How B2B marketers are winning the battle for hearts and minds
B2B marketers stand to reap serious gains if they are prepared to put their energy and focus into creativity and long-term brand building.
For decades, B2B marketing has had a reputation for being the less glamorous sister of B2C. Focused on driving leads and converting sales with corporates, B2B marketers have not been credited with having the same interest in creative long-term brand building as their consumer-focused counterparts.
In theory, B2B marketers do not have to be any less creative, but the structure of their businesses could be holding them back, says global lead at the LinkedIn B2B Institute, Jon Lombardo.
Typically product- and sales-led, B2B firms often value marketing less as a result, meaning there is not always the same level of investment in the function, Lombardo states. Yet, research published last year in collaboration with LinkedIn and effectiveness experts Les Binet and Peter Field identified a real opportunity for B2B firms to be more creative.
“The research shows that when you invest in brand building you get more market share growth in B2B than you do in B2C,” says Lombardo.
