Have You Heard of the 95-5 Rule?

And why your B2B marketing strategy might be missing 95% of the market 

While walking the Printing United Show I was struck by how efficient the format is for people who are ‘in-market’. I think I can safely attest that the people, (buyers) who made the effort to attend, are the 5% of people classified as being ‘in-market’. That is why they are there. They need to buy something. They have a problem they need to solve or an opportunity they need to unlock by making the best possible investment. Sure, they may enjoy bumping into old friends, attending a networking event or maybe even a seminar, but the format works because buyers attend in large numbers to buy from sellers. Simple as that, and the show works well, continues to grow so must be a compelling ROI for both parties.

That’s cool for the 5% - what about the majority of the market? People do not visit when they don’t need to. How often do you go to the supermarket when you do not need to? What fun it is to use my valuable time in this way to see in person how the prices of Baked Beans go up and down. I must remember that for when I next come here to actually restock.

You will be out of the market 95% of the time but your profile is right, so you are still worth reaching for when you are back in- market!

These people are still the right kind of people for your products. They may not be in buying mode right now, but we cannot be in buying mode all the time.

So we should not ignore the 95 - but in our short-term, quarter-driven business world, maybe we all tend to.

Let’s assume we agree that B2B buying behaviour is now broadly the same as B2C. Research supports this, so check out this article

So if B2B is practically the same as B2C, then creating content, campaigns and advertising for the 95% is equally important. In fact, according to the research, best practice illustrates the majority of advertising budgets should be invested in reaching the 95, not the 5.

95-5 Rule LinkedIn B2B

According to LinkedIn, the basic premise is that 5% of people are in the market to buy at any time, so sales and marketing campaigns prioritise this segment. Hence the dominance of trade shows in print. But we should not ignore the rest because branding, thought leadership and advertising will still reach, and influence this 95%. In a recent LinkedIn study of B2B marketers, the findings were that 96% of B2B marketers expected to see the main effect of their ad campaigns within 2 weeks. This is an understandable human expectation. We are impatient, and the assumption is that cause and effect will be virtually instant. Action, Reaction. But this assumption is also not a realistic one. Business investments take time, and while B2B buying behaviour is now very similar to B2C, a printing machine is not a tin of baked beans! The investment level is greater, so the buying cycle is more infrequent. B2B is the opposite of FMCG in this sense.

Why is it slower?

For any business, strategic investments just do not happen that frequently. Until a problem, or an opportunity becomes ‘pressing’ there will be a period when the business will not enter into the 5% buying phase. The salesperson, no matter how persuasive and important they may think they are to the buying process, will simply not be able to convince a buyer to budge into buying mode, until the buyer decides that they want to because their need is so strong.

The time between purchases for many B2B goods and services is therefore quite long.

As Ty Heath who heads up B2B marketing on LinkedIn explains, “The problem with this marketing myth is that it leads marketers to believe the job of advertising and marketing is to move people “in-market.” But ads don’t move buyers “in-market.” Only buyers will move “in-market” – when they need a new product or service.”

The myth that marketing works by moving buyers "in-market" is most commonly expressed through the sales funnel. But ads don’t work by moving people down the funnel. Branding and ads work by reaching buyers who aren’t even in the funnel yet.”

Why?

Ty continues: “Because more often than not, the brand that is most easily remembered is the brand that gets bought. Your job as a marketer is to start linking your brand to relevant buying situations – also known as category entry points – well before buyers enter the market, so when buyers do enter the market, your brand is the one that comes to mind. And if they don’t know your brand when they enter the market, then it’s already too late.”

Why bother with the 95%?

This is why the 95-5 Rule advises you to advertise mostly to buyers who are not likely to buy from you today. But (sigh) tbh for anyone in a financially controlling kind of role, this will likely feel a bit wrong, particularly as most of us are inclined to restrict spending during slower periods and wait to see what happens. If ‘volatility’ is the pervasive background noise, then we need to buck the narrative and project into the future a more optimistic vision that can act as a beacon that will be remembered long after either this volatility subsides, or if/when it becomes normalised.

There are so many analogies that go far back in the annals of marketing that people buy products that they have a recall of, a level of trust for, and a desire to possess. While a person may not be in buying mode right now, volatility suggests that change can happen quickly, markets pick up and demand will come back online. Will your prospective customers be forming an orderly queue or will you have to start over building your funnel and playing catch up?

Ignore the 95% at your peril.

And place your funnel on its side :)