Why do many B2B technology companies offering complex solutions struggle to align sales and marketing? If you look around on LinkedIn, the solution seems simple: all you need to do is improve your ad creatives, build a solid sales funnel, or optimize your outreach strategy.
But decision-makers in this field have often found that these very marketing playbooks don’t work. This is rarely due to the quality of the agency or the execution. It comes down to the nature of the offering. Traditional marketing aims to reach individuals within a specific target group and convince them to make a purchase decision.
The problem isn’t the tool itself—a funnel is a logical structure. But for a decision that takes years to mature and involves an entire committee, a model that focuses primarily on short-term engagement falls short. It cannot replace the years-long process of building trust and relevance; it can only channel that process at the right moment.
This issue does not affect all B2B companies. A SaaS tool with a low entry price and a single decision-maker can certainly be successful using traditional conversion strategies. Companies for which the traditional playbook is structurally unsuitable can be characterized by four key features:
1. High investment volume: Six- to seven-figure purchase decisions, often with implementation costs on top.
2. Long decision-making process: Months to years between initial contact and closing the deal.
3. Buying Committee: Several decision-makers from various departments (engineering, finance, management).
4. High switching costs: Once systems are implemented, they are rarely replaced—investment cycles of five to ten years are the norm.
Companies that fall into this category—such as those in industrial automation, ERP systems, or security technology—offer “capital-intensive B2B solutions.” And different marketing principles apply to these solutions.
When it comes to purchasing an industrial automation solution, the chances of calling someone at exactly the right moment are extremely slim. We’re not just talking about the fact that the target audience is probably not interested in investment discussions right now. We’re talking about 95 percent of the time.
This figure is not an estimate, but is empirically proven. Professor John Dawes of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, in collaboration with the LinkedIn B2B Institute, formulated the so-called 95:5 rule [1]. The logic is strikingly simple: If companies switch their service providers (e.g., for ERP systems or telecommunications) on average every five years, then in any given year, only 20 percent of companies are actually in the market for a switch. In a single quarter, that figure drops to 5 percent.
Conversely, this means: 95 percent of your potential customers are simply not ready to buy right now. If the investment cycle for a solution is even longer, this percentage is even higher.
Even the most compelling ad creative is useless if a company has just rolled out new software costing 500,000 euros. The decision-making process takes years, and the buying committee consists of six to ten people. A funnel alone won’t solve this problem. It cannot replace the years it takes to build trust and relevance.
So the problem isn’t the sales script or the landing page. It’s the lack of presence in the years leading up to the purchase decision. We call this “structural visibility”—ongoing, meaningful interactions with the target audience that build awareness and trust.
Structural visibility means establishing a presence long before a specific need arises. It is not primarily driven by conversions, but rather by building trust. In practice, this means:
– Consistent presence in trade media (earned media).
– Establishing oneself as a thought leader on platforms such as LinkedIn.
– Visibility at industry events.
The goal of these measures isn’t to generate an immediate lead. The goal is this: when the five-year investment cycle comes to an end and the company moves into the top 5 percent of active buyers, you’ll already be on the shortlist.
For many marketing decision-makers, this is a metric that feels too “soft.” How am I supposed to measure or prove that a potential customer noticed my brand three times in a trade magazine and saw four thought leadership posts? Yet the challenges of measuring this do not change the fact that it is precisely these interactions that can tip the scales during that crucial 5% window.
If we shift our focus from short-term leads to structural visibility, we need new metrics for success. Instead of looking solely at CPL (cost per lead), metrics such as pipeline velocity, self-reported attribution (“How did you hear about us?”), and share of voice in relevant trade media take center stage. They are the harbingers of what ultimately matters: qualified conversations instead of clicks.
As soon as a company enters the active market, its information-seeking behavior changes. This is when targeted research begins. You need to be there at that very moment.
Targeted visibility means:
– Visibility for specific, purchase-related search terms (Search).
– A presence in the media and on the platforms used for active research.
This is where performance marketing and search come into play—but they only work effectively if structural visibility has already built trust. If you’re a blank slate at this point, you’ll have a much harder time convincing the decision-makers.
When structural and targeted visibility are crucial, Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) will become the focal point in the future. AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity are increasingly becoming the first step in complex B2B research.
For a growing number of decision-makers, if you aren’t cited here as a trusted source, you don’t exist. And AI systems prefer to cite sources with high structural visibility—that is, established trade media and recognized experts. GEO is therefore not merely a trend-chasing afterthought, but the logical continuation of a strategy focused on building long-term trust.
Despite the need for optimization, the ad creative is not the problem when it comes to marketing investment-intensive B2B solutions. Successful B2B marketing for complex solutions does not mean rejecting modern tactics, but rather recognizing their limitations. It’s about recognizing when we can capitalize on demand and when we need to lay the structural groundwork just to make it onto the shortlist. Those who understand the 95:5 rule as a foundation stop producing past the actual bottleneck.
The key question is often not whether you need more marketing—but what kind of visibility is truly relevant to your business reality. If you’d like to assess this for your company, feel free to email me at stefan.epler@epos-marketing.com. I read every message personally.
What does structural visibility mean in B2B marketing?
Structural visibility refers to the long-term process of building a presence and trust with potential customers long before they have a concrete intention to purchase. It is achieved through ongoing thought leadership, media relations with industry publications, and a strong industry presence—not through short-term conversion campaigns.
Why don't traditional funnels often work for complex B2B solutions?
For capital-intensive B2B solutions, sales cycles often span several years. According to the 95:5 rule, 95 percent of potential customers are not ready to buy at any given time. Traditional sales funnels typically target only the 5 percent of active buyers and overlook the long-term process of building trust.
How are structural visibility and GEO related?
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) aims to be cited in AI responses. AI systems favor sources with high authority and a consistent online presence. Strong structural visibility (e.g., through earned media) is therefore a prerequisite for successful GEO.
[1] John Dawes, Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science: “The 95:5 Rule” (2021). https://johndawes.info/the-955-rule/
Stefan is co-founder of EPOS and has been involved in B2B marketing and communications for more than 20 years.
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