Creative and innovative thinking often starts with questioning the norm. In the B2B marketing world, there are a few tried and true rules — focus on the buyer, invest in lead generation, and use differentiated product copy to attract and convert customers.  

Haley Pierce, Marketing Engagement Lead at Linkedin’s B2B Institute, argues that B2B marketers who dare to break the rules are more likely to outperform their competitors. 

During her talk at Vimeo’s annual Outside The Frame event, Haley shares a few contrarian ideas to help marketers expand their perspective and rethink conventional B2B thinking for better results.

4 B2B marketing ideas to outperform your competition

Haley says these four ideas can make a huge difference to your marketing and revenue. 

1. The 95-5 rule

In the world of brand advertising, the 95-5 rule refers to the 95% of out-market category buyers who aren’t ready to make a purchase and the 5% of in-market category buyers who are ready to make a purchase.

Because of this breakdown, advertising often reaches people who aren’t ready to buy today. To create more demand, marketers should use brand advertising to prime buyers who aren’t in the market now, so that when they do enter the market, they see you as an established brand that can fulfill their needs.

“The best ads don’t wear out, they wear in. They stay with us for long periods of time, building memories that have the power to influence us years later.”
Haley Pierce, Marketing Engagement Lead, The B2B Institute at LinkedIn

2. Situational awareness

People tend to remember certain brands over others depending on the situations that they find themselves in when they are in the market to purchase. In order to be more memorable, your brand should be linked by association to key buying situations.

This means that you need to be very careful when measuring situations. Link your brand to as many relevant buying situations as possible. Remember that it’s never about what buyers think of your brand but when they think of it. 

“People remember great ads. But the interesting nuance is that memories rarely exist independent of situations because memories are inherently situational.”
Haley Pierce, Marketing Engagement Lead, The B2B Institute at LinkedIn

3. The product delusion

Most B2B ads we see are attribute-based and are focused solely on emphasizing successful outcomes. This is known as product delusion and doesn’t always work. In most cases, the best product does not have the most sophisticated attributes. Instead, the best product is the one the customer already knows. 

This is why brand marketing is so important — familiarity sells. So, having a distinct and memorable brand is already half the battle. 

“Because B2B buyers are risk averse, they usually go for the brand they trust and already know.”
Jann Martin Schwartz, Founder and Head of The B2B Institute at LinkedIn

4. Reach maximalism

It’s more profitable to reach 1 million people once than to reach 500,000 people twice. For a B2B brand, this is even more effective because excessive advertising takes a toll on the effectiveness of the message. 

You should adopt a reach maximalist approach to your media strategy and focus on reaching as many category buyers as possible. 

Break the B2B rules and sell more

Haley believes that going against the B2B marketing norm will help you improve your marketing strategy and increase sales. 

The key takeaway is to focus on advertising your brand to the future buyer who has yet to decide. This way, when they are ready to buy, you will be the brand they want to buy from. 



For more insight on B2B marketing, watch the other Outside the Frame sessions →