While marketers realize that engagement and trust form the core of the relationship with customers in the B2C space, some still fail to bring that realization over to their B2B clients. That is why B2B marketing has some catching up to do in meeting their prospects’ informational and emotional needs. Those who do will succeed in exceeding expectations, which gives them a significant advantage over the competition to gain attention and retain loyalty.
Recently I spoke with Ken Rutsky, author of Launching to Leading: How B2B Market Leaders Create Flashmobs, Marshal Parades, and Ignite Movements, about what what goes into successful B2B marketing. One of the biggest misconceptions people have, he said, is that all they need is the right tech.
While tech does indeed play a role in data-driven marketing, Rutsky considers it only one third of the story. And getting the story right is actually the key thing in effectively connecting with B2B customers, just as it is for B2C customers.
Who’s the hero in your marketing story?
From the tales of Homer to comic books and films like Star Wars, and even Disney’s Moana, stories of a hero’s journey remain persistently popular. Rutsky credits Joseph Campbell’s 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, for breaking down the steps involved in such stories.
Rutsky quotes Campbell’s summary of the journey story on p. 95 of his own book: “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”
In his own words, Rutsky described it as the hero’s perilous journey far from home to bring “a magical gift” to improve his own world. Such stories are a great way for marketers to present a product or service that will solve a persistent problem for the business customer. And they often do so, but what they tend to get wrong is the casting of the hero.
“Don’t make the product the hero,” warns Rutsky. “Make the customer the hero.”
He knows that it is very tempting to give the starring role to what we’re selling. It likened it to parents’ desire to show off the kids they are so proud of. But while you may be enamored with your literal or figurative babies, their many attributes are not what is of interest to your audience.
What is of interest to the audience is how they can use your products and services to solve the problem. So they become the hero, thanks to the magical sword that will enable them to slay the dragon. Or they will be the CMO that is able to deliver targeted campaigns via the real time data updates that come through your tech solution.
Effective storytelling is a central component of effective B2B marketing, according to the Content Marketing Institute’s B2B Benchmarks 2019: Budgets, and Trends — North America. When looking at the main differences between top performing marketers and the least successful ones surveyed, it found that success was correlated with storytelling and relating to audience. Another key difference was strong community building and audience participation.
Another analogy for effective B2B marketing that Rutsky offers is that of a race car. He explained that it’s not enough to have the right engine and the right tires on the car; you also need to be sure it is powered by the right gas. “The right message and right story is putting the high class fuel into the car” that will allow it to perform properly.
“You have to start with a good message,” Rutsky insists. It’s simply not possible to just “A/B test the way to the right solution.” He adds, “ I’m an engineer by training,” but that he knows tech alone is not the answer. Effective market involves both “art and science.”
