The Science of Buyability: Closing the confidence gap in B2B - how FOMU is shaping the buyer’s journey

“The fear of messing up outweighs the fear of missing out,” he says, in the first episode of The Science of Buyability video series from The Drum, in association with Linkedin, launching this week. “People don’t make B2B decisions as individuals, they make them as tribes. Each member is putting their own political capital on the line when they say yes.”

That line – fear of messing up – has become the unofficial truth behind a new era of B2B thinking. Because in complex buying environments, the stakes are high and reputations are fragile. It’s not just about choosing the right partner; it’s about avoiding the wrong one.

Safety first

Mimi Turner, head of marketplace innovation at LinkedIn’s B2B Institute, calls this the “safety effect.” In a world where no one gets fired for buying IBM, emotional security still drives business confidence. “Being considered isn’t enough,” she says. “Being buyable is – because when a buyer gets close to saying yes, they’re looking for reassurance from people like them. Relatability and validation become the biggest purchase triggers.”

It’s an insight backed by LinkedIn’s multi-year Buyability research project, which found that a brand’s ability to inspire confidence is a stronger growth predictor than its awareness alone. Marketers, Turner argues, should spend less time shouting about innovation and more time showing stability. “People are craving safety,” she adds. “Brands that can position themselves as that safe, trusted space are the ones that get chosen.”

Hidden buyers

But fear doesn’t just shape what buyers feel, it shapes who the buyers even are. According to Cleghorn, half the influence in major B2B decisions comes from people you’ll never meet: finance, legal, procurement. “These hidden buyers rely more on reputation and trust than on product features,” he explains. “They’re managing risk. And that makes brand confidence, not campaign performance, the deciding factor.”

It’s why marketing that only speaks to surface-level prospects misses the moment when it really matters – when the room is full of unseen decision-makers who simply want to feel that the choice is safe.

Fear to confidence

For Toni Clayton-Hine, chief marketing officer at EY Americas, this is where marketing earns its credibility inside the business – translating what clients fear or value into strategies that shape how sales and product teams show up. “We’re always listening to clients in the market – that’s the data feed we bring back to the business,” she says. “Here’s what we’re hearing, here’s what the opportunities and threats are, and here’s how we can support that.”

Marketers, in other words, can’t eliminate fear but they can design for confidence. That means clarity over complexity, consistency over volume, and proof over promise. Confidence closes the deal and brand creates confidence.

B2B brands grow when they make people feel secure enough to say yes. The confidence gap – the distance between consideration and commitment – is the new battleground. For marketers, closing it will mean shifting from persuasion to reassurance, from performance metrics to emotional ones.

Fear might still shape the buyer’s journey, but confidence decides where it ends.

Explore more in episode one of The Science of Buyability video series, in association with Linkedin, exploring The Collective Confidence Factor.