Why this title? “Do Not Think of B2B Marketing as Marketing”. Simple. B2B marketers understand its dynamic and pivotal role Yet, many others think such marketing is not as stimulating as B2C marketing. The latter include some job seekers.
From LinkedIn: Do Not Think of B2B Marketing as Boring
As Alex Rynne reports for LinkedIn:
I’d wager very few B2B marketers still believe B2B is boring by nature. But many of us still stick at stage two. It doesn’t have to be boring, implying that it’s okay if it is boring sometimes. A select few realize that for modern audiences, we can’t be boring anymore. People operate on emotions. They want to be entertained as well as informed.
The final stage of our business-to-business marketing transformation is a subtle but fundamental mindset shift: We need to stop treating business-to-business as something inherently boring that we can spice up with humor or emotional appeal.
In other words, business-to-business marketing is fundamentally emotional and fascinating. When we engaged in right, we shouldn’t think, “Okay, that’s the messaging done. Now to graft on some humor and personality.” When it’s rooted in human stories — conflict, challenge, failure, opportunity, victory — business-to-business marketing can be brilliant. Our pocket guide highlights examples of final-form fascinating B2B marketing.
The common thread for all of the campaigns in the infographic is that they’re equally as informative as they are entertaining. They didn’t start with, “How can we make this boring thing interesting enough for people to pay attention?” Rather, the approach is, “What is inherently interesting about this that we can highlight?”
For an excellent synopsis of LinkedIn’s matrix, check out the infographic devised by MarketingProfs. It shows several examples. Including Cisco, Upwork, Novartis, Uberflip.
