Liquid Agency, a brand consulting and activation company, and Avasta, the profitable growth company, published the first installment of their Liquid x Avasta Challenger Index, B2B Products, in Q4 2023. The report analyzes brands in the categories of B2B AI, business intelligence, CRM, cybersecurity, database management and market automation to identify the top three brands in each category by market share—the incumbents—and the brands most likely to usurp them—challengers—based on actionable insights from buyers and other stakeholders.

Liquid Agency and Avasta co-developed this index to challenge conventional metrics of brand success and gain a clearer understanding of how end-buyers, decision-makers and power users perceive products and services in various categories. The index shifts focus toward a future outlook and introduces the concept of “brand momentum” as a predictor of future category leadership or potential decline. Through this unique approach, Liquid Agency and Avasta redefine business strategy through the lens of brand competitiveness.

Critical insights and emerging themes from the report include:

• Navigating niche markets and evolving beyond traditional metrics—Concepts like total addressable market (TAM) are no longer effective indicators of brand success, at least not on their own. Challengers are successful because they win with brand, not just product and by addressing underserved niches and specialized verticals that incumbents are not prioritizing.
• The complex dynamics of market encroachment and independent innovation— Incumbents in one category often expand their influence into adjacent categories, capturing market share across industry niches. However, as categories collapse into each other, challengers are positioned to redefine market norms and leadership paradigms through innovation.
• Profitability, buyer preferences and brand momentum—Achieving profitability is one of the most significant hurdles for challengers looking to overtake incumbents. Brand momentum is a better indicator of future financial performance than innovation or product leadership in isolation.
• The surprising drivers of B2B growth and purchase decisions—Product quality is not the only measure of market success. Buyers’ recognition of and trust in a brand is often more influential when it comes to purchasing behavior.

Ultimately, the brands best positioned to weather the storm within their categories and fend off threats from cross-industry giants are those committed to innovation and brand momentum. Liquid Agency and Avasta are long-standing, integrated partners that have helped countless brands build and leverage that momentum to maximize business outcomes. Avasta focuses on capturing the winnable addressable market (WAM), which aligns with Liquid Agency’s optimization of customer experience, employee experience and brand experience.

Liquid Agency and Avasta plan to release installments of the index regularly. The next report, B2C Products, is expected in early April 2024.

About Liquid Agency

Liquid Agency is a brand consulting and activation company born in 2001 in Silicon Valley and headquartered in San Jose, CA, with offices in Portland, OR; Dallas, TX; and Santiago, Chile. Check out Liquid Agency at www.liquidagency.com. Liquid Agency is also a founding member of the Myrious Group, an expertise-driven agency holding company transforming the way modern brands are being built with the power of orchestration. Learn more about Myrious Group at www.myrious.com.

About Avasta

Avasta is the profitable growth company, operating at the intersection of end customer insights, robust financial data analytics and management consulting. Avasta identifies clients’ highest-value strategic opportunities and how to achieve them through product, brand, marketing, sales and partner investments. Clients are able to objectively develop and enhance their strategies to realize business goals and maximize enterprise value. Learn more about Avasta at www.avasta.co.

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