document what actually happens, including the boring, frustrating, and forgettable moments. (Use our customer journey template to do this.)
- Assign ownership. Make sure someone on your team is specifically responsible for the brand experience at each touchpoint.
- Start small, but start now. You don’t need to overhaul everything at once. Pick one small detail each month and make it better.
- Measure what matters. Track not just completion rates, but satisfaction and emotional response at each touchpoint.
The best part about focusing on details? Your competitors probably aren’t. While they’re chasing the next big campaign, you can be building a brand that people actually love to interact with—one small moment at a time.
Want to hear more about building brands that resonate at every level? Check out our full conversation with Stephanie Bowker on the Best Story Wins podcast, where she shares more insights about community building, AI positioning, and why the fundamentals never go out of style.
