The time I chased a prospect down a corridor
And what it tells us about the finding the truth in B2B copywriting
At an industry conference, when I was a much younger marketer, I spotted a senior prospect walk past my table in the hotel breakfast room. On a whim, I leapt from my chair and set off in pursuit, to ask if she would accept a meeting with my firm.
Am I sharing this nugget from my past as a high quality networking tip? Absolutely not. I still cringe when I remember the scene: the unsuspecting top banana, turning towards me with an expression of disdainful astonishment. Me, breathless and scattering croissant crumbs as I galloped out of the restaurant and down the corridor, already regretting my impulsive decision. Her tone, which made it clear she was saying yes as the quickest way to shake off this over-eager pest.
I got the meeting but it was at the expense of my dignity, self esteem and a perfectly good croissant.
So why the heck are you bringing it up, you weirdo?
I’m bringing it up because as a story it has three things in common with all good B2B marketing content:
it’s built on truth,
it has an emotional resonance, and
it's memorable (for me at least - let’s hope that poor woman has expunged it from her mind).
B2B marketing communications, from articles to award entries, rely on those three elements to stand out and be persuasive.
(You might recognise echoes of that prospect-stalking fiasco in this video of networking tips. A must-watch for anyone planning their events lead generation strategy.)
Find the nugget of truth…no, not that one
If you’re a marketer trying to build a connection with prospects, a shared truth is a great place to start. How can you show prospective buyers that you’ve felt their pain and you empathise? That you’ve walked a mile in their shoes and that, therefore, you understand what would make their working lives better? (Spoiler alert: it’s your product.)
B2B marketing content attempts to do this a lot, but the ‘truth’ being expressed often isn’t…well…particularly true.
“Leverage our solution to accelerate your organisation’s strategic growth.”
“Enhance your operational efficiencies with our AI-ready, integrated platform.”
These kinds of lines deal with surface truths. Yes, your platform is probably great at integrating with other systems, which saves time and reduces errors. Your service can probably make people more efficient and cut costs, so it’s easier for their business to grow. But if you phrase it at that generic level, who can relate? And how true does it really feel, to the individuals you’re trying to convince?
Dig a bit deeper
If you want marketing content to grab people’s attention and persuade them to act, you have to dig deeper. Raid your own personal experiences. You don’t have to tell a personal story, but you do have to remember what it feels like to be a human at work, and how what you’re selling might be relevant to that.
Let’s say the CRM platform you’re marketing integrates with other systems. So what? If you were using it, would you value the fact you could ‘reduce your operational lead times’? Or that - finally! - you could start leaving the office early enough to get a seat on the train; rather than assuming your usual position, pressed up between the chatty drunk guy and the woman who tuts every time your foot accidentally touches hers?
What’s the ignition point?
In his brilliant book, ‘The Science of Storytelling’, Will Storr says:
‘Good stories have a kind of ignition point. It’s that wonderful moment in which we find ourselves sitting up in the narrative, suddenly attentive, our emotions switched on, curiosity and tension sparked. An ignition point is the first event in a cause-and-effect sequence that will ultimately force the protagonist to question their deepest beliefs.’
Now, I realise not many pieces of B2B content are going to make people question their deepest beliefs. (Unless it’s the belief that you can’t read the word ‘leverage’ too often.) But they all need an ignition point: some kernel of truth that makes the reader see things differently, question their preconceptions or experience the satisfying conviction that someone ‘gets’ them and their challenges.
The ignition point will come from a human experience of some kind, no matter how complex, professional or business-y your business-to-business proposition is. And it will need to be expressed in language that doesn’t create distance between the message and the reader.
Or, to put it another way, it’ll come from chasing a stranger down a corridor, not leveraging an unexpected opportunity to build a business relationship with a key new logo decision maker.
I’m Heather Barnett, a freelance B2B copywriter and creator of silly videos about marketing. This is the second issue of my regular newsletter with tips on creating better B2B content.
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