Debunking the B2B fallacy; putting the emotion back into business.

The most effective messages are emotive ones, they evoke an emotional response between the customer and the brand. There is a huge fallacy that emotive messages are only suitable for businesses that sell directly to consumers, and B2B should be strictly rational and functional. This is a myth that needs to be debunked.

Emotions are complex and very hard to pin down, psychologists have spent centuries debating and discussing hierarchies and dominance, why some are more prevalent than others and why some form deeper associations than others when it comes to recall. Without going deep into the science, the unifying theme is that when an emotional response is triggered it makes you feel something. And when you feel something you are more likely to remember it especially if you compare it to if you were given a strictly functional or rational cue.

Successful brands are crystal clear on their value exchange, the exchange of something you have, for something that a person needs/wants. But, what successful brands also do is layer in emotions to build a deeper connection with the brand.

For a B2C (business to consumer) brands, the emotive angle is often clearer, as you are selling you are speaking to a human and can demonstrate how the product can enhance their lives. Eg this meal kit will save you time in food preparation (functional), time that is better spent hanging out with your family (emotional).

For B2B brands it is the same; you might be selling to a business but the person behind the transaction human and you are likely selling a human problem. Eg your product is productivity software, you are selling a time saver (functional), time that they can spend innovating and dreaming of the future of the business (emotional). Or from a service example a wellness program, studies have shown that wellness and medication has a direct correlation on employee performance (rational) but this improves self-worth that impacts relationship dynamic and culture (emotional)

HSBC did this brilliantly a few years ago when they repositioned their B2B business to be the ‘worlds local bank’. They moved away from solely showing potential customers the number of locations, the number of branches etc (functional) to showcasing what this local presence allowed, cultural and localised appreciation so you could do business better (emotional). This video discusses the case study in more detail.

At Sprowt we help you build emotional connections with your customers. Get in touch to discuss how we can help.