The Power of Mental Availability in B2B and B2C Marketing with LinkedIn's Nicole Moreo
Nicole Moreo, Head of Customer Insights for North America at LinkedIn, deconstructs the complexities of modern marketing in both B2C and B2B landscapes. Nicole explains that the primary role of insights is to close the gap between what brands think their audience wants and what they actually care about. The conversation explores the pitfalls of data overload, the diminishing returns of hyper-segmentation, and why chasing clicks is a flawed strategy.
Nicole introduces the powerful concept of "mental availability"—the idea that a brand's relevance is defined by its ability to create a lasting memory and be on a customer's "day one" list when a need arises. She shares insights from LinkedIn's research, including the "95/5 rule," which reveals that most marketing budgets are spent on the tiny fraction of the audience that's actively buying, while ignoring the massive opportunity to build trust with the other 95%. From the human side of B2B sales to the agentic future of AI, this conversation provides a masterclass in using data to drive meaningful impact and build a truly resonant brand.
Takeaways:
- Re-evaluate your audience segmentation. Data from LinkedIn shows that hyper-segmenting your audience can actually hurt your brand's reach and effectiveness. Instead of narrowing your focus too much, consider the full audience you're trying to influence.
- Stop optimizing for clicks and start optimizing for memory. There is no correlation between a click and key brand effectiveness metrics like ad recall or purchase intent. A click is not a memory; focus on creative that builds brand recall and familiarity.
- Market to the 95% of people who aren't buying yet. At any given time, only about 5% of your audience is in-market for your product. To ensure future growth, you must build trust and brand recognition with the other 95% so that you're on their short list when they are ready to buy.
- Remember B2B marketing is still human-to-human. Don't forget you are interacting with people, not just companies or job titles. Understanding the whole person—their interests, behaviors, and motivations outside of work—is critical to making a genuine connection.
- Ask "why" before you trust the data. In a world with endless data and dashboards, it’s easy to make snap decisions. The most crucial role for marketers and analysts is to ask the right questions and connect the data back to the ultimate business goal you're trying to achieve.
Quote of the Show:
- “The biggest place for insights to play is connecting the dots between a lot of times what brands think their audience cares about versus what they actually care about."
Links:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolemoreo/
- Website: https://premium.linkedin.com/
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