Bringing emotional intelligence to B2B marketing

B2B marketing traditionally conjures up images of formality, facts and figures – the straight-laced cousin of the traditionally more creative and imaginative ‘B2C’.

However, marketers are starting to question why this division exists when contrary to popular belief, Bill, who works in B2B and loves Schitt’s Creek and stories about penguins overcoming adversity, does not suddenly check his personality when he logs into his computer on a Monday morning. Nor does the B2B sphere only employ mindless robots who communicate in binary code.   At the end of the day, both B2B and B2C audiences are humans driven by the same emotions and instincts as each other.

Is it possible to convey the information required to start a B2B relationship through a more emotionally driven process? Our article explores the findings:

Removing pre-conceptions about B2B audiences

According to the World Advertising Research Centre (WARC), it’s important to highlight that there’s a new generation of B2B audiences:

“80% of B2B tech buyers are aged 25-44, and women make up 53% of buyers under 30; it’s a younger demographic than the stereotypical older, suit-and-tie buyer and they have different needs”

There’s an argument to be made that there’s always been a case for B2B marketing to be more emotional. After all, humans haven’t suddenly become more human. However, in a marketplace that is increasingly over saturated with content and information, brands need to effectively demonstrate their personality to stand out. Decision-makers are overwhelmed by choice and sellers with slick figures, grand promises and ultimately identical messages are unlikely to be memorable. The WARC also states that:

“As many as 80% of buyers prefer to have the same sales experience as B2C consumers, meaning that all the fundamental rules of B2C marketing, such as long and short attention, mental and physical availability, and marketing effectiveness, apply to B2B as well.”

It’s clearly important to present the key information for your individual proposition in a way that’s appropriate to your brand.  No-one’s expecting you to announce your finance modelling system through a dancing clown. However, there’s a false preconception that the B2C marketing approach isn’t ‘serious’ enough for B2B when it’s actually highly feasible to communicate your product’s benefits with a dose of originality and emotion.

Moving past facts and figures

Getting both approval and budget for investment into long-term marketing is a long-time problem for marketeers.  With data from the LinkedIn B2B Institute, IE University reports that “75% of the B2B ads are ineffective and don’t drive long-term growth.”  Yet, as Marketing Week recently reported, brand building for B2B businesses has never been more important.

Empathising with the audience, demonstrating a brand’s personality and humanity and developing a creative storytelling journey throughout the buying process are critical ways to build a strong long-term brand.

Trust is also integral to building lasting business relationships. Long-term connections stem from a mutual understanding and respect for what each party is trying to achieve and what lies at the ethos of their brand. And it’s a lot easier to get a sense of this from a brand’s story rather than a spreadsheet.

Companies are not looking for a ‘one size fits all’ approach or a faceless organisation but, instead, want a human connection with the people with whom they’ll be conducting their everyday business.

How other B2B brands are achieving this – KPMG Case Study

At the 2023 Drum Awards for marketing excellence, KPMG won The Drum’s ‘excellence in B2B marketing’ category by creating a dynamic piece of advertising for its Customer Advisory Services offer.

One of the key aims of the KPMG campaign was to target audiences that would not ‘typically consider KPMG as a strategic advisor’ and to utilise ‘memorable advertising rather than thought leadership.’ By doing this, they were able to tap into the crucial selling point of relatability with their audience as opposed to simply hitting them with technical buzzwords.

The campaign results spoke for themselves as KPMG:

• Drove unprecedented reach (9 million impressions) and engagement.
• Achieved CTRs 480% higher than industry benchmarks.
• Achieved website traffic targets three weeks into a five-month campaign.
• Increased opportunity volume by 11%.
• Increased the value of new project opportunities by 68%.

What can B2B marketers learn?

After a long-established history of B2B marketing being less inventive, creative and humorous than its B2C counterpart, it’s easy to see why companies might be reticent to shake up their advertising and communications. However, the case for a more personal, emotionally driven approach is compelling. 

This does not need to sacrifice the core proposition at the heart of the business – if anything, this methodology should enhance the offering and bring it to life in a way that is effective, informative and  – most importantly – memorable.

About Us

At FS Partnership, we have extensive global experience in helping financial services companies to stay relevant in an ever-evolving marketplace. We help our business partners to create a strong brand, intelligently position their offering in the marketplace and expand their client base. If you’d like to chat to our Managing Director, Chris Hopwood, about our previous work or your own specific requirements, please do get in touch for a chat on 07766 824209.