Insights

B2B Should Be Bold, Not Boring.

Author - armstrong-admin
09.03.2021

For years, B2B marketing has been saddled with the reputation of being dry, stuffy and overly corporate – the suited-and-booted sibling of dressed-down B2C.

Sometimes justly and sometimes unfairly applied, it’s nevertheless a negative misconception that stifles creativity. And according to an article in Marketing Week earlier this year, it also discourages fresh talent from joining the B2B world.

It makes sense then, that B2B agencies are increasingly breaking the corporate mould to embrace a more creative outlook.

You need only look to the popularity and outlandishness of ‘Tudder’, the humorous dating app for cows from Hectare Agritech, to understand the scope of what can be possible for B2B marketing. Or the entertaining drama of the ‘Every Second Counts’ short films from IBM, targeting Chief Information Officers and IT leaders with the potential threats of cybersecurity and not having a rapid recovery plan in place.

In fact, many B2B marketers are now starting to take inspiration from their B2C counterparts, focusing on building strong customer relationships with solid brand-building and emotional storytelling. It’s this long-term thinking that helps B2B brands to become more widely recognised, attract new customers and ultimately grow bigger. Rather than the kind of short-termism that holds them back.

Additionally, B2B marketers need to consider how the business world is changing around them and cater to a younger generation of innovators. The majority of the workforce, including the key decision-makers, are now millennials – and they’re really clued up.

This has brought much more casual work cultures and companies that are a lot more tech-savvy. What was once seen as ‘professional’ can now come across as stiff, formal and outdated. For a sector that is used to relying upon product facts and data, this may no longer be enough.

Our target audiences are people, not just faceless companies. Therefore, we shouldn’t be afraid to entertain them as well as inform them.

Be bold, grab attention, forge emotional connections. It’s more than just simply being creative to stand out – it’s a matter of survival.