The 95/5 Rule: How Smart B2B Marketers Build Long-Term Revenue

Welcome to the 95/5 Rule, a concept reshaping how high-performing B2B marketers plan demand generation and nurture long-term growth. If your strategy still hinges only on chasing in-market leads, you may be feeding short-term pipelines but starving tomorrow’s revenue.

In the ever-evolving landscape of B2B marketing, some truths remain uncomfortable yet undeniable. One such truth is what Professor John Dawes of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute brought into sharp focus. Only about 5% of B2B buyers are actively in-market to purchase at any given time. The other 95%? They’re not ready, but they will be, eventually.

Let’s unpack what this means, why it matters more than ever in 2025, and how you can engage those out-of-market buyers today so they choose you when they’re ready.

The Myth of the MQL and the Trap of Short-Term Thinking

For decades, B2B marketing revolved around MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads). The playbook: create gated content, run ads, collect emails, and hand them to sales. It worked when buyer journeys were more linear and when information was scarce.

Today, that’s changed. Gartner reports that B2B purchasing isn’t a clean funnel anymore; it’s a looping, messy maze. Buyers spend more time doing independent research and less time talking to your reps. And Forrester found that up to 70% of B2B content goes unused by sales teams, revealing a chasm between what marketers produce and what buyers want.

But there’s an even bigger issue at play: Most B2B companies over-invest in demand capture and under-invest in demand creation, leading to short-term wins but long-term pipeline stagnation. The brands that win in the long run are those that build demand before they need it.

The lesson? If you only measure success by the volume of MQLs, you’re ignoring the vast majority of your addressable market, the 95% who aren’t raising their hands yet but are quietly forming brand preferences. By focusing solely on capturing in-market demand, you risk starving tomorrow’s pipeline and losing out on the very buyers who could drive your future growth.

Balancing Demand Capture and Demand Creation

This is where many B2B marketers fall into the trap of short-term thinking: focusing solely on that 5% of in-market buyers and neglecting the 95% who aren’t quite ready yet. But to future-proof your pipeline, you need a two-pronged approach:

Strategy Target Audience Primary Goal Typical Channels Demand Capture Active buyers (5%) Convert existing demand Google Ads, SEO, Retargeting, Sales Outreach Demand Creation Future buyers (95%) Build brand affinity & awareness LinkedIn, Content Marketing, Community Building – Short-Term Revenue (Demand Capture): Make sure you’re converting high-intent buyers efficiently—with the right content, at the right time, through the right channels.

• Long-Term Growth (Demand Creation): Keep your brand top-of-mind for the 95% who aren’t buying yet, so when their moment comes, they think of you first.
• Competitive Differentiation: Companies that only chase the 5% end up in a price war. Those who invest in the 95% build a brand moat—and long-term loyalty.

Measuring only MQLs is like counting apples in the orchard and ignoring the seeds you’ve planted for next season. The real growth comes from nurturing both demand capture and demand creation, so you’re ready for both today’s quick wins and tomorrow’s market shifts.

What’s the Right Mix? How to Balance Demand Creation and Capture

So, how should you allocate your marketing investments between planting seeds for future interest (demand creation) and harvesting the buyers who are ready right now (demand capture)?

A best-practice approach for modern B2B teams is to devote roughly 70% of your budget and energy to brand-building and education—think webinars exploring trends, thought leadership content, insightful industry research, and social engagement that nurtures your prospects over time.

The remaining 30% of your resources should fuel high-intent activities that capture and convert buyers who are already in-market. This includes targeted PPC and SEO campaigns, intent-driven landing pages, smart retargeting strategies, and making sure your sales team has the materials to close deals efficiently.

By striking this balance, you ensure your pipeline is continually stocked for the long-term—while still seizing opportunities with buyers who are ready to act today.

Personalize Outreach to Accelerate Sales Among High-Intent Prospects

Not every account is created equal—and smart B2B sellers know that generic outreach leaves opportunity on the table. The most effective sales teams supercharge their pipeline by focusing their effort on high-intent prospects with sharply tailored, relevant experiences.

