The 95% You're Ignoring Could Transform Your Lead Flow

Shift from keyword rankings to becoming Google's trusted source ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

June 19, 2025 |Read OnlineThe 95% You're Ignoring Could Transform Your Lead FlowChasing today's leads could be killing tomorrow’s growthTyler Morian🚀 Connect on LinkedIn💡 B2B Website InspirationStrategic B2B Marketing: The 95:5 RuleThe tension between brand building and performance marketing comes into focus with the "95:5 rule": only 5% of your B2B audience is in-market to buy right now. Are you spending too much chasing this tiny segment while ignoring the 95% who aren't ready yet?Focusing solely on lead generation targets the active 5%, but neglects building preference with the future buyers. Long-term growth requires investing in brand and thought leadership so when prospects are ready, you're their first call. This balanced approach needs a modern GTM strategy, usingcompetitive intelligenceand a well-defined revenue architecture, asGeorgiana Laudi advocates.BIG IDEA:Stop choosing between brand and performance. Build brand with the 95% not buying today to make converting the 5% buying tomorrow cheaper.WHY IT MATTERS:Over-investing in bottom-funnel tactics leads to diminishing returns. Engaging the out-of-market majority builds brand equity that lowers future acquisition costs.Kushan Shekharnotes for B2B, relevance trumps mere visibility, reinforcing the need for targeted content.Dipak P.observes many SaaS companies neglect basic channels like SEO, revealing an over-focus on paid performance.Measuring What Matters: Beyond Vanity MetricsIs your team celebrating MQL spikes while sales pipeline remains flat? You're tracking the wrong things. The B2B marketing conversation is moving beyond vanity metrics toward true business health indicators.Traditional metrics like MQLs create a false sense of security, showing activity without actual revenue progress. The shift is toward pipeline velocity, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, and net revenue retention. These directly connect marketing to the bottom line. Even metrics like NPS are being questioned byBrian Balfourif they can't tie to business outcomes. AWynter surveyfound 52% of B2B marketing leaders don't measure brand impact at all—revealing a gap between priorities and measurement.BIG IDEA:Stop reporting on activity and start reporting on impact. If a metric doesn't connect to pipeline, revenue, or retention, it's vanity.WHY IT MATTERS:Your team's focus determines results. Shifting from MQLs to revenue-aligned metrics connects marketing directly to business success and drives smarter decisions.Wynterresearch shows in 70% of B2B SaaS companies, the CMO/VP of Marketing owns brand measurement.Rania Alabsiemphasizes focusing on vanity metrics like impressions is a mistake; the real focus should be conversion rates and ROI.The Future of SaaS DistributionThe go-to-market playbooks that scaled SaaS over the last decade are breaking. According toBrian Balfour, we've entered an era where traditional channels like paid search and content marketing are saturated and yielding diminishing returns.The new playbook? Building proprietary distribution channels through partnerships, communities, or media arms.TK Kader notessimply "adding more fuel" to a single channel no longer works. Meanwhile,Jason Lemkin of SaaStrbelieves AI creates a new kind of moat, while platform fragmentation makes owning your distribution—rather than renting it—more critical than ever.BIG IDEA:The era of easy, scalable growth from a single distribution channel is over. The future lies in building a portfolio of proprietary channels you own.WHY IT MATTERS:Relying on Google and Meta is increasingly risky and expensive. Your ability to build unique distribution advantages will determine your long-term, defensible growth.swyxpoints out the conflict in AI where distribution (data) is king, creating complex dynamics between model providers and apps.Jimmy Kimsuggests AI content commoditization makes distribution—getting your message to the right people—the ultimate differentiator.Founder & Leadership InsightsTechnical founders often struggle with whatRob Wallingcalls "founder brain"—believing