The Future of b2b marketing
Nothing wastes time and money like an activity without insight.
It's especially true for any organization competing in the murky, confusing world of B2B marketing. For more than half a century, B2B marketing has been colored by a dizzying assortment of tactical brushes. Lumped in with glossy brochures, sales presentations, pitch decks, cold calls, trade shows, RFP's and product demos.
Many leaders choose to stay in that moshpit. Failing to recognize the writing on the internet wall, they stick with what they know. Ignoring possibilities and refusing to see how digital planet earth has shifted under their feet.
“Running away from any problem is a race you and I will never win.”
One leader who decided to confront these new realities is seeing some dramatic payoffs. Bob's manufacturing firm competes in a highly niched category creating wood products "cooked" in oxygen-free ovens at 400+ degrees Fahrenheit. Bob doesn't see marketing as a necessary evil operating on a shoestring budget, and in our Google-driven universe, his company is winning big during the customer research phase. Home page visitors have a chance to make a personal connection with Bob anytime they drop by his digital front porch of first impressions.
From the North Shore of New Brunswick, see what you can borrow from Bob and what he envisions as The Red Hot Future of B2B Marketing on this segment of Leaders & Legends.
“It’s fascinating how the fundamentals of business-to-business marketing are the same today as they were 50 years ago. It’s still about relationships although today we have new tools and techniques at our disposal.” - DAVID MEERMAN SCOTT, Author, Fanocracy,
p.s…. Here are two more “movie trailer” style videos that demonstrate how any B2B company can speak in a more human voice. The first is from ICP, a Toronto, ON-based textiles firm that is clearly “Cut From a Different Cloth”.
The second is from David Galownia and his team at Slingshot, based in Louisville, KY. Be forewarned, these software specialists are “For Big Kids & Daredevils”.
p.p.s … When you take a moment to stop, look around and reflect, how well is your business and brand positioned to take advantage of Three New Realities of B2B Marketing?:
Reality #1. The Customer Research Phase is Make or Break.
- When a potential client looking to spend tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars begins to research your company, what will they see? Have you demonstrated an easily identifiable thought leadership position? Where is the digital proof of your industry knowledge and expertise? Is it easy to find? Do you have an active, consistent publishing strategy with numerous and readily available videos, articles, and blogs that reveal your industry-leading expertise? How will they see you as a leader if you are not publishing original content that outranks your competitors? Producing content is now the minimum baseline – no matter what business category you operate in. Without a digital footprint, you don't exist. You'll strike out during the all-important research phase- and not even know it.
Reality #2. Your Home Page Strategy Is Not About You.
- It's about how you greet them. Do you give visitors something intriguing, surprising, or inspiring? Something to feel good and care about? If brand marketing is a question about positioning, how do you want to be known when a potential customer checks out your website? As the saying goes, you never get a second chance to make a positive first impression. When they arrive at the home page, will visitors be bombarded with a text-heavy assault of industry jargon, or will you welcome them with a story-based, 'movie trailer' video? Are you greeting your guests with a glorified online brochure peppered with products and stock photography or allowing them to see your more human, more personal side? The purpose of a home page is simple. Create connection. Inspire trust. Remember, they don't go to the website to find out what you do. They want to know who you are and if you're the type of people, they can do business with.
Reality #3. Your Brand Needs a Personality.
- Does your brand speak in a human voice? Does it reflect character and personality or drone on like the proverbial Charlie Brown teacher with pretentious mission statement language or corporate-speak?
If you are trying to create a connection with first-time visitors from distant markets, it helps to remember that people don't bond with companies or corporations. People only bond with human personalities and characters. The best brands in the world, like Apple, Caterpillar, Disney, Ferrari, Nike and Patagonia reflect their own distinct personalities and capture the spirit of a bigger, intangible idea than their tangible products. What’s stopping you? Taking a page from that same playbook, Bob Lennon and Thermalwood Canada are doing the same thing with their emphasis on community involvement. Other examples of exploring bigger ideas - beyond the products and services – include Slingshot Software in Louisville, KY and Trout River Industries, in Coleman, PEI, which has generated more than 6-million YouTube views on a nickel and dime budget.
No business, including yours, started out with the goal of blending in. Legendary Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter defines competition in business as the struggle to attain a profitable, unique position in the market. A brand strategy focused on differentiation through a personable, storytelling approach is how you can stand apart and give people a reason to choose your business over others. For centuries, storytelling has been the currency of kings, queens and leaders everywhere and if your commercial success hinges on human connection, that option has never been more readily available as opposed to defaulting to a sanitized, generic approach.
20-MINUTE CLARITY SESSION.
We allot a certain amount of time each month for readers like you to schedule a 20-Minute Clarity Session via ZOOM. If you are facing a business or branding challenge that you are not quite sure how to handle and need to bounce ideas and gain clarity, we’re only a click away.
YOUR BRAND. ON TRACK & WIDE-OPEN.
If now is the opportune time to differentiate, re-position and realign your organization, why not explore a metaphorical road trip called THE BRANDING HIGHWAY. Our in-person and virtual Executive Bootcamps serve as both journey and destination to help your brand emerge as an undeniable, undisputed, "Category of One".
“The most important victory is the one which has to arrive” ENZO FERRARI
PLANNING A SPEAKING EVENT?
The wheels of business turn faster each quarter and your company or industry association may be anxious to stay ahead of the lighting-fast relevance curve. In that respect, we are scheduling many in-person and virtual programs for 2021 with customized content designed to inspire conference attendees to acquire a “STADIUM-SIZED PERSPECTIVE”.
For more information on scheduling an In-Person or Virtual Speaking Program, send us a note here: bookings@gairmaxwell.com
Every week someone asks a question about our videos and more specifically our media partner responsible for the storyboarding, production and editing. Headquartered in the shadows of the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario, Defiant Astronaut Media is uniquely positioned to help business leaders re-think what's possible with this art form and how it can help build your brand. If you are curious about what's involved to get the proper gear to support your own video publishing efforts, here is a few ideas to get started. Click here: https://kit.co/defiantastronaut
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““What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive" ARNOLD PALMER