Where’s the emotion in B2B marketing? Often non-existent, isn’t it?!
That’s a problem – because emotion creates personal, instinctive connections.
B2B marketing seems to be much more rational and factual when compared to B2C marketing which has a more emotional element to it. According to a recent study, customers who have an emotional relationship with a brand have a 306% higher lifetime value and are likely to recommend the company at a rate of 71%, instead of the average 45%. Pretty impressive, right?
Our emotions are natural and instinctive, and they decide what we do and don’t want to do when we connect with someone. Therefore, our emotions don’t distinguish between B2B and B2C settings, so we shouldn’t approach them any differently. So…
How do you make emotional decisions and how has the pandemic had an effect?
Well, the pandemic has had a huge impact on marketing, completely changing how sales now work. Over the course of the past two years, face-to-face contact has diminished and, consequently, LinkedIn has had a gush of active users. Since digital marketing has seen such a huge surge, more people are now putting out their company messages on social media and their website. So, it’s just got a whole lot more competitive! To come out on top, you need your messages to connect with your audience; and without employing emotion, it just isn’t going to work.
A recent study showed that patients who had an issue with a part of their brain that makes emotional decisions couldn’t, for example, decide on which socks to wear or what to watch on television. So, it’s pretty clear that even the simplest of choices involve emotion!
At what point in the buying process does rational thinking fit in?
Rational thinking has been part of marketing for a huge chunk of time, so we’re not suggesting it could be scrapped completely – just change the order you use it in. Rational approaches are very direct and should be practised after you’ve emotionally connected with your network. Once you’ve successfully built a relationship with your audience, it’s absolutely fine to then throw out case studies, statistics and facts about your brand. Think of the first message on the homepage of your website – would a personal message that relates to you entice you more, or an insignificant statistic about a business you know nothing about?
How do you get started?
Every B2B business has the ability of emotional messaging and creating an emotional impact on their audience. To kick the process off, simply talk to your clients. Interviewing them and asking how they perceive your brand, or their own experience will allow them to relax and open up – you’ll gain an honest reflection! You could also speak to your internal team – after all, who knows your brand any better than them?
So, in a competitive marketing environment, make sure you’re making those all-important emotional connections! Get in touch today to add emotion to your B2B brand. Email us at: hello@weareembrace.com
You can also watch our Managing Director, Becky Reardon and Digital Director, Ciarán Reardon discuss this topic in our latest podcast.
View on YouTube
Listen on Spotify
This latest thinking article was written by:
Becky Readon
Managing Director
