Moving the needle.
Eric Marjoram ??
I help complex B2B brands get clear about the problem they solve and why anyone should care.
"Great marketing doesn’t just describe products and services – with subtlety and clarity it creatively speaks to subconscious human needs." ~ Peter Kotler
Why do complex B2B brands all sound the same?
It’s something I’ve seen for years. Every brand and website starts looking and sounding the same. Everyone thinking their competitors are copying their undifferentiated messaging or position. But why?
Well, I have a theory that's more?of an educated observation.?B2B brands tend to talk about themselves. They focus on things like their products, services, history, or awards.?This kind of descriptive approach is common, but as the market gets more crowded or sophisticated, the story becomes less differentiated and more complex.?Everyone starts to look and sound the same. This is where most B2B brands get stuck: on the left side of the?Message Framing Spectrum above.
If you want your messaging to be more differentiated and therefore more effective, you need to shift the conversation to the right. Move the needle from?What?you make?to?What?you make possible.?Instead of focusing on your products or services, talk about the possibilities you enable. What problems do you solve for your customers? How do you improve their lives??This benefit driven approach helps B2B brands build relevance and connect emotionally.?
Your ideal prospects care most about themselves and their own problems. So?the best way to engage with them is to show them that you care about what they care about.?(Hint:?It's?not you.)
Shift your position to the right: from features to benefits, from promotions to possibilities.??
In the B2B world, it's easy to fall into the?“talking?about ourselves all the time” trap. After all, everyone else does it. Listing future-proof features, flaunting best-in-class solutions, or boasting about vanity awards. But the truth is, your ideal prospects don't care about any of that. Let me say that again. Your ideal prospects don’t care about you. They only care about what you make possible for them. Speak to that future?and you’ll stand out in the sea of sameness.
Sláinte,??? ???
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Eric
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Customer Research & Product Strategy | Business Development | PLG | GTM | Mercedes Historian
1 个月Eric Marjoram ?? one thing I’ve seen is that “what you make possible for them” gets diluted down to ROI, growth, and other seemingly hard results that come across fluffy. Also, buyers tend to anchor to something they are familiar with: “oh you mean you are like…“ so they can understand what you offer. If you are suggesting B2B brands focus on “what becomes possible through your product,” I’m curious how you approach packaging that? Without attaching it to a very specific set of services or a product with boundaries?
--UGA Student Studying Financial Planning
6 个月Very insightful Eric!
Marketing and Communications leader | Leading corporate storytelling across various industries | Developing B2B content for digital and traditional channels to increase engagement
6 个月Very insightful! I think the difficultly for many B2B brands depends on where they are in the value chain. The further away from the end application means a greater effort to understand the benefits to the direct customer but also the end user. This is where sales, business development and technical teams can play a critical role.
I leverage technology to drive organizational revenue and efficiency. Strategy, Web, Marketing, Automation.
6 个月Such a great observation. So many B2B brands fall into the trap of focusing inward instead of thinking about what really matters to their audience. Shifting to an 'Outside-In' strategy could be the key to standing out in a crowded space. Love this.