Photo by Emanuela Meli on Unsplash
In this digital day and age, we consume content daily. It has become a significant part of our lives; we consume content when we wake up, when we commute, and just before we go to bed. For businesses, we’ve come to a point where B2B marketing content isn’t a luxury but a necessity. All marketing, especially B2B, relies on content. We make use of content as tools to help market our services or products. We need content to communicate our business’s purpose in the industry, our speciality services, the features of our products, to reach out to a prospect, and the list goes on. But have you wondered what makes a piece of B2B content successful?
Creativity’s function in business
The answer lies simply in the way it is presented. To refine it further, it is in the storytelling. Take notice the next time you attend a webinar or look at an infographic. The speaker at the webinar, accompanied by their slides, breaks down concepts and numbers into story structures that end up being pieced as narratives. You, as the attendee are absorbing them easily as they come while simultaneously being convinced by the impactful narrative. Same for infographics, a designer has gathered important information and translated them into a design that presents the information in a digestible and effective form of content.
The webinar speaker and graphics designer utilize a very important aspect in B2B content that is often overlooked and that is creativity. Creativity serves various purposes in businesses; it is necessary as it fights stagnation and encourages growth and innovation. Especially for growth, the idea that there’s only one way to interpret or approach a situation or challenge can hinder a business’s growth. When presented with a new situation, it is tempting to approach it by simply mimicking what everyone else is doing. Would we eventually stand out from the crowd if we continuously look at our competitors? You wouldn’t want the reputation of copycat marketing now, do you? Creativity in B2B content has never been more inherent than this year.
In this year’s
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, there will be a category for B2B. Participants of this category will be titled
the Creative B2B Lions. All entries must demonstrate a mix of short-term strategy and long-term tactics to connect with consumers, improve brand health and ultimately drive growth. Judges will consider several criteria and weight them as follows: 30% creative idea; 20% strategy; 30% execution; 20% results. The pieces of work can be submitted into 2 categories: section ‘A. Services’ or section ‘B. Products’. It is inspiring to know that this spotlight on the global creative stage can push and challenge the B2B creative conventions in the years to come. Such events can offer more understanding of how creativity can play a role across the B2B customer journey and find common elements that lead to better work.
Emotional persuasion
“So how can I make my B2B content more creative?”, you may ask. Well, according to a
survey conducted, 48% of B2B buyers find B2B advertising boring, and 82% wish B2B ads were as creative as B2C ads. This is a good indication of how your content can be more “creative”, you just need to make it look more like B2C content. Now, what does that mean? A major difference we noticed between B2B and B2C content marketing is how audiences are motivated. Often, B2C audiences are motivated by their needs, desires, and impulses. While there is a certain amount of emotional motivation among B2B buyers, most companies rely on data and logic for their final decision. So, we need to connect with our B2B buyers on a human level first, before showcasing the statistics and numbers. And what better way to do that than with storytelling. As humans, we are always curious. We try to make sense of the world around us, it is part of our innate desire. Therefore, we love stories because it satisfies our curiosity after each layer of information is revealed. The power of a compelling story can apply to the most technical business you can imagine. Customers will enjoy your product/service if you tell a good story about it rather than simply listing all its features.
Be an emotional storyteller
The focus in today’s business environment is
on the customer. Thus, B2B conversations must be personalized, centered on results, and driven by benefits instead of technical details. Your B2B content marketing strategies need to be more than logic and technical processes. Your customers need to link to you emotionally.
Studies show that B2B customers are significantly more emotionally attached to their vendors and service providers than consumers. You need to speak the same vocabulary as your customer even if this customer is a company. A company after all is essentially a board of stakeholders with each of them being a person with their expectations, needs and pain points. B2B emotional connections are not about status, identity, comfort, or joy, but about efficiency, convenience, trust, and other motivations that can affect decision-making. Think like a storyteller, and you’ll be amazed to discover how powerful a brand’s story can be when it reaches out to B2B customers on an emotional level.
If you’re looking for a company that will help you emotionally connect with your customers, look no further than Convergence Concepts. Our team has the skills you need to infuse creativity when it comes to experience design, strategy, creative and digital media. Feel free to reach out to us at
marketing@convergenceconcepts.com.sg with your inquiries.
