It’s incredibly frustrating. I’ve spent my career in the B2B world. I know the dynamism and creativity that exists in so many industries.
Yet even today, with all this great new technology to aid the development and delivery of our messages, we can still fall short in delivering excitement, creativity, and engagement.
Remember all you B2B-ers, it stands for “business-to-business,” not “boring-to-boring!”
It’s mind-blowing to view B2B web sites today that are still basically all text, all about the product (not the target audience and its needs), done with blue as the accent color and black text, and read like a tech manual.
Bleh.
It’s time to stretch yourself. Think bolder. Speak simpler. Stop worrying that you’ll look too “flashy.” Or that it’s not business-like to use sentences that begin with “Or.”
It’s okay to use colors other than blue. Go crazy. Try burgundy. Or silver. Or better yet, consider a multi-toned palette! You really can do it AND still keep your professional look and feel.
Same goes for writing style. It’s perfectly okay to write the way you speak. You don’t have to go all formal just because you’re typing at a keyboard. It’s about communicating effectively. And if your audience doesn’t speak “high English,” don’t write that way!
Remember, the B2B world is made of people just like you. Multi-layered, complex individuals with an array of likes and dislikes, wants and needs, successes and failures, dreams and fears . . . you get the idea. We don’t all have blue walls at home and we don’t all speak like Commander Data from “Star Trek: TNG.”
Besides writing more casually, try writing more personally. Add more stories. Speak using “I/we” and “you.” Relate a personal anecdote. Think about the presentations you’ve attended in the past and most enjoyed. Most likely they “connected” with you in some way. What the presenter offered “hit home” and you related. Find within your corporate self the means to connect with your target audience. Share in a way you know they’ll “get.”
B2B-ers take note. We really CAN change how we present our web sites and sales brochures, and how we write our blogs and email campaigns. We can use color, tone, point-of-view, style, imagery, games, and video, and still be professional and business-like.
In a world in which the individual is increasingly able to tailor his world experience to his own tastes and interests, businesses must adopt an increasingly personal approach to marketing and connecting with their audiences. Those who do, can succeed. Those who don’t, well, who remembers?