You’ve probably heard of the old 80-for-20 Rule—which is alternatively referred to as either “spend your time on the 20 percent of work that will drive 80 percent of the results” or, for marketers, “spend your money against the 20 percent of customers who drive 80 percent of sales.” At Bridge Worldwide, we’ve made this our mantra and part of the story behind our focus on Digital+Relationship Marketing. But we were somewhat shocked last week to find, buried in Advertising Age, that this 80-for-20 rule is more like 80-for-2.5.

A study by Catalina (the people behind those shopping-receipt coupons) and the CMO Council tracked 54 million people and the 1,300 brands that they purchased over a year. The study found that, on average, only 2.5 percent of consumers account for 80 percent of sales of consumer packaged goods brands. And only 25 of 1,364 brands in the database had anything more than 10 percent of people buying 80 percent of its volume. Those few folks rack up a lot of cases over a year. Budweiser’s 80-for-1.2 racks up $170 in sales per year, and Iams’s 80-for-1 spend $93 per year on the brand.

I guess we shouldn’t have been too surprised. With an ever-growing number of brands and line extensions available, combined with people’s increasingly divergent tastes, we are seeing a general deterioration of the “mass” market. Other industries are not immune to these forces either; in banking, 150 percent of profits are derived from just 20 percent of customers (per Banking Strategies, Dec. ‘99).

What is really, really shocking is that so few brands have recognized concentration of their most important customers and shifted strategies accordingly. Mass advertising such as TV, print, and even digital banners can perform a touch of targeting, but by definition they waste tremendous money on people who mean nothing to the bottom line.

My hope is that each marketer who sees this fact reaches a personal tipping point into a new way of approaching her job: Instead of spamming zillions with unwanted messages, turn your attention to the people who love your brand and give them marketing that actually improves their lives.

There are many ways to start speaking directly with this core customer base. The Coke Rewards loyalty program was specifically started to reward and communicate directly with those who drink the most product. We helped Abbott Nutrition provide added-value resources for people with diabetes at Diabetes Control for Life, and for new moms at StrongMoms.com. We’ve even had great success with a modest email list for Folgers. People who join these programs by far tend to be in the 80-for-2.5, and they are first to try your new products and tell their friends about your brand.

The starting point for all marketers is to stop burning cash at the top of the purchase funnel—Awareness—and begin investing at the bottom with your most profitable and most loyal who believe your Marketing with Meaning is most important.