a great product will sell itself. This mindset leads to underinvestment in marketing and sales, which can be fatal for early-stage companies.How can leaders bridge this gap? Start small and learn.Adam Goyetteshares that signing a few small deals provides crucial feedback to refine your messaging and build a repeatable sales process. Another critical decision: when and who to hire for sales. A common mistake is hiring an expensive VP of Sales too early, when a sales consultant or junior rep might better help you figure out the playbook first.BIG IDEA:Your product won't sell itself. A founder's primary job is finding a repeatable go-to-market motion before scaling it.WHY IT MATTERS:Many promising tech companies fail not because of bad products, but because they never figure out how to sell them. By embracing sales and marketing as core competencies, you dramatically increase your odds of finding product-market fit.Chetan Gpoints out that in competitive markets, a "good-enough" product with great distribution beats a great product with no distribution.Josh Lessardadds founders need to obsess over customer problems, not just their solution—fundamental for effective marketing.Content Strategy in the AI EraWith Google's AI Overviews transforming search, the old SEO playbook is obsolete.Peep Laja of Wynternotes, "Google's playing a different game now," where simply ranking for keywords isn't enough. The focus shifts from driving clicks to becoming the source that AI models cite.A modern strategy must adapt to this reality. A "slow blogging" approach—one high-intent article monthly with effective promotion—can outperform weekly content dumps. Quality and resonance matter more than volume. This connects to the B2B creator economy, where partnering with credible influencers helps build trust and distribute your message authentically.BIG IDEA:Shift from "How do we rank?" to "How do we become the cited source?"WHY IT MATTERS:In a world of AI-generated answers, your authority and distributed presence are your new moat. The game is no longer attracting traffic but building influence.Daveynotes the market saturation with "soulless" AI content creates opportunity for brands investing in human-driven content.Samuel Schmittsays great content marketing feels more like a media company than marketing, creating what audiences genuinely want.The Evolving Role of AI in B2B MarketingAre autonomous AI agents the future of marketing, or just the latest hype cycle?Marc Benioffclaims Salesforce's new AI agents will automate campaign creation, email sequences, and lead scoring, freeing marketers for strategic work.Dharmesh Shahenvisions AI handling everything from research to execution.But there's a disconnect between vision and reality.Rob K. highlightsthat AI still produces generic, soulless content that fails to connect with audiences. While AI can scale output, genuine connection and strategic differentiation remain human endeavors.BIG IDEA:The next frontier for AI in marketing isn't just creating content, but automating complex workflows and operational tasks.WHY IT MATTERS:As AI tools advance, your advantage shifts fromdoingthe work todirectingthe work. CMOs who master "AI orchestration" will build more efficient marketing engines.ClientlessCopyargues AI copywriting is commoditized, but human-generated unique ideas remain irreplaceable.Zack Tokarnotes most AI content merely rehashes existing information, creating opportunity for original human thought.Sound BitesQuick insights from videos and podcasts:🎥Conducting the Marketing Symphony: Inside the CMO Role: A deep dive into what it takes to lead marketing today across content, data, and strategy with TrustRadius CMO Allyson Havener.🎥Building a B2B Campaign in StackAdapt and HubSpot: Practical walkthrough of creating integrated B2B campaigns across leading marketing platforms.🎥How to Improve B2B SaaS Messaging for Higher Conversions: Chris Silvestri from Conversion Alchemy shares proven strategies for crafting high-converting B2B SaaS messaging that resonates with target audiences.Until next week!Update your email preferences or unsubscribehere© 2025 B2B Marketing Brief228 Park Ave S, #29976, New York, New York 10003, United StatesTerms of Service

