Why 95% of Your Buyers Aren’t Ready Yet (with Jonathan Bland) | Ep. 17

Marketing leaders today are facing rising CAC, shrinking budgets, and pressure to prove short-term results. In this episode, host Charlie Riley and co-host Greg Wise sit down with Jonathan Bland, co-founder of Omni Lab Consulting, to break down what’s keeping B2B SaaS marketers up at night. From the dangers of short-termism to why only 5% of your buyers are actually in-market, Jonathan shares how paid media strategies must evolve — and why performance-only mindsets are no longer enough. You’ll also hear candid takes on internal marketing, the role of trust, and what brand really means when budgets are tight.👤 Guest BioJonathan Bland is the co-founder of Omni Lab Consulting, a demand gen agency focused exclusively on paid media for B2B SaaS brands. For the past four years, Jonathan and his team have specialized in acquisition, acceleration, and awareness campaigns across channels like Google Ads, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Based in DC, Jonathan is also a regular presence at events and on LinkedIn, where he shares honest takes on what’s working — and what’s not — in SaaS marketing today.📌 What We CoverThe rising pressure on marketers to prove short-term pipeline at the expense of brandWhy third-party intent data is expensive and often misses the majority of out-of-market buyersHow the 95/5 heuristic helps frame long-term thinking and buyer timingThe return of brand marketing and why performance fatigue is setting inCAC trends, attribution bias, and the challenge of proving untrackable influenceInternal marketing: assessing how your board, product, and sales team define “brand”Why trust-building content outperforms demo CTAs — even in performance channelsTactical brand plays from Omni Lab, including a new actor-led campaign filmed in TorontoThoughts on out-of-home, LinkedIn, Google, and understanding the intent of the channel🔗 Resources MentionedBerg-Bass Institute (referenced: 95/5 rule)Winter (research on brand consideration)Luminous (brand campaign example)Turtle (interactive PDF campaign)Storylane and Exit Five (OOH example)Low-Tech, High-Impact Account-Based MarketingIf you’re ready to trade expensive, tech-heavy account-based marketing for a repeatable, revenue-driving ABM program, check out Scrappy ABM. Led by a team of Scrappy ABM experts, they specialize in low-budget plays and programs that deliver high impact—no shiny tools required. Scrappy ABM has built account-based programs that have delivered millions in revenue, and you can build your first successful ABM program with their help.Start with a pilot program or launch an account-based podcast. Learn more at scrappyabm.com. Let's get scrappy.