?? Here’s a startling statistic.

Photo by Nathan Bingle on Unsplash.

The following is an excellent post by Alex Moscow, which is very thought-provoking.

We spend so much of our time, energy and budget trying to convince our target market that we have the definitive product, service, or solution to their problems where, if I understand Brand Marketing correctly, it's about showing we are great people to work with.

My mantra is Don't tell me what you do, tell me what you have done for others.

Perhaps I should now add. 'And look what they are saying about us? Written from the perspective of what was the problem and what was the quantifiable result.

Have I got it wrong? What do you think??

According to research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, only 5% of B2B buyers are active at any one time.

That’s huge.

If true, it means all the money that's pumped into bottom-of-the-funnel activities like lead generation engages only a tiny portion of your target market.

Okay, so what's the problem?

Well, according to LinkedIn, B2B brands commit around 90% of their budgets to tactics targeting short-term lead generation.

That's 90% to target 5% of the market.

That’s not to say you should abandon these activities.

Far from it!?

In real terms, it means:

1. The sales cycle begins long before you make first contact with an active buyer.

2. You need a mix of activities that target both active and inactive buyers.

According to?Peter Weinberg?and?Jon Lombardo, heads of research and development at the B2B Institue, the answer is brand marketing.

In an article for Marketing Week, they say the shift to brand will benefit business since it:

1. Increases long and short-term sales

2. Improves pricing power

3. Reduces talent acquisition and retention costs

4. Unlocks growth in new categories

This is going to be one hell of a flip, as brand marketing concentrates on the top of the funnel, not the bottom.

Rather than short-term quick-win tactics, it's about building awareness and nurturing relationships consistently over the long term.

Something we PR people, content marketers, and event organisers know something about.

To go deeper, here is the link to an excellent article.

https://www.marketingweek.com/b2b-flippening-brand-marketing/

#brandmarketing?#content?#sales