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Have you heard of the 95:5 rule in B2B Marketing? Popularized by the LinkedIn B2B Institute, it’s a principle that every B2B marketer should consider. As Ty Heath, Director of Market Engagement at the B2B Institute, explains and also featured in my book on Page 45:
“The 95-5 Law states that at any given period, 95% of potential B2B buyers are not ready to make a purchase today but will be in the future.”
This rule highlights the dual importance of building long-term brand awareness for the 95% who are not ready to buy and identifying the 5% of buyers who are actively in-market. While methods like intent data are commonly used to uncover these in-market buyers, they often rely on second-party or inferred signals.
Recently, I discovered a powerful and cost-effective way to gather first-party high-intent data: proprietary research reports. This approach, featured on Page 60 of my book, offers marketers a unique opportunity to engage their audience directly and collect actionable insights.
Overcoming Challenges: Testing a New Approach
In the past, I worked with an analyst firm to conduct surveys targeting CIOs in key accounts. While effective, this approach cost tens of thousands of dollars. When one of my clients faced budget constraints in late 2024, we had no choice but to run the survey campaign in-house.
Initially, I had doubts. Without the neutrality of an external partner, would respondents willingly share sensitive information such as their priorities and budget plans? Would the data be reliable enough to guide actionable strategies? Despite these concerns, we decided to proceed\u2014and the results stunned the leadership team.
We uncovered valuable intelligence, including budget allocations for the coming year, satisfaction levels with current solutions, problem areas that needed attention, and business priorities for 2025. The survey consisted of 43 questions (in hindsight, I would recommend reducing this to 20–32 questions to improve completion rates).
Here’s a snapshot of our results in one target country:
Emails Sent: 1,344 qualified contacts in 500 hand-picked target accounts within our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
Average Open Rate: 4% (across four waves of emails, excluding respondents).
Click-Through Rate: 154 total.
Survey Completions: 70 responses.
Senior Respondents (Directors and Above): 23.
In-Market Opportunities Identified (so far): 8.
Strategies That Made the Campaign a Success
Here are the key factors that contributed to the standout performance of this proprietary research campaign:
1. Clear Objectives
We began with a well-defined goal: to uncover the technology adoption plans and challenges of our target audience. This clarity ensured every question was purposeful, leading to high-quality, actionable insights.
2. Tailored Questions
The survey was designed to resonate with different personas in our ICP. Questions were predominantly multiple-choice, covering key areas of concern. While the survey had 43 questions, I recommend keeping it shorter to balance depth with respondent engagement.
3. Clean and Verified Target Database
A clean, verified email database was critical to our success. (Please read my previous blog : Often Overlooked but Essential: CRM Data Quality the Foundation of Marketing Success) . We targeted the right audience based on their industry, company size, and account relevance. This ensured that our outreach efforts aligned with our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and maximized the likelihood of meaningful responses.
4. Specific Targeting Clause
To ensure responses were relevant and actionable, we added a clause stating that the survey was intended exclusively for specific lines of business and business leadership. This helped filter out unqualified participants and kept the dataset highly focused.
5. Incentives
Participants were offered exclusive access to the survey results and a lunch voucher as a token of appreciation. This small but meaningful gesture encouraged participation and demonstrated respect for their time.
6. Omnichannel Distribution
Although this campaign relied primarily on email, future efforts could expand into additional channels like social media, direct outreach, and partner networks. Adding criteria for incentives (e.g., specific job titles and companies) further ensured high-quality responses.
7. Anonymous and Flexible Responses
To encourage honest feedback, we offered options to respond anonymously and included “unsure” options for sensitive questions like budget allocations. This approach minimized drop-offs and enhanced data quality.
Why Proprietary Research Reports is a Powerful Tactic in B2B Marketing
Proprietary research reports, or lead generation surveys, are more than just data collection tool, they are strategic assets that deliver high-value insights. Here’s what makes them so effective:
Identify Pain Points: Understand your audience’s challenges and tailor solutions accordingly.
Segment Leads Effectively: Classify leads by needs and decision-making authority.
Generate Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs): Highlight prospects with clear buying intent, ready for nurturing.
Shape Content Strategy: Discover what your audience values most to create relevant, localized content.
Build Stronger Relationships: Personalized follow-ups and tailored insights establish trust and credibility.
With a 5.2% response rate, our campaign outperformed industry benchmarks, delivering actionable intelligence and strengthening our client’s market position.
Conclusion: Transforming Research Into Strategic Tools
This proprietary research campaign proved to be more than a marketing initiative\u2014it became the cornerstone of our strategy. By aligning our efforts with our audience’s needs, we not only uncovered actionable insights but also built stronger relationships and positioned ourselves as a trusted partner in their transformation journey.
For B2B marketers, proprietary research reports offer a unique opportunity to uncover in-market buyers, drive engagement, and build long-term brand loyalty. If you haven’t explored this approach, now is the time to start. As this campaign demonstrated, the right strategy can turn even a simple survey into a transformative tool for success.
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