One winning approach is data-driven Account-Based Marketing (ABM). By zeroing in on organizations that are already showing early buying signals—whether through frequent visits to key pages, increased engagement with your industry content, or spikes in topic interest flagged by intent platforms like Bombora—your team can work smarter, not harder.

But finding the right accounts is just the start. Next, personalize your outreach with tactics that stand out in crowded inboxes:

• Customized LinkedIn InMails that reference a recent company initiative or share a valuable insight specific to the prospect’s challenges.
• Short, tailored video messages speaking directly to their role or market—a human touch that builds real connection.
• Executive-level content and advice that demonstrates an understanding of their strategic goals, not just your features.

These thoughtful touches signal that you see each account as unique—not just a name on a lead list. By combining precise targeting with personal connection, you make it far more likely that high-intent prospects will respond, engage, and move quickly from first conversation to committed opportunity.

Who Are the 95%? Understanding Out-of-Market Buyers

The out-of-market segment includes future buyers, influencers, and decision-makers who don’t have budget approval or immediate pain, yet. They read your industry articles, watch your webinars, or follow your experts on LinkedIn. They’re building mental availability, the subtle brand memory that makes them think of you first when their problem becomes urgent.

A Gartner B2B study shows that 77% of business buyers do extensive research online before ever engaging a sales rep. By the time they fill out a demo request, the battle for mindshare is mostly won by whoever educated them best.

How Smart Marketers Engage the 95%

Winning 5% of in-market buyers is no longer enough. Real B2B revenue leaders in 2025 build brand preference with the other 95% now, so they become a warm, low-friction pipeline tomorrow. Here’s how to do it well:

1. Build Brand Memory Before There’s a Need

Out-of-market buyers aren’t looking for a sales pitch; they’re looking for trustworthy thought leaders. Modern B2B brands earn mindshare by publishing original research, compelling insights, and helpful industry analysis that answers the questions buyers haven’t even asked yet.

For example, companies like HubSpot and Salesforce have mastered this play. Their trend reports, playbooks, and state-of-the-industry studies don’t sell products directly, but they earn authority and familiarity. So when buyers eventually have a budget and a business case, they remember who educated them first, and they reach out on their terms.

Building brand memory early means your name comes up in internal buying committee meetings long before an RFP is issued, which dramatically shortens sales cycles later.

2. Create Non-Gated, High-Value Content

Modern B2B buyers crave instant access to helpful content. Requiring a form fill for every piece of value puts friction where you want trust. Smart marketers produce open-access resources—comprehensive blogs, toolkits, benchmark reports, and video explainers—that freely educate and build goodwill with buyers in research mode.

Offer Practical, Non-Gated Tools

Take it a step further by developing calculators, scorecards, or automation templates that solve common pain points. For example, a ROI estimator for marketing attribution software or a security risk assessment tool for cybersecurity vendors. Promoting these tools via LinkedIn Ads, email nurturing, and influencer partnerships ensures they reach your future buyers where they already spend time.

This generosity pays off. Buyers who benefit from your free knowledge are more likely to view your team as credible advisors rather than pushy vendors. In 2025, marketers often reserve gated content only for late-stage conversion tools like ROI calculators or demos, where the buyer is signaling true purchase interest.

By striking this balance, you gain wide reach for brand awareness while still capturing high-intent leads at the right time.

Impact: Creating daily utility for prospects not only increases brand recall but also builds trust—putting your brand top of mind when buyers finally enter the market.

3. Use Intent Data to Spot Early Buying Signals

Just because a buyer is officially “out-of-market” doesn’t mean they’re invisible. Early digital breadcrumbs like surging interest in related topics, job postings for key roles, or sudden spikes in engagement with competitor resources can hint at purchase intent months before formal outreach begins.

AI-powered intent platforms (like what we run at Intent Amplify® scan millions of third-party data points to flag these subtle signals. Your team can then prioritize warming up these accounts with relevant thought leadership or light outreach, planting seeds well before the competition even knows they’re in play.

Brands that leverage this proactive insight see 2–3x higher conversion rates when the account finally enters the decision stage, because trust was already established.