June 19, 2025 |Read OnlineThe 95% You're Ignoring Could Transform Your Lead FlowChasing today's leads could be killing tomorrow’s growthTyler Morian

June 19, 2025 |Read Online

The 95% You're Ignoring Could Transform Your Lead FlowChasing today's leads could be killing tomorrow’s growth

Tyler Morian

🚀 Connect on LinkedIn💡 B2B Website InspirationStrategic B2B Marketing: The 95:5 RuleThe tension between brand building and performance marketing comes into focus with the "95:5 rule": only 5% of your B2B audience is in-market to buy right now. Are you spending too much chasing this tiny segment while ignoring the 95% who aren't ready yet?Focusing solely on lead generation targets the active 5%, but neglects building preference with the future buyers. Long-term growth requires investing in brand and thought leadership so when prospects are ready, you're their first call. This balanced approach needs a modern GTM strategy, usingcompetitive intelligenceand a well-defined revenue architecture, asGeorgiana Laudi advocates.BIG IDEA:Stop choosing between brand and performance. Build brand with the 95% not buying today to make converting the 5% buying tomorrow cheaper.WHY IT MATTERS:Over-investing in bottom-funnel tactics leads to diminishing returns. Engaging the out-of-market majority builds brand equity that lowers future acquisition costs.Kushan Shekharnotes for B2B, relevance trumps mere visibility, reinforcing the need for targeted content.Dipak P.observes many SaaS companies neglect basic channels like SEO, revealing an over-focus on paid performance.Measuring What Matters: Beyond Vanity MetricsIs your team celebrating MQL spikes while sales pipeline remains flat? You're tracking the wrong things. The B2B marketing conversation is moving beyond vanity metrics toward true business health indicators.Traditional metrics like MQLs create a false sense of security, showing activity without actual revenue progress. The shift is toward pipeline velocity, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, and net revenue retention. These directly connect marketing to the bottom line. Even metrics like NPS are being questioned byBrian Balfourif they can't tie to business outcomes. AWynter surveyfound 52% of B2B marketing leaders don't measure brand impact at all—revealing a gap between priorities and measurement.BIG IDEA:Stop reporting on activity and start reporting on impact. If a metric doesn't connect to pipeline, revenue, or retention, it's vanity.WHY IT MATTERS:Your team's focus determines results. Shifting from MQLs to revenue-aligned metrics connects marketing directly to business success and drives smarter decisions.Wynterresearch shows in 70% of B2B SaaS companies, the CMO/VP of Marketing owns brand measurement.Rania Alabsiemphasizes focusing on vanity metrics like impressions is a mistake; the real focus should be conversion rates and ROI.The Future of SaaS DistributionThe go-to-market playbooks that scaled SaaS over the last decade are breaking. According toBrian Balfour, we've entered an era where traditional channels like paid search and content marketing are saturated and yielding diminishing returns.The new playbook? Building proprietary distribution channels through partnerships, communities, or media arms.TK Kader notessimply "adding more fuel" to a single channel no longer works. Meanwhile,Jason Lemkin of SaaStrbelieves AI creates a new kind of moat, while platform fragmentation makes owning your distribution—rather than renting it—more critical than ever.BIG IDEA:The era of easy, scalable growth from a single distribution channel is over. The future lies in building a portfolio of proprietary channels you own.WHY IT MATTERS:Relying on Google and Meta is increasingly risky and expensive. Your ability to build unique distribution advantages will determine your long-term, defensible growth.swyxpoints out the conflict in AI where distribution (data) is king, creating complex dynamics between model providers and apps.Jimmy Kimsuggests AI content commoditization makes distribution—getting your message to the right people—the ultimate differentiator.Founder & Leadership InsightsTechnical founders often struggle with whatRob Wallingcalls "founder brain"—believing a great product will sell itself. This mindset leads to underinvestment in marketing and sales, which can be fatal for early-stage companies.How can leaders bridge this gap? Start small and learn.Adam Goyetteshares that signing a few small deals provides crucial feedback to refine your messaging and build a repeatable sales process. Another critical decision: when and who to hire for sales. A common mistake is hiring an expensive VP of Sales too early, when a sales consultant or junior rep might better help you figure out the playbook first.BIG IDEA:Your product won't sell itself. A founder's primary job is finding a repeatable go-to-market motion before scaling it.WHY IT MATTERS:Many promising tech companies fail not because of bad products, but because they never figure out how to sell them. By embracing sales and marketing as core competencies, you dramatically increase your odds of finding product-market fit.Chetan Gpoints out that in competitive markets, a "good-enough" product with great distribution beats a great product with no distribution.Josh Lessardadds founders need to obsess over customer problems, not just their solution—fundamental for effective marketing.Content Strategy in the AI EraWith Google's AI Overviews transforming search, the old SEO playbook is obsolete.Peep Laja of Wynternotes, "Google's playing a different game now," where simply ranking for keywords isn't enough. The focus shifts from driving clicks to becoming the source that AI models cite.A modern strategy must adapt to this reality. A "slow blogging" approach—one high-intent article monthly with effective promotion—can outperform weekly content dumps. Quality and resonance matter more than volume. This connects to the B2B creator economy, where partnering with credible influencers helps build trust and distribute your message authentically.BIG IDEA:Shift from "How do we rank?" to "How do we become the cited source?"WHY IT MATTERS:In a world of AI-generated answers, your authority and distributed presence are your new moat. The game is no longer attracting traffic but building influence.Daveynotes the market saturation with "soulless" AI content creates opportunity for brands investing in human-driven content.Samuel Schmittsays great content marketing feels more like a media company than marketing, creating what audiences genuinely want.The Evolving Role of AI in B2B MarketingAre autonomous AI agents the future of marketing, or just the latest hype cycle?Marc Benioffclaims Salesforce's new AI agents will automate campaign creation, email sequences, and lead scoring, freeing marketers for strategic work.Dharmesh Shahenvisions AI handling everything from research to execution.But there's a disconnect between vision and reality.Rob K. highlightsthat AI still produces generic, soulless content that fails to connect with audiences. While AI can scale output, genuine connection and strategic differentiation remain human endeavors.BIG IDEA:The next frontier for AI in marketing isn't just creating content, but automating complex workflows and operational tasks.WHY IT MATTERS:As AI tools advance, your advantage shifts fromdoingthe work todirectingthe work. CMOs who master "AI orchestration" will build more efficient marketing engines.ClientlessCopyargues AI copywriting is commoditized, but human-generated unique ideas remain irreplaceable.Zack Tokarnotes most AI content merely rehashes existing information, creating opportunity for original human thought.Sound BitesQuick insights from videos and podcasts:🎥Conducting the Marketing Symphony: Inside the CMO Role: A deep dive into what it takes to lead marketing today across content, data, and strategy with TrustRadius CMO Allyson Havener.🎥Building a B2B Campaign in StackAdapt and HubSpot: Practical walkthrough of creating integrated B2B campaigns across leading marketing platforms.🎥How to Improve B2B SaaS Messaging for Higher Conversions: Chris Silvestri from Conversion Alchemy shares proven strategies for crafting high-converting B2B SaaS messaging that resonates with target audiences.Until next week!

