Following the crowd only leads to average results. To truly stand out, you need a contrarian approach. I recently attended a session with Ty Heath, Director and Co-founder of The B2B Institute, that provided a playbook for marketers ready to challenge conventional wisdom.
The focus was clear: build a winning brand long before your customer is ready to buy.
If you think marketing success begins when a buyer is actively "in the market," you're already behind. Learn how to implement strategies that build lasting brand memory and secure your place on your customer's "Day 1 List."
Actionable Insights for the Modern Marketer
Move beyond fleeting metrics like clicks, and start focusing on what drives long-term growth: memory. Shift your strategy to connect with the (typically) 95% of buyers who are currently "Out of Market" but represent your future revenue. Here’s how:
- Secure a Spot on the "Day 1 List": An astounding 92% of B2B buyers purchase from a brand in their initial consideration set. Your top priority should be making a strong impression long before the official buying journey begins. This is the most critical factor for success.
- Engage "Out of Market" Buyers: Stop focusing solely on traditional lead generation, which misses the largest segment of your audience. Start investing in brand-building and memory creation among the 95% of future buyers. This is how you will generate sustainable growth and create future cash flow.
- Measure Attention, Not Just Clicks: Clicks don't build brands; attention does. Measure what truly matters, like dwell time — the actual length of time a user spends engaging with your content on a screen — to determine if you are creating a memorable experience for your audience. A click doesn't equal a memory, so start optimizing for the latter.
- Break Free from the "Sea of Sameness": Are you indistinguishable from your competitors? Leverage distinctive brand assets to stand out. While logos and colors are standard, savvy marketers know that more dynamic assets often cut through the noise better. Consider using mascots, characters, or even your own executives as thought leaders to humanize your brand. This ensures your message is correctly attributed to you in a noisy marketplace, rather than getting lost in the crowd.
- Align Marketing and Sales for Real Impact: To achieve true alignment, marketing and sales need more than shared goals — they need a shared audience and a shared strategy. Identify and eliminate the "Circles of Doom." This concept refers to the dangerous disconnect where Marketing talks to one group (future buyers) and Sales talks to a completely different group (current buyers), with zero overlap. To drive a measurable lift in sales, you must create strategic overlap where both teams are engaging the same accounts simultaneously.
Are you ready to challenge the status quo and build a brand that lasts?
Dive into these data-backed insights and reshape your approach to B2B marketing.
