How to be sexy in B2B marketing

Boring and bold were the words used in the language game used for a panel discussing how business-to-business marketing doesn’t have to be boring and uncreative: “Bye Boring, Bye Bold: The Future of B2B Marketing”.

On stage were Erik Huberman, founder and CEO of Hawke Media, Melissa Rosenthal, CCO of ClickUp and Raj Sarkar, CMO of 1Password and startup advisor.

Acting in b2b marketing, the speakers noted, often means having excellent products, but it is difficult for customers to notice this because there are a huge number of players in all categories.

The examples of communication presented by the three often ended up being more of a fun profile than a serious advertisement, escaping the stereotype of made-for-segment pieces.

Raj pointed out that some b2b industries are not very approachable and it becomes difficult for consumers to understand how one product differs from another, and boldness is the only way they can show it. Melissa added that taking this stance is even more important in the current state of technology.

The founder of Hawke Media reminded that even in b2b marketing, the business is not advertised, but the people who are in it, and people, although they want to know what business solution the company offers, also decide. based on your emotions. “What we do for clients is what we would do for ourselves,” Erick said.

economic concerns

When the moderator brought up the context of a possible economic recession, the speakers agreed that now is not the time to cut back on advertising. Moreover, for Melissa, anyone who knows how to get through this period will come out stronger. And he pointed out that there are many ways to continue investing in marketing without committing so much money and in creative ways that can generate a lot of buzz. Raj Sarkar joined in by pointing out that it is essential to calculate well where to put your dollars.

“It’s very dangerous to run a business based on news headlines, because we can be living in a recession long before it happens,” warned Erick. At the time, he said that he had built the app for less than US$200,000 and had done ads with a budget of between US$10,000 and US$20,000 and still managed to have a good effect. The company started as b2b and also became b2c. His first campaign, with actor Ryan Reynolds, was one that, using humor, went viral on the Internet, increasing brand awareness.

Melissa also pointed out that not everything in everyday communication is made up of large movements and that micro-campaigns can play a much more important role.

Increasing your own exposure, however, requires some attention, they reminded, such as creating campaigns that are bold and highlight the brand, but linked to mechanisms that generate conversion; have a structure that supports the interactions they cause (traffic or encouraging the use of a QR code, for example, to work).

Social marketing and experience

“One thing the networking community doesn’t like is marketing,” Raj said, to emphasize the need to do fun things digitally. And the b2b brand does not have to be limited to LinkedIn, the CEO reminded, since these are different engagements. And TikTok – regardless of the political controversy it creates in the US – was the network they singled out for action.

According to Melissa, social media marketing is a “huge organic opportunity to build brands,” not only by using external influencers, but also the company’s own workforce in this media channel role. And the opportunity right now, on networks like TikTok, is the ability to build an audience without having to spend years building a following.

Although all the power of social networks in communication was raised, other digital possibilities were also remembered. video on demand platforms; podcasts (an easy way to align your brand); MNTN (described as Google ads for streaming TV).

In addition, experience marketing has gone down in history, as something that should come back stronger, considering all the noise that is being made in the online world today. For Erick, it should be a mid-stream strategy and not involve a huge budget. Raj reminded that “Googlers and Twitterers” themselves invest in marketing experiences and events.

“From the point of view of the brand it is important. The point is to think strategically about where you can make the most noise, have the biggest impact, because otherwise you’re spending a lot of money to be a small fish in a pond,” warned Melissa.

In the end, invited to advise smaller brands operating in b2b, Melissa hit upon the key that it is necessary to think about doing something different from the competition and not depending on big budgets. Erick recalled that a lot of people buy something because someone says it’s good, so you need to be able to define in a sentence what you are doing, in addition, you need to invest in the presence of the public you intend to reach so that it does not leave its range of consideration.

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