🚀 Connect on LinkedIn💡 B2B Website Inspiration

Strategic B2B Marketing: The 95:5 Rule

The tension between brand building and performance marketing comes into focus with the "95:5 rule": only 5% of your B2B audience is in-market to buy right now. Are you spending too much chasing this tiny segment while ignoring the 95% who aren't ready yet?

Focusing solely on lead generation targets the active 5%, but neglects building preference with the future buyers. Long-term growth requires investing in brand and thought leadership so when prospects are ready, you're their first call. This balanced approach needs a modern GTM strategy, usingcompetitive intelligenceand a well-defined revenue architecture, asGeorgiana Laudi advocates.

BIG IDEA:Stop choosing between brand and performance. Build brand with the 95% not buying today to make converting the 5% buying tomorrow cheaper.

WHY IT MATTERS:Over-investing in bottom-funnel tactics leads to diminishing returns. Engaging the out-of-market majority builds brand equity that lowers future acquisition costs.

Kushan Shekharnotes for B2B, relevance trumps mere visibility, reinforcing the need for targeted content.Dipak P.observes many SaaS companies neglect basic channels like SEO, revealing an over-focus on paid performance.

Measuring What Matters: Beyond Vanity Metrics

Is your team celebrating MQL spikes while sales pipeline remains flat? You're tracking the wrong things. The B2B marketing conversation is moving beyond vanity metrics toward true business health indicators.

Traditional metrics like MQLs create a false sense of security, showing activity without actual revenue progress. The shift is toward pipeline velocity, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, and net revenue retention. These directly connect marketing to the bottom line. Even metrics like NPS are being questioned byBrian Balfourif they can't tie to business outcomes. AWynter surveyfound 52% of B2B marketing leaders don't measure brand impact at all—revealing a gap between priorities and measurement.

BIG IDEA:Stop reporting on activity and start reporting on impact. If a metric doesn't connect to pipeline, revenue, or retention, it's vanity.

WHY IT MATTERS:Your team's focus determines results. Shifting from MQLs to revenue-aligned metrics connects marketing directly to business success and drives smarter decisions.

Wynterresearch shows in 70% of B2B SaaS companies, the CMO/VP of Marketing owns brand measurement.Rania Alabsiemphasizes focusing on vanity metrics like impressions is a mistake; the real focus should be conversion rates and ROI.

The Future of SaaS Distribution

The go-to-market playbooks that scaled SaaS over the last decade are breaking. According toBrian Balfour, we've entered an era where traditional channels like paid search and content marketing are saturated and yielding diminishing returns.

