Let’s start with a fact: most of your target audience isn’t actively buying right now. Think about it—everyone’s out there “lurking” on social media, browsing around, and occasionally sniffing out new software, but they’re not exactly racing to fill out your super-cool lead form.

Here’s the kicker: This doesn’t mean you should scrap your marketing. It means you should double down on it—in a different way. If you show up only when someone’s ready to buy, you’re basically the friend who calls only when they need a ride to the airport. Don’t be that friend.

The Myth of the “Instant Sale”

“Just run some ads, get a demo request, and bam—signed contract!” If only life were that neat. In reality, B2B SaaS deals often involve multiple stakeholders, complex internal politics, and at least a few calls to IT.

Here are a few fun stats:

• According to Gartner, buyers spend just 17% of their time meeting with potential suppliers during the purchase process. The other 83%? They’re secretly Googling, asking for peer recommendations, or ignoring your emails.

• The LinkedIn B2B Institute says 95% of B2B buyers are out-of-market at any given time. Translation: You’re chasing a tiny slice of the market if you only focus on ready-now leads.

Why Brand Equity Matters

Think of brand equity as a comfy sofa in your buyer’s mind. Do they feel that warm, fuzzy familiarity when they hear about your brand or product? Or is it “Who is that? Let’s keep scrolling.”

• Trust and Familiarity: People do business with those they recognize. If your brand consistently shows up with valuable content or friendly commentary on LinkedIn, you’re building that intangible “Hey, I know you!” vibe.

• Risk Reduction: B2B SaaS fails can be public and painful. (Imagine the CFO’s face when your new system crashes mid-quarter close. Yikes.) A known brand feels safer.

• Shortcut to Decision-Making: If your name is already floating around the buyer’s Slack channel, you might bypass half the dreaded vendor shortlist gauntlet.

Understanding the Real Buyer’s Journey

Buyer journeys aren’t linear (despite what fancy funnel graphics might say). But for sanity’s sake, we often chunk it into stages:

1. Ignorance: They don’t even know they need a solution. They’re busy ignoring your display ads.

2. Awareness: A problem emerges; “Huh, we might need a tool for that.”

3. Consideration: Deep research, reading reviews, stalking your CEO’s tweets.

4. Decision: The budget’s approved, internal champions gather, and you’re in a good spot (if they remember you).

Key insight: If you only appear at Stage 4, you’ve missed your chance to shape their thinking in Stages 1-3.

Demand Creation vs. Demand Capture

• Demand Capture: Think PPC ads, retargeting, gated content—methods that snag the folks already searching for a solution. They type in “cloud-based project management tool,” and you wave your hand like, “Pick me!”

• Demand Creation: This is where the magic (and the long game) happens. You’re actively educating, entertaining, and establishing your brand as a must-watch in your space—before buyers even realize they have a problem.

Hint: Demand creation means you’re playing the role of host at the party, mingling with folks, and connecting on shared interests. When they need what you offer, you’re the first name that pops into their heads.

Strategies to Stay Top of Mind

1. Content Marketing & Thought Leadership

   • Post industry hot takes, how-to guides, or “behind the scenes” case studies.

   • Show your smarts and quirks; it’s easier to trust a brand that shows personality (even if it’s slightly weird).

2. Community Building

   • Slack channels, LinkedIn groups, user communities—invite people to hang out with you and each other.

   • Bonus: Enthusiastic customers often do your PR. It’s like free marketing, except better.

3. Consistent Messaging

   • Keep your brand voice coherent across Twitter, LinkedIn, emails, and all that jazz.

   • Random aside: If your brand voice is “super formal and buttoned up” on the website but “laid-back surfer vibes” on social media, it’s confusing. Stay consistent.

4. Personalization at Scale

   • Combine data and genuine curiosity about your audience.

   • Use ABM (Account-Based Marketing) to share targeted insights or content so that when the big fish has a budget, you’re right there with the perfect net.

Measuring the Impact of Brand-Building

Let’s be real: Brand building isn’t always as neatly measurable as “click ad, get lead, sign contract.” But you can still watch these signals:

• Brand Awareness Metrics:

  • Mentions, social engagement, share of voice. (Are more people talking about you or with you? Great sign.)

• Lead Quality & Conversion Rates:

  • Over time, your inbound leads should get easier to close. Less explaining, fewer weird calls, more “Hey, I already follow your blog!”

• Pipeline Growth:

  • Sure, it might take 6-12 months or more, but you’ll notice a bigger pipeline from folks who “just knew” about you when their pain point finally spiked.

Conclusion

So, friends, here’s the final takeaway: Your future buyers are out there, biding their time, and ignoring your direct-sell marketing… for now. But if you consistently add value—creating demand, showcasing expertise, building that trust factor—guess who they’ll call when the budget magically appears?

Be patient, be helpful, and stay in their world. Then watch them turn into customers who say, “We’ve been following you for a while, and we’re finally ready.”

Cool cool? Cool cool.

Now go get some fresh coffee, gather your marketing team, and plan your brand-building domination. Because if you’re just capturing demand, you’re missing out on a world of future deals.

P.S. If you found this helpful, share it with a friend who’s still stuck in “LEADS, LEADS, LEADS” mode. They’ll thank you—eventually.

-Jason @ Formulas HQ

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