“Business to business is just marketing to consumers who happen to have a corporation to pay for what they buy.” – Seth Godin
Behind every B2B buying decision is a living, breathing human being. Whether you’re marketing cloud software, industrial solvents or IT services, there’s a person or a group of people who you need to win over.
The natural tendency among marketers is to focus only on what the product has to offer. In other words, appeal to the decision maker’s rational side. But according to a Google/CEB study , the reality is communicating “personal value” delivers twice the impact on a sale compared to “business value.”
The way to influence B2B buyer decisions is through their heart — tapping into real emotions like anxiety, frustration and joy. But before you start bombarding your clients with corgi gifs and laughing baby videos you must understand that some emotions might work better than others. It’s critical that you know your customer before going willy-nilly with the waterworks.
This handy guide provides real-world examples of B2B marketing that plays up emotions. Plus it identifies which emotional triggers are the most effective.
Everyone wants to be treated like a human. This goes for your B2B clients as well, so start speaking human and watch your value climb.