In summary:

• You need to be brave or risk being unnoticed.
• B2B tech companies are using emotional marketing to stand out in a crowded market.
• Creative boundaries are being pushed as tech marketing becomes more creatively brave than ever.
• Emotional factors like trust, confidence, confidence, and reassurance are the most powerful differentiators for B2B brands.

In a trend that started before the pandemic, but was accelerated by it, B2B technology marketers are finally starting to lean more into the emotional side of marketing.

Gone are the days when tech companies were beating people over the head with fact after fact. When you’re in such a competitive market, it can get blurry for your audience, and you lessen your ability to differentiate your service or product.

A study by Motista backs this up. It shows that B2B buyers assume potential suppliers all have roughly equivalent value to add. The real differentiator is the emotional benefit they personally feel from making a particular choice.

So it’s crucial to win their hearts, as well as their minds.

Of course, this is easier said than done. To do emotional-based marketing you have to be willing to take a stand To not be everything to everyone, and frankly a little boring. B2B tech marketing is a tough space. Sometimes it can be really mechanical, and teasing out those emotional messages can be challenging.

But creative storytelling is an area that tech marketers need to excel. It’s also the most untapped opportunity in the market to differentiate yourself.

Now is the time to push the boundaries of creativity

There’s never been a better time to experiment with creative approaches. Tech marketing is becoming more creatively brave than ever. This was a dominant trend we saw in our Perspective 2021 research. We surveyed over 200 senior tech marketing professionals in the UK. Three quarters of them said tech marketing is brave when it goes to market.

The wave is here, so ride it – or risk being sucked under. Or as a panellist at our recent webinar said:

“Be brave or risk going unnoticed.”

Shikha Saxena, Head of UK Marketing at GlobantTweet

Another of our webinar panellists, Gleb Brichko, VP Growth and Global Demand Generation at Rubrik, warned that in today’s cluttered landscape “you’re only a click away from losing your audience.” Their time is precious. Being short, to the point and delivering that emotional kick with clarity and potency isn’t easy. But it’s vital.

Emotion drives buying behaviour in B2B marketing

While it’s harder to do, the rewards are well documented. Whether you’re in B2B or B2C, emotions are the number one factor driving buying decisions. Research for the B2B Institute shows that B2B strategies that appeal to emotions are 7x more effective at driving long-term sales, profits, and revenue than rational messaging.

Even in B2B marketing, people buy with emotions and explain with logic. When we talk about emotional factors we aren’t always talking about joy, or moments that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. We’re also talking about trust, confidence, and reassurance. These are the most powerful differentiators for B2B brands.

Being able to communicate complex technology products using both emotional and rational drivers is a tough challenge. But it’s crucial to standing out in a saturated marketplace.

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