Be on the Day One List: Win Before Buyers Decide

McKinsey calls it the initial consideration set.

Ehrenberg-Bass describes it rather catchily as the set of memory-generated options.

We call it the day one list. 

What we’re talking about is being on that initial list when a buyer is thinking about buying something.

It’s universal, whether it is a business to business (B2B) decision or business to consumer (B2C) decision.

So, whether you’re selling tickets to a show, want someone to simply come and visit you free exhibition, selling clothes or a multi-million pound technology subscription, if you’re not in the initial list to be considered, what are your chances?

Not great.

For B2B, looking at Forrester’s latest research: 

68% of B2B buyers already have a front-runner vendor in mind at the very start of the purchase process.

AND that front-runner wins 80% of the time.

You need to be on the day one list.

For B2C, McKinsey found that brands in the initial consideration set can be up to three times more likely to be purchased than brands that are not on it.

You need to be on the day one list.

So how do you get on the day one list?

Let’s be blatant.  Advertising.  The kind of advertising a lot of marketers shy away from, because it’s hard to measure, doesn’t deliver instant gratification and may provoke disapproving comments from the CFO.

Being seen, delivering value through advertising without expecting an immediate conversion.  Answering the needs of your target audience, so when the need arises you are on the list. 

Being seen on socials, people talking positively about your brand (both B2B and B2C). User generated content, influencers consistently saying good things and demoing your brand.  Showing up in social search and social recommendations.

Being on TV, making a splash on a channel that now has phenomenal targeting capabilities and is surprisingly cost effective.

Being seen on the LLMs.  Chatty G, Gemini and Claude surfacing all of the great social content, the valuable and useful brand thought leadership pieces and all of the amazing digital PR work you are doing.

Because it’s all of this hard work, the long-term hard work, the harder to measure long term hard work, that will make the real difference.

When all of your competitors are desperate for short term gains, gains that are reliant on always spending money, why not zag to their zig and think of long term, compound interest?

Because even making it to the list, doesn’t get you over the line.

Something we talk a lot about at Altair is that most of the advertising we do, whether B2B or B2C is to get people to do something they don’t have to do. 

They may want to do it, but apathy, time, busyness and effort can all get in the way.

Someone may need to bring in a new tech platform to drive efficiency, but they’re going to need to get budget and get another 7 people involved in the decision and then go through onboarding and transition.  It’s hard.

Someone may really like to see that new exhibition, but they need to find the time.  Maybe they should get dinner somewhere first, but which restaurant and how much time to leave in between, “but aren’t we supposed to be going the Smith’s house that Saturday, has that been confirmed?”  Then life gets in the way. 

But being on the list from day 1 means you are vastly more likely to overcome these challenges.

Because 68% of B2B buyers already have a front-runner vendor in mind at the very start of the purchase process.

AND that front-runner wins 80% of the time.

And because brands in the initial consideration set can be up to three times more likely to be purchased than brands that are not on it.

You need to be on the day one list.