The Invisible Gorilla of B2B Marketing: How to Focus Your Message and Value for Tech Customers

Have you seen the gorilla? 🦍😮

In 1999, Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris conducted the famous Invisible Gorilla experiment. Participants were asked to count passes in a short basketball video. In the middle of the clip, a person in a gorilla suit walked across the frame, beat their chest, and left.

The surprising result? About 50% of viewers didn’t notice it at all! 😮

Why does this happen? Because when our attention locks onto one thing, everything else disappears from our awareness, even when it’s right in front of our eyes.And it’s not an experiment about sight – it’s an experiment about perception.

🤫 And in the tech world?

At a tech company I worked with, we spent months developing an advanced and complex feature. We were sure this was the big story.But when we met customers, they got excited about a tiny, almost hidden feature that was quietly developed in no time.

Not because it was more brilliant, but because it solved a real problem for them.We were so focused on our pass count that we didn’t see their gorilla.

🎯 Customers only see what they’re looking forIn the B2B world, a customer approaches you to count a single pass:One problem, one need, one pain.

When you overwhelm them with ״we also do this and this and this״, a sea of capabilities and services creates impossible cognitive overload.

Instead of identifying the exact value that matters to them, they get lost in the noise.

👁️‍🗨️ So how do you help them see the gorilla?You always return to the three foundations:

✔️ Focus on the target audienceWho are you truly speaking to? What can they absolutely not afford to miss about you?

✔️ One core messageWhy you? Not what you do, but what will change for the customer because of you.

✔️ Real business valueTime savings, resource savings, risk reduction, revenue growth.

🦍 The gorilla becomes a strategyThis is the moment when the gorilla stops disappearing in the frame and becomes a competitive advantage.Inside the company, you can count your passes – but to the customer, you need to show the gorilla.

✨ And one small but critical tipAsk people who recommend you to describe what you do.And then be quiet. Just listen.

Don’t say ״no… that’s not exactly what I do״.They have a clear story about you – about successes, about value, about their experience as customers.That’s the story they pass on.And that’s exactly where your gorilla is hiding.