I review a lot of B2B marketing content from websites and emails to tender proposals and brochures. One of the content trends I often encounter is the use of emotion words. I’m referring to statements like “we’re passionate” and “we care”.
I’m not going to be cynical and unpick whether it’s true a website developer is passionate about good UX or that a property manager cares as deeply about your property as they do about their own home. But writing about your emotions is still writing about you and not about them.
Here are some pitfalls of ’emotional’ B2B marketing:
- Widespread use of similar emotional language across competitors dilutes the impact and differentiation of such messaging.
- Quantifying or qualifying emotional appeals is impossible, rendering their effectiveness uncertain.
- Expressing passion or care does not inherently correlate with the quality of service provided by B2B companies.
I believe in treating any material your customer reads as prime marketing real estate. So it’s best not to build weak arguments on that prime real estate. If emotional touchpoints aren’t that relevant to most customers, especially considering the stage of the customer journey they may be at, then they need to go.
You may be a business owner or CMO reading this and thinking, but we really do care! Shouldn’t I let my potential customers know? Well, you should avoid asking your leads to make assumptions. You are asking the lead to assume that your passion means your business is a great fit for them. That’s too much of a leap. Don’t make them think. Take them by the hand and walk them through the sales funnel step-by-step. If your passion has led you to develop processes or products for your customer then describe the processes and products first. Show don’t tell.
Refraining from expressing “we care” doesn’t negate genuine care. Omitting the declaration of “we’re passionate” doesn’t invalidate the presence of passion. If I think of procurement team of my target client base (the CEO, CTO, CFO, operations manager, sales manager, CMO etc), it’s unlikely they’ll award a job to me based on my demonstrated passion. How about your target customer?
There is a place to talk about the emotional connections when offering a service. It depends upon the service. Smaller B2B businesses that are design-based services or more artisanal businesses may employ this kind of language and positioning in their B2B content. But you’re still going to need a stronger link between those emotions and the solving of customer problems. You’ll need to show metrics and some data.