Rethinking the B2B Funnel Myth

In the B2B marketing world, the classic depiction of the buyer journey as a neat, sequential funnel—from Problem Aware to Solution Aware to Decision Made—is comforting but inaccurate. It’s simple, it’s logical … and it’s utterly detached from the messy realities of how buyers actually operate, especially when it comes to high-consideration purchases.

The truth? B2B buyers rarely stumble upon a problem, rub their chins thoughtfully, and begin a straightforward vendor search. Perhaps that journey might apply to some low-cost tools or transactional purchases. But in the realm of complex, high-ticket solutions, the process is far more nuanced—and the stakes for marketers are much higher.

Problems don’t appear out of thin air

For considered purchases, buyers are often long aware of potential issues, even before they fully manifest. Whether it’s aging infrastructure, upcoming regulatory changes, or shifting market demands, savvy buyers don’t wait until the last minute to start exploring potential solutions.

When the problem does finally demand action, buyers don’t begin from scratch. Instead, they call upon their existing mental associations—those brands, products, and solutions they’ve encountered before. These associations, formed and nurtured over time, determine which vendors make it into the all-important initial consideration set.

The nonlinear buyer journey

This reality means that buyers don’t neatly progress through stages like players in a video game. Instead, their path is dynamic, circuitous, and heavily influenced by memory. They might research solutions casually for months, drop the search entirely, and then suddenly return to it when the problem intensifies. Along the way, they’re influenced by:

• Peer recommendations (56% of B2B buyers cite peer input as a top influence – Demand Gen Report, 2024)
• Content they’ve consumed months or years earlier, whether blogs, case studies, or webinars
• Brand impressions that stick, even if from a single LinkedIn ad or a passing mention at an event

The role of “always-on” marketing

For marketers, this evolution shifts the focus from shepherding buyers along a funnel to building ever-present brand awareness. The goal is to be top-of-mind when buyers finally transition from passive awareness to active decision-making. This approach hinges on two key principles:

1. Memory formation. Buyers need to associate your brand with their problem and its solution. According to the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, 95% of B2B buyers are out of market at any given time, meaning they’re not actively searching but are still forming brand impressions (LinkedIn B2B Institute).

2. Consistency across channels. Buyers interact with brands through multiple touchpoints, including organic search, social media, events, and even casual conversations. Ensuring your message is cohesive across all these interactions is critical for staying relevant.

It’s about brand, not just demand

This is where the classic debate between brand marketing and demand generation comes into sharp focus. While demand-gen campaigns capture leads in the short term, strong brands build the mental availability needed for long-term success. As marketing expert Peter Field puts it, “The brands that win are the ones buyers already know and trust when the moment to buy arrives.”

For marketers, that means reallocating resources to ensure long-term brand-building efforts aren’t overshadowed by short-term performance campaigns. It also means prioritizing tactics that expand your reach to as many future buyers as possible, such as:

• Sponsoring thought leadership content that resonates with your target audience.
• Creating high-quality, searchable content tied to known industry pain points.
• Using retargeting strategies to keep your brand visible to past website visitors.

The takeaway

The buyer journey isn’t a journey at all—it’s a complex interplay of memory, emotion, and timing. Winning isn’t about dragging buyers through a step-by-step process but about being there when they need you. It’s about making your brand synonymous with the solution and ensuring your name is the first to come to mind when the problem finally demands action.

Because, in the end, the brand that gets thought of is the brand that wins.

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