Make them curious.
Give a buyer a reason to look closer, then be worth the look. That is the whole mechanism, and everything below is the evidence for it.
What it means.
Make Them Curious is a B2B marketing approach that earns attention by opening a gap worth closing, rather than by interrupting.
The reasoning is arithmetic before it is creative. Buyers fill most of their shortlist on day one of a purchase and choose from that list 95% of the time, months before a vendor hears from them. Marketing that begins at the enquiry arrives after the decision.
So the work happens earlier, in the period where a company is invisible and a buyer is quietly deciding who is worth a closer look. Attention answers to pull, and pull is built.
The argument, in pieces.
Each one defends a different part of the same claim. Some of it is evidence, drawn from what buyers actually do. Some of it is method, tested on real campaigns and real budgets.
Some of it is opinion, and somebody will want to argue with it. That is the point.
The Make Them Curious Manifesto
Ten principles for earning attention from people who are busy, sceptical, and perfectly capable of finding you on their own.
Read it →DefinitionWhat is curiosity marketing?
The definition, the psychology underneath it, and the four measures that show whether it is working.
Read it →EvidenceThe shortlist is written before anyone calls you
94% of buying groups rank a shortlist before contacting anyone. What that does to the job of marketing.
Read it →MethodHow to sound different when every competitor says the same thing
The swap test, the category audit, and what to do when the products genuinely are the same.
Read it →MethodHow to get recommended by ChatGPT and Perplexity
What answer engines quote, what to publish so they quote you, and how to verify it.
Read it →Questions people ask
What does Make Them Curious mean in marketing?
A B2B marketing approach built on one mechanism: give a buyer a reason to look closer, then be worth the look. It replaces the push of interruption with the pull of an unanswered question, so attention is earned rather than bought.
Why curiosity rather than interruption?
Bought attention lasts as long as the budget. Curiosity regenerates, because somebody who wants to know more returns to find out. Interruption also carries a penalty now: Gartner found in 2025 that 73% of B2B buyers actively avoid suppliers who send irrelevant outreach.
Who does this approach suit?
B2B companies in categories where several vendors look alike, where the buying cycle runs for months, and where buyers research privately long before contacting anyone. It suits companies willing to hold a position long enough for a market to notice it.
Where should someone start?
With the manifesto, which sets out the ten principles. Then the definition of curiosity marketing, then the buying evidence that makes the case mechanical. The two practical pieces come last.