It’s February 14th and while couples around the world over are celebrating their love, B2B marketers have plenty to love about marketing in 2022.
The pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of many B2B brands to meet the needs and expectations of digital first buyers and that increased digital focus has opened up a new world of opportunities to engage buyers in more meaningful ways.
When starting out in marketing so many years ago, I had no idea what my career or the world would look like in 2022. But I’ve definitely caught the love bug for business to business marketing. What I am most optimistic about in 2022 is our focus on optimizing and elevating the practice of B2B marketing by doing some of the things I love most: humanizing marketing, creating more meaningful marketing experiences and giving voice to talent.
Of course it’s not just me that feels this optimism. To take the temperature of love for B2B marketing, I reached out to some of the most respected and influential voices in the business marketing world plus some of the team at TopRank Marketing and asked: What do you love most about B2B marketing? Of course, the amazing Ann Handley kicked things off with a poem:
A Love Poem for B2B Marketers by Ann Handley @marketingprofs
Author, Friend of Lee, Poet Laureate of B2B Marketing
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Are you, blog reader, a
B2B Marketer, too?
Do you love SEO
Analytics and Ads?
All the B2B basics!
None of them fads.
Me, too, my sweets!
And don’t forget newsletters!
Which every org needs…
If they only knew better.
So hugs to you, my B2B friend.
(And your violets of blue.)
I’m glad you’re in love…
With B2B, too.
Ann really elevates the bar when it comes to content and why shouldn’t she? One of the great opportunities for the B2B marketing world is to break free of status quo and mediocrity and embrace the content formats, styles and narratives that make experiences more meaningful (and less mechanical). So what do other top marketers love about B2B?
Let us count the ways…
“I’m in love with B2B buyer engagement. You know, that feeling you get when your content/message really connects and serves. And you know because they click to read the next related piece or comment and share or reach out with a question. Makes my day! Every. Single. Time.”
Ardath Albee @ardath421
CEO & B2B Marketing Strategist
Marketing Interactions
“I love that there is not a lot of BS in B2B marketing — it’s about solving problems. Unlike consumer marketing, B2B marketing is truly designed to make people’s work lives better by lending a helping hand.”
Tequia Burt @TequiaBurt
Editor in Chief, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Blog
LinkedIn
“What I love about B2B marketing is its precision. B2B – or any complex sale with multiple decisioning steps and stakeholders – has a wealth of data you can use to build analytics and machine learning models and deeply understand your customer. Because the volume isn’t as high, you can spend more time learning what your customers need and dialing into fulfilling those needs with precision.”
Christopher Penn @cspenn
Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist
TrustInsights.ai
“What do I love most about B2B marketing? B2B buyers need to learn about the solutions to complex problems. They need to educate the CFO and the rest of their team why spending money on our solutions will pay off. And so we get to explain the role of AI in cloud computing, the value of customer experience, the importance of data quality, and why content marketing is better than ads. Helping people is fun. And that’s why B2B Marketing is a labor of love.”
Michael Brenner @BrennerMichael
CEO
Marketing Insider Group
“I have a passion for developing relationships as part of my role leading influencer marketing and being an active member in online communities. These relationships go far beyond just a pitch to be part of a campaign and transform into long-term relationships that have both personal and professional benefits.”
Justin Levy @justinlevy
Director, Social and Influencer Marketing
Demandbase
“There are so many disciplines you can learn if you are in B2B. It’s so much more than just paid ads and creative development on the consumer side. What’s not to like about B2B Marketing? LOL!”
Pam Didner @PamDidner
Speaker, Author, Podcaster
Relentless Pursuit
“The ability to directly impact business results. Even in long, complex buying cycles, we can drive and measure marketing’s impact where it counts – on metrics you can buy a beer with!”
Matt Heinz @HeinzMarketing
President, Heinz Marketing
“What I love most about B2B Marketing: The gift of humor brings such a joyful surprise to ads! Many marketers mistakenly believe that because the B2B buying cycle is so much more complex, our content must be serious. Nonsense!! Laughter is the best way for marketers to earn trust.” (The Perfect Gift for Valentine’s Day, From Cisco)
Tim Washer @timwasher
Leap CMO Advisor
Demand Spring
“I love the opportunity B2B firms have to reimagine marketing. Today, B2B marketers are stewards of brand promise and digital mavens creating new experiences with tech-empowered teams. There is never a dull moment, always a chance to improve, re-think the status quo, learn and grow. xoxo”
Katie Martell @KatieMartell
Creator
“I love that so many B2B marketers fell into the role before falling in love with it. I don’t think you’ll meet many people who said in their career, ‘I can’t wait to become a B2B marketer’ then again, it’s tough to find a B2B marketer who isn’t passionate about what they do. I think this is because it’s a discipline flourishing with creativity in the face of something traditionally seen as boring. Add to that the increasingly blurred lines between what works in B2C vs. B2B and what’s not to love?”
Jason Miller @JasonMillerCA
Marketing Director
CreativeX
“The thing that I love about B2B marketing is finding the human, moving stories within even the most techy brands. It’s so rewarding to find that emotional center and bring it to center stage!”
Joshua Nite @NiteWrites
Senior Content Marketing Manager
TopRank Marketing
“The thing I love most about B2B marketing is that the content is truly about quality. It requires strategy, collaboration and thought that is deeper than just visual cues.”
Amy Otis @amy_otis
Account Manager
TopRank Marketing
“I love the way B2B marketing gives me the chance to tell stories that have defined impact. I can see the words I wrote or the story I told and know that it changed something for someone, and that that change was for the better.”
Sam Kirchoff
Internal Marketing Manager
TopRank Marketing
“On Valentine’s Day 2022 as I reflect on what I love the most about B2B marketing, it’s clearly the kind, talented people who I get to work with, from a wide range of B2B industries, and the difference we get to make together in the lives of people around the world.”
Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis
Content and Social Media Manager
TopRank Marketing
For more B2B marketing love and inspiration, check out these posts:
- Adobe’s Rani Mani: 5 Tips For Creating Your B2B Influencer Marketing Love Affair
- Fundamentals of Generational Marketing: Passion Points
- Lovestruck: Why We’ve Fallen in Love with B2B Content Marketing
If you’re feeling inspired, tell us: what do you love most about B2B marketing?
