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When Trust Beats Performance: Why Legacy Brands Still Win RFPs
What challenger brands need to understand and act on, now
You’ve built the better product. Your platform outpaces the competition in speed, features, and cost efficiency. You’ve nailed your messaging, polished the demo, and even made the final shortlist. But when the RFP closes, the buyer goes with a legacy provider—again.
It’s not just frustrating. It’s strategic.
In today’s B2B buying landscape, trust often outperforms innovation. And that has major implications for marketers trying to position challenger brands in highly competitive spaces like fintech, accounting software, or compliance automation.
According to a 2024 Forrester study, 74% of enterprise buyers say they’re more likely to select a vendor they already know or have seen consistently—even if a competitor offers superior functionality. Why? Because in high-stakes environments like finance and treasury, reliability equals risk reduction.
It’s not just about what your product does. It’s about how safe it feels to buy.
Why this matters now
As transformation budgets return, CFOs and finance leaders are investing—but cautiously. There’s pressure to modernise without missteps, to innovate without disruption. That means B2B buyers are making decisions through a very specific lens:
Can this vendor prove resilience, not just performance?
Have I seen them in the places I trust?
Will choosing them feel credible to my team, my board, my clients?
That’s why legacy brands keep winning. Not necessarily because they’re better—but because they’re more familiar, more visible, and more vetted.
What B2B marketers need to shift
If you’re marketing a challenger brand, a niche product, or an emerging solution, your job isn’t just to stand out. It’s to make choosing you feel safe.
Here’s how:
Prioritise presence in trusted environments
Finance buyers don’t make decisions on landing pages—they make them while consuming insights from brands they trust. Being featured on platforms like Accountancy Age or The CFO not only increases exposure—it builds implicit validation.
Blend thought leadership with buyer-centric storytelling
Educational content beats sales decks. Native articles, co-branded guides, and solution explainers published within an editorial context outperform standalone campaigns. Help buyers see you through the lens of credibility, not novelty.
Anchor visibility to consistency
One-off ads don’t build trust. Consistent visibility in high-authority spaces compounds recognition and signals staying power—especially for mid-funnel buyers tracking trends and benchmarking solutions.
The Bottom Line
In an era of vendor overload, B2B buyers don’t just want performance—they want confidence. And confidence is built long before the RFP stage.
Legacy brands win because they’re visible in the places decision-makers trust. Challenger brands can win too—when they stop chasing clicks and start showing up with substance.
📥 Download the Media Pack for Accountancy Age and The CFO to see how we help B2B brands build buyer confidence through consistent editorial alignment.
💬 Or book a quick call to explore how we can turn your next campaign into a credibility engine.