Layer in Multiple Tactics for Maximum Impact

• Monitor Review Sites: Keep tabs on platforms like G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius. Spikes in visits or review activity from specific companies can indicate that a buying cycle is brewing.
• Competitor Comparison Content: Create and optimize “[Your Solution] vs. [Competitor]” pages and ROI calculators. These not only address late-stage buyers but can attract early researchers, giving you a chance to nurture them before they hit your radar elsewhere.
• Intent-Based Retargeting: Use LinkedIn Matched Audiences and Google Display Network to re-engage those who show intent signals, but tailor the follow-up to their stage and interests—think personalized industry insights or relevant case studies, not just generic ads.

4. Run Always-On, Light-Touch Campaigns

Engaging the 95% is not about bombarding people with daily sales emails. It’s about being quietly present where they spend time. Leading brands run always-on, low-friction campaigns. Retargeted display ads that remind them of a helpful blog, sponsored LinkedIn updates with industry news, or a curated monthly email that shares fresh research without a sales push.

These subtle touchpoints reinforce your authority and ensure your brand stays top-of-mind, without feeling invasive. When buyers do signal they’re ready, you won’t be a stranger brand trying to force a cold call; you’ll feel familiar and trustworthy.

Proven Always-On Approaches:

• Conversion-Optimized Website: Deploy AI chatbots and interactive demos to capture interest from casual browsers, not just hot leads.
• Content Personalization: A/B test landing page copy, CTAs, and content recommendations to keep your messaging relevant and inviting.
• Sales Call Booking: Make it frictionless for an interested prospect to instantly schedule time with your team—no endless forms or back-and-forth.

5. Align Sales and Marketing for the Long Game

Sales teams often want leads that close now, but engaging the 95% means nurturing accounts that may not buy for six or twelve months. To get this right, marketing and sales must agree on what “success” looks like at each stage.

High-performing teams train sales reps to recognize warm but future pipeline opportunities, so they can build authentic relationships without pushing too hard. Marketing, in turn, supports sales with tailored content, talk tracks, and clear signals from intent data about when an account is truly heating up.

When sales and marketing share this long-game mindset, handoffs happen at the right moment, buyers feel respected instead of pressured, and the pipeline stays healthy quarter after quarter.

How to Keep Both Teams in Sync:

• Sales Acceleration Personalization: Arm reps with LinkedIn InMails, custom video pitches, and executive insights tailored to each account’s journey.
• ABM and Intent Data: Use account-based marketing and platforms like Bombora to identify and prioritize high-intent accounts, keeping everyone focused on the best opportunities.
• Feedback Loops: Regularly review which content, touchpoints, and signals are actually driving pipeline progress—then refine your approach together.

The result? A seamless buyer experience where trust is built early, nurtured thoughtfully, and rewarded with lasting relationships when the timing is finally right.

Leverage High-Intent Paid Search and SEO to Capture Demand

When B2B buyers are ready to act, they’ll signal it with specific searches—think “best CRM for SaaS startups” or “cybersecurity platform reviews.” The goal? Make sure your solution is front-and-center at these high-intent moments.

To do this well, focus your search marketing efforts on bottom-funnel keywords that indicate active consideration. Craft landing pages that speak directly to urgent pain points and answer the questions decision-makers are typing. Complement this with paid channels like Google Search Ads or LinkedIn Sponsored Content to ensure your brand consistently appears in the spaces buyers trust.

Don’t underestimate the power of third-party review platforms, either. Sites like G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius are where B2B buyers double-check options and gather validation. Optimize your presence there with up-to-date profiles and compelling customer testimonials.

By meeting in-market buyers exactly where they’re searching—and providing crystal-clear answers—you not only capture current demand but also strengthen your brand’s credibility for the next wave of decision-makers.

Real-Life Example- How B2B Leaders Win Using the 95/5 Rule

Consider Salesforce, a world leader in sales automation and CRM. They don’t merely promote products via advertising; they frame the conversation around how today’s sales teams are supposed to be operating. A great example is their “State of Sales” report, an annual data-heavy study filled with trends, benchmarks, and insights gleaned from thousands of sales professionals across the globe.

