Day 12: The B2B Loop

The quiet power of B2B distribution loops.

Hi everyone, welcome to Day 12 of 30 Days of Distribution.

Do loops really work in B2B? Let’s talk about it.

Hi, everyone — welcome to Day 12!

Today’s one is inspired by a really thoughtful comment I got from Blessing on yesterday’s episode. She asked, “Loops make sense for B2C, but how about B2B products? Do loops really work there?”

First, shout-out to Blessing, that’s a fantastic question. And by the way, as I mentioned earlier, feel free to leave comments or replies; I’ll likely use them as prompts for future days like this one.

Now, before diving in, let me confess my bias; I naturally lean toward B2C. It’s not because it’s easier (in fact, it can be much harder), but because I find the chaos of human behavior fascinating. B2C deals with people, and people are wild. They change. They’re unpredictable. And that makes the game more fun for me.

However, I must admit that loops do work in B2B. They just look a bit different. They’re slower, more structured, and often built around workflow, collaboration, and trust.

But let’s talk about B2B loops, because they absolutely exist, and when they’re well-built, they’re incredibly powerful.

A perfect example is Slack. It’s one of my favourite case studies for B2B distribution loops. Here’s what happens: one person in a company decides to use Slack for their team. They love it. Then, when they move to a new company, guess what they do? They recommend Slack again. It spreads internally (because Slack depends on teams inviting teammates), and then it spreads externally as those teammates move to other companies; they bring Slack with them. That’s a loop. A self-reinforcing system where usage in one organisation triggers adoption in another.

Figma works in a similar way. A designer invites a client or a developer to collaborate on a project, and before long, that external person starts to experience the Figma magic. Maybe they’re from another company. Maybe they’re managing another team. Either way, they eventually adopt Figma themselves. That’s how the product quietly hops across company boundaries through collaboration.

Even Zoho does this beautifully. Think of how many people first encounter Zoho because someone sent them a Zoho Meeting link. You click it, you join the call, you’re prompted to download the app, and next thing you know, you’re like, “Oh, they also do CRM? Email? Webinars?” That one experience introduces you to an entire product ecosystem. Again, loop.

That’s really the heart of B2B loops: collaboration and exposure. When your product connects two or more organizations, it has the natural opportunity to travel. Slack connects internal teams and external clients. Figma connects designers and stakeholders. Zoho connects hosts and guests. Each connection becomes a potential new customer pathway.

You can even see this in marketplaces like Fiverr or Upwork, where businesses hire other businesses. A small agency might start as a freelancer, deliver services to clients, and then those clients later onboard their own teams onto the platform. That’s a B2B loop happening through transactions.

Or consider Sabi, a B2B marketplace that enables small businesses to trade with one another. Every time one business succeeds, another is drawn into the ecosystem. One transaction leads to another. The growth is built into the design.

But here’s the thing that ties it all together: experience. Whether B2C or B2B, your distribution loop only works if it is baked into the experience, not “forced” acquisition or activation.

In B2B, you typically have two key user groups: the individuals who use the product on a day-to-day basis, and the decision-makers who approve or purchase it. If the experience doesn’t work for both, your loop breaks.

The best B2B tools, including Slack, Figma, Notion, Zoho, and even HR platforms like paidhr, all understand this. They design for collaboration, making the experience delightful for everyone involved.

Because when experience is excellent, distribution becomes effortless.