The new playbook? Building proprietary distribution channels through partnerships, communities, or media arms.TK Kader notessimply "adding more fuel" to a single channel no longer works. Meanwhile,Jason Lemkin of SaaStrbelieves AI creates a new kind of moat, while platform fragmentation makes owning your distribution—rather than renting it—more critical than ever.

BIG IDEA:The era of easy, scalable growth from a single distribution channel is over. The future lies in building a portfolio of proprietary channels you own.

WHY IT MATTERS:Relying on Google and Meta is increasingly risky and expensive. Your ability to build unique distribution advantages will determine your long-term, defensible growth.

swyxpoints out the conflict in AI where distribution (data) is king, creating complex dynamics between model providers and apps.Jimmy Kimsuggests AI content commoditization makes distribution—getting your message to the right people—the ultimate differentiator.

Founder & Leadership Insights

Technical founders often struggle with whatRob Wallingcalls "founder brain"—believing a great product will sell itself. This mindset leads to underinvestment in marketing and sales, which can be fatal for early-stage companies.

How can leaders bridge this gap? Start small and learn.Adam Goyetteshares that signing a few small deals provides crucial feedback to refine your messaging and build a repeatable sales process. Another critical decision: when and who to hire for sales. A common mistake is hiring an expensive VP of Sales too early, when a sales consultant or junior rep might better help you figure out the playbook first.

BIG IDEA:Your product won't sell itself. A founder's primary job is finding a repeatable go-to-market motion before scaling it.

WHY IT MATTERS:Many promising tech companies fail not because of bad products, but because they never figure out how to sell them. By embracing sales and marketing as core competencies, you dramatically increase your odds of finding product-market fit.

Chetan Gpoints out that in competitive markets, a "good-enough" product with great distribution beats a great product with no distribution.Josh Lessardadds founders need to obsess over customer problems, not just their solution—fundamental for effective marketing.

Content Strategy in the AI Era

With Google's AI Overviews transforming search, the old SEO playbook is obsolete.Peep Laja of Wynternotes, "Google's playing a different game now," where simply ranking for keywords isn't enough. The focus shifts from driving clicks to becoming the source that AI models cite.

A modern strategy must adapt to this reality. A "slow blogging" approach—one high-intent article monthly with effective promotion—can outperform weekly content dumps. Quality and resonance matter more than volume. This connects to the B2B creator economy, where partnering with credible influencers helps build trust and distribute your message authentically.

BIG IDEA:Shift from "How do we rank?" to "How do we become the cited source?"

WHY IT MATTERS:In a world of AI-generated answers, your authority and distributed presence are your new moat. The game is no longer attracting traffic but building influence.

Daveynotes the market saturation with "soulless" AI content creates opportunity for brands investing in human-driven content.Samuel Schmittsays great content marketing feels more like a media company than marketing, creating what audiences genuinely want.

The Evolving Role of AI in B2B Marketing

Are autonomous AI agents the future of marketing, or just the latest hype cycle?Marc Benioffclaims Salesforce's new AI agents will automate campaign creation, email sequences, and lead scoring, freeing marketers for strategic work.Dharmesh Shahenvisions AI handling everything from research to execution.

But there's a disconnect between vision and reality.Rob K. highlightsthat AI still produces generic, soulless content that fails to connect with audiences. While AI can scale output, genuine connection and strategic differentiation remain human endeavors.

BIG IDEA:The next frontier for AI in marketing isn't just creating content, but automating complex workflows and operational tasks.

WHY IT MATTERS:As AI tools advance, your advantage shifts fromdoingthe work todirectingthe work. CMOs who master "AI orchestration" will build more efficient marketing engines.

ClientlessCopyargues AI copywriting is commoditized, but human-generated unique ideas remain irreplaceable.Zack Tokarnotes most AI content merely rehashes existing information, creating opportunity for original human thought.

Sound Bites

Quick insights from videos and podcasts:

🎥Conducting the Marketing Symphony: Inside the CMO Role: A deep dive into what it takes to lead marketing today across content, data, and strategy with TrustRadius CMO Allyson Havener.🎥Building a B2B Campaign in StackAdapt and HubSpot: Practical walkthrough of creating integrated B2B campaigns across leading marketing platforms.🎥How to Improve B2B SaaS Messaging for Higher Conversions: Chris Silvestri from Conversion Alchemy shares proven strategies for crafting high-converting B2B SaaS messaging that resonates with target audiences.

Until next week!