There’s a great initiative that’s been kicked off by the Business Marketing Collective to challenge marketers in the B2B space to say why they love B2B Marketing. You can follow the story on Twitter at #iloveb2b. Here’s my contribution…
I've been doing B2B marketing for a long time. And when i started no-one, but no-one, chose B2B marketing as a career. No-one ever in career classes at school said "You know what, I have a passion for promoting considered-purchase products & services." No-one went to University with the ambition of being a B2B marketer. No-one even got qualified to be a B2B marketer.
And lets be honest, most B2B marketers historically fell into B2B marketing. Either by deciding sales wasn't for them or by moving out of general admin roles. But that's all set to change.
I truly believe we are in a golden age for B2B marketing. The old divide between B2C and B2B marketing has gone. The reality is the exciting stuff is in B2B. You get to do all the cool stuff that you envied B2C marketers for: digital marketing, data-driven marketing, content marketing, multi-channel communication, cut-thru creative and more. But you also get to cover multiple decision makers, varying personas and conflicting needs. In short, you have a far more interesting and challenging opportunity. Forget trying to tug the emotional strings of a mother to buy fabric conditioner. You try instilling confidence in a CFO, a CEO and a CMO that you have a dependable, reliable business service that will drive growth and deliver a customer experience that more than delights their customers.
Now, that's exciting.
Its about logic, emotion, proof, business value, entertainment, ROI, being engaging, forging long-lasting relationships, delivering on promises, exciting customers.
And the best thing? No one has done this before. There's no Madison Avenue playbook, no corporate "way". You're a pioneer. An entrepreneur. An innovator. And you're at the forefront of a new industry.
And that's why #iloveb2b.