Modern B2B Marketing - What the reports say

In a bid to brush up on my B2B smarts I've dug into a few of the most cited and most respected reports about B2B marketing, explicitly selecting those which seek to understand the buyer perspective. This is my summary, peppered with a few of what I believe to be the clear tenets of high quality advertising and media.

Reports used:

• The 6sense B2B Buyer Experience Report - https://6sense.com/science-of-b2b/2024-buyer-experience-report/
• The Gartner B2B Buying Report - https://www.gartner.com/en/sales/insights/b2b-buying-journey
• The Forrester State of Business Buying - https://www.forrester.com/report/the-state-of-business-buying-2023/RES179899

Buyers don't care, until they care.

Here’s the brutal truth: most of the time, your buyers couldn’t care less about you. They’re not on the edge of their seats, salivating over your latest whitepaper or bookmarking your latest blog post. As John Dawes reminds us with his not-quite-a-rule-but-still-spot-on 95% rule, the vast majority of B2B buyers aren’t in market right now. They’re off doing other things, blissfully unaware of your marketing heroics.

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But here’s the kicker: that other 5%? They’re only going to call someone they’ve heard of. And when they finally do, the first vendor they speak to is the one they usually go with (6sense reckons 84% of deals start this way). So, what’s a marketer to do? The answer isn’t new, sexy, or complicated: you have to make your business impossible to ignore before anyone’s in-market. And no, a couple of PPC campaigns won’t cut it.

Why Should You Care?

The reports agree, buyers are savvy, more independent, and, proud than ever. They’re 70% of the way through their decision-making process before they even think about talking to you. They’re swamped by information, dragged down by endless internal debates, and paralysed by too many choices. And all the while, you’re sitting there, desperately hoping they’ll pick up the phone.

Spoiler: they won’t, unless you’ve already planted a little seed in their minds. Dawes’ 95% rule tells us that the way to win is to build “mental availability” – making your brand the obvious, go-to choice when buyers finally decide they need what you’re selling.

What Does That Mean for Marketers?

It means you’ve got to stop thinking short-term. Sure, precise targeting, fancy CRM dashboards, and intent data are all brilliant – for the 5% who are in-market. But if you’re not investing in long-term brand-building, the other 95% won't consider you. Worse, if the 5% shrink, your pipeline will dry up faster than you can say “Q4 targets.”

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And let’s be clear: building a brand in B2B isn’t about plastering your logo on a few LinkedIn posts. It’s about telling a story so compelling, so ubiquitous, that your buyers couldn’t escape it if they tried. Dawes calls it “mental availability.” Forrester calls it “early influence.” Gartner calls it “buyer enablement.” Whatever you call it, it’s about creating trust and familiarity over time, not just shoving features in people’s faces when you think they’re ready.

What Can You Do Now?

Once you have got over the fact that no-one cares about your brand you need to work out how you lure them in through things that they DO care about. Here'a few quick pointers for inspiration

1. Create a Story Worth Repeating Forget buzzwords and product specs. Focus on the problem you solve and the value you deliver. Make it memorable, relatable, and impossible to ignore.
2. Be generous. Give away a wealth of your insights and opinion. Be useful to buyers at no cost to them. Buyers spend 17% of their journey talking to suppliers. Much of the rest is spent online. Make your website a treasure trove of tools, guides, and case studies. Be the company that helps, not hassles. Let your generosity act as a lure to the bigger fish you’ve got to fry.
3. Invest in Above-the-Line Media Yes, it costs more upfront. But targeted ATL campaigns – TV, digital video, and high-impact display – reach those 95% of buyers who aren’t searching for you. When they are ready, they’ll remember who you are.

The Bottom Line

B2B marketing isn’t about shouting louder; it’s about showing up, over and over, with a message that sticks. Build your brand for the 95% who aren’t buying today, and you’ll win the 5% who are ready tomorrow. Because when your buyers finally care, they’ll call the brand they already know. Make sure it’s yours.