Written by: Vickie Sullivan | May 27, 2014
B2B Branding Trends
Many of us thought leaders are in the B2B arena, selling our solutions to other organizations. Which is why we should pay attention to this latest research from Google and CEB (formerly Corporate Executive Board) on the role emotion plays in marketing business solutions.
The sample is pretty wide here with 3,000 B2B buyers from 36 brands surveyed. The headline: buyers are more than twice as likely to consider a brand that shows personal value over business value. The explanation makes sense: buyers do not see a big difference in the professional value of the options. And only 14% of buyers see enough difference to justify paying more.
So what drives that selection? Fear. Fear of the impact that choosing the wrong solution will have on their career. Fear of wasted time and effort spent on that wrong path. While the investment comes from company budgets, the risk is very personal. That’s why trust and risk play key roles.
This study explains why our tools of ROI and cost/benefit analysis don’t seal the deal. Our buyers make decisions in a very human way: a complex mix of instinct, self-preservation and logical reasoning after the fact. Let’s remember that in our branding efforts. Click here to get the study.
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