Inspiration or paralysis by analysis--where does your marketing fall?

Image: The Huffington Post

This evening started with a great post by Bret Starr, the CEO of The Starr Conspiracy and one of the people who got me started in B2B marketing. His post reveals the why behind what he does--the passion for the business. When you work with Bret, you can see that same passion.

But, when you think about most B2B sites or white papers (the name itself should give this away), there's little emotion, only facts. Part of that is because we assume that buyers are engaging in the sales process because they have to solve a business problem or that they have to justify the purchase, and the other part is because frankly, most of the products in a B2B transaction are quite complex and it is challenging enough dealing with the facts. But, this is where we stumble.

The Harvard Business Review published "When to Sell with Facts and Figures, and When to Appeal to Emotions." In the article, all the examples are B2C, but the focus is the complex sale--and, that we tend to puzzle through the more complex sale with our emotions first. They lead. And, when is a sale more complex than in B2B?

Marketers, the really good ones, know the emotional reasons why the customer buys their product because they know the case studies--they have heard it from the customers themselves. And yet, they often fail to lead with this emotion because it is difficult to quantify, it isn't universal, it doesn't speak to all the benefits of the product, etc.

After hearing from Bret tonight, followed by the HBR, it makes me want to yell from the rooftops. The reason why I work for the company that I do, KRESS, is because I believe in what they do, They are protecting people every day, And, they are some of the most ethical people I know, working harder for their customers than most. I admire my co-workers and my boss, and anyone who chooses to work with KRESS has made an amazing decision they will not regret. I felt this way when I worked for the Starr Conspiracy as well.

Marketers, tell your stories and the stories of the brand. Companies can be inspiring, especially in B2B. I can't wait to hear what you all have to say.