These reports don’t directly sell Salesforce products. Rather, they assist sales leaders in diagnosing problems, comparing their teams to industry averages, and learning new best practices. This creates enormous credibility and trust over time. Readers begin to view Salesforce as much more than a software company but as a trusted advisor who knows the sales ecosystem better than anybody else.

So when a sales VP knows their CRM is outdated or their sales workflows require modernization, the brand they think of as providing authoritative insights is top of mind already. This accelerates the buying decision and reduces the influence of price, because trust was established long before the first-ever sales demo took place.

This is the 95/5 rule at work. Consistently providing high-value information to build relationships with individuals who do not yet need you, but will come to you first when they do.

How to Track ROI When Buyers Aren’t Buying Yet

There are many marketers who are afraid of spending on brand-building because of delayed results. Here’s what to monitor instead:

Brand Lift

Brand lift tracks how well your advertising is making your name stick in buyers’ minds, even before they’re in-market. Conduct quarterly or biannual surveys of your audience and ask them which brands first come to mind without prompting when they consider your category. An increase here indicates your brand memory is expanding, and when that 95% is ready, they’ll think of you, not a competitor.

Engagement Depth

Having eyeballs on your content is not sufficient; you want engagement. Keep an eye on metrics such as pages per session, average session length, and repeat visits over time. Longer, more in-depth engagement indicates that your audience believes there is value in your thought leadership and trusts you as an expert. Buyers who regularly engage with your resources are much more likely to convert later.

But don’t stop at reviewing these metrics in isolation. Make it a habit to regularly analyze engagement data for patterns and shifts in behavior. Are visitors spending more time on certain topics? Are there spikes in repeat visits after launching a new report or campaign? Use these insights to adapt and refine your demand generation strategy, ensuring your content remains relevant and resonant as audience interests evolve.

This ongoing feedback loop keeps your marketing agile and positions your brand as a constant presence in buyers’ minds—even before they’re ready to purchase.

Direct Traffic Growth

Direct traffic is perhaps the strongest indicator of brand power. It indicates that people aren’t finding you via paid ads or chance searches; they’re actually typing in your URL because they remember your name. Monitor how your direct traffic increases month-to-month. A positive growth shows that your thought leadership and branding are being remembered by your audience, sending organic traffic. Pipeline Velocity

This is where your brand-building efforts translate to an actual sales effect. Compare how fast nurtured accounts, the ones you continuously educate and interact with, progress through the pipeline versus cold leads. Top-performing teams usually see that nurtured accounts close deals 20–30% sooner and with larger average deal sizes due to existing trust. This metric links your long-term content investment directly to revenue outcomes.

Consider Beyond Today’s Pipeline

The 95/5 Rule is not just a trendy statistic; it’s an invitation to think differently about B2B marketing. Closing today’s deals matters. Closing tomorrow’s deals, at volume and with lower cost per acquisition, is what differentiates market leaders from the rest.

Savvy teams don’t just create demand; they build it. They teach, they guide, and they form relationships way before buyers click “request a quote.”

Ready to Engage the 95%? Intent Amplify® assists B2B brands in unifying AI, intent predictive, and engaging content to reach today’s buyers and tomorrow’s. Need a turnkey ABM program or assistance for long-term demand creation? We’re here to create a strategy that endures market cycles.

Speak with an Intent Amplify® strategist today and make your pipeline future-proof.

FAQs:

Q.1 What is the 95/5 Rule in B2B?

It means that only 5% of your target audience is in-market at any given time, whereas 95% are not ready to buy yet, but they will be sometime in the future.

Q.2 Is marketing to out-of-market buyers a waste?

No, not at all. It creates mental availability, which increases your likelihood of being selected when they enter the buying cycle.

Q.3 What kind of content is best for the 95%

Educational, non-branded content such as industry reports, thought leadership blogs, and how-to guides establishes credibility without coercion.

Q.4. How do you measure ROI if they’re not buying today?

 Concentrate on metrics around brand awareness, engagement signals, direct traffic, and future pipeline velocity.

Q.5 How can Intent Amplify® assist with a 95/5 strategy?

We blend AI-driven audience intelligence, programmatic content syndication, and account-based marketing to reach both in-market and out-of-market buyers for long-term growth.

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