Future of b2b marketing - Part II
It first rumbled into the internet station in 1999.
Hardly anyone noticed or paid much attention.
22 years after the train has long since departed, there are still plenty of people – especially B2B marketers – unaware of how much they’ve been left behind.
“Companies that speak in the language of the pitch are no longer speaking to anyone” THE CLUETRAIN MANIFESTO
Published in 1999, The Cluetrain Manifesto envisaged precisely what would happen with our social media planet as we know it. Prior to Y2K and long before Google, Facebook and YouTube, four tech brainiacs named Rick, Christopher, David and Doc predicted with stunning accuracy how this journey would unfold. Organized in 95 theses, this prophecy for the Digital Age, foretold how organisations would need to navigate the complexity of web-connected markets. It clearly explained how companies – including yours - would need to shift their thinking in order to connect with customers and their people. The first three of the 95 theses are more relevant today than ever:
1. Markets are conversations.
2. Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.
3. Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.
The vast majority of companies still struggle, however, to speak human. They prefer instead to inundate websites with pretentious and ‘professional’ language, peppered with bromides such as ‘unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction’. Sanitized and homogenized, this generic approach merely reveals how outdated and out of touch they are. Glorified online brochures stuffed with unverified claims of being ‘industry leaders’ and ‘putting clients and stakeholders first’ do precious little to make a genuine human connection. Which is why a distinct competitive advantage belongs to companies like a Canadian manufacturer willing to jump in and be part of a real conversation.
Pull up a chair, grab a cold one and see how Bob Lennon of Thermalwood Canada left the station to explore The Red Hot Future of B2B Marketing -Part II on this segment of Leaders & Legends.
“We are not seats or eyeballs or end users or consumers. We are human beings – and our reach exceeds your grasp. Deal with it” THE CLUETRAIN MANIFESTO, 1999
p.s. The Cluetrain Manifesto owes its name to an executive describing his company’s plummeting fortunes by saying: “The clue train stopped here four times a day for ten years and they never took delivery. Nobody took advantage of the opportunities that laid before them”.
Several times a month, I speak to dozens of B2B organizations still trying to wrap their heads around this new reality. For some, it’s like they have a mental default switch that says, “Because we’re B2B, the way we market products and services isn’t as sexy or exciting like selling beer, burgers, bikinis or motorbikes. We’re just going to market the way B2B does.” While everyone is entitled to their own opinion, it’s worth examining the facts and whether the traditional B2B approach is a cheap excuse and expensive price to pay for saying:
We’re lazy.
We have zero vision or imagination.
We prefer to complain and demonize technology rather than adapt to it.
All over the internet there are examples of B2B companies who have hopped on board. In much the same manner as Thermalwood Canada, California-based CEO Jesse Genet has lifted her packaging company into the stratosphere of profitability and relevance by making a serious commitment to her YouTube channel. With 35,000+ subscribers and riding the train to 3 million views, Lumi has become a $10 million brand with a product many would look at as boring and utilitarian.
There is a simple 1-2-3 path that any leader in any industry or category can follow.
Your on-line content is key to making a human connection.
If you make a real connection, you might be able to create a relationship.
If a relationship begins to form, you might earn enough trust that prompts someone to make a purchasing decision.
In today’s world – predicted as far back as 1999 – if a potential customer decides that you have what they need, they begin with a Google search. Keep in mind, 70–80% of searchers will choose to read blog posts instead of paid ads. If you have intrigued a prospect to visit your website, the advantage belongs to the B2B company that can speak in a human voice with a home page video that reflects their true character. The quality of that video and how it communicates your personality and values will play a key factor in determining whether you get that phone call or e-mail from a prospective customer.
How much longer can anyone afford to press the rewind button on the future?
Your ability to grow any sustainable enterprise begins with recognizing how markets consist of conversations, not data, demographics or corporate public relations. Public Relations does not relate to the public. The secret has been out since ‘99. Companies need to lighten up and demonstrate who they are – beyond their products and services.
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