| Nov 12, 2015
B2B, what’s your story?
In looking at the B2B world of marketing, trends are indicating that Millennials are now very much in command of B2B research and decision-making. Who says? [1]Google partnered with Millward Brown Digital and conducted a B2B Path to Purchase Study in 2014. It’s a really interesting study chock full of information that indicates that these Millennials are fast becoming B2B influencers. What the study discovered is that a significant demographic shift has occurred from 2012 to 2014 as shown below:
Knowing this, will that change what you are doing to market your products and services?
Reading or watching?
Watching video. Period.
For many B2B researchers, video is preferred for information gathering more than visiting a website. One of the most interesting statistics pulled from the Google/Millward Brown study is that that video has exploded as a medium, let me rephrase that, video has exploded as the medium that B2B researchers prefer throughout their search. Wait for it — 70% of B2B researchers are watching videos for their research — a 52% increase from a similar study done just two years ago.
How are you found?
YouTube. Period.
If you aren’t posting on YouTube, you are not getting noticed. More than 70% of B2B researchers surveyed begin their search on a generic query and watch video throughout their entire purchase path.
What makes you interesting.
Your stories. Period.
You have a story, now tell it, show it, move it, sing it, speak it, and add a little music too if it works. There are creative and compelling ways to bring your offerings to life.
[2]From B2B Story Telling, “Yin, yang and your brain”:
In his 2005 bestseller “A Whole New Mind”, Daniel Pink writes about the differences between left-brain thinkers and right-brain thinkers, and how the future merely belongs to the latter ones: the creativists, the designers, the storytellers, …In the 21st century, storytelling is a skill that every business — and individual — need to master, and even down-to-earth left-brain executives will rely on right-brain storytellers to place, promote and pitch their company, products and services.
OK then, tell me a story.
[3]Great stories are told every day, and according to YouTube, about 100 hours of video are posted every minute on YouTube’s site. Here are videos of two great B2B stories told in two completely different flavors. So then, what is your story?
GE Capital: What we know can help you grow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzoxrUaT6CI
Caterpillar: China Shop
[1] Kelsey Snyder, Pashmeena Hilal, “The Changing Face of B2B Marketing”, 2015, https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/the-changing-face-b2b-marketing.html
[2] B2B Story Telling, “Yin, yang and your brain”, 2013, https://b2bstorytelling.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/yin-yang-and-your-brain/
[3] Monica Anderson, “5 facts about online video, for YouTube’s 10th birthday”, 2015, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/02/12/5-facts-about-online-video-for-youtubes-10th-birthday/