Where B2B Marketing Is Going: My 5 Top Takeaways from #BMA14

Recently I had the opportunity to join 1000+ fellow B2B marketers from all over the world at BMA14, the Business Marketing Association’s (BMA) annual conference in Chicago, to explore “where B2B's going.” Seventy nine speakers and three days of great (non-stop!) content later, here's 5 top takeaways:

#1. B2B needs to be human to human [tweet this]

The call to “humanize” B2B marketing—to go to market in ways that create more emotional, human connections with buyers—was a strong theme throughout the conference. So how can B2B brands create emotional connections? “Tell great stories” (urged Jonah Sachs, author of Winning the Story Wars) that “inform, inspire and entertain” (added Google’s Mike Miller). And remember, your brand or product is not the hero. Your customer is. Intuit’s Small Business, Big Game campaign, Grainger’s Everyday Heroes campaign and this Go Google video were cited as examples of this advice in action.

Remember, you’re not the hero. Your audience is. - @jonahsachs

#2. B2B needs more insight (not more data) [tweet this]

Big data has been a hot theme for several years. So, not surprisingly, there was tons of talk about it (so much, in fact, that one attendee proposed a drinking game!) Clearly, there are sound arguments and good reasons for marketers to leverage data, embrace accountability, show measured results and elevate the profession’s reputation so it achieves equal credibility to finance and sales among CEOs. Yet, we couldn’t escape the feeling that amidst the dozens of references to big data—and particularly the new term ‘data lake’—marketers are actually drowning intoo much data.

Marketers don’t need more data. What they need is more insight—specifically, actionable insights so they can engage customers in relevant and emotionally resonant ways. Data (especially quantitative data) is not insight. On its own, data doesn’t tell you what you need to know. Savvy marketers collect both qualitative and quantitative data. They talk to their customers in order to develop insights into what really motivates them, use quantitative data to assess relative importance and distribution of those insights, and then build marketing messages, content, experiences and stories based on a deep understanding of which insights are truly transformative.

Get up from behind your desk and meet your customer. If you don’t, you’ll never get beyond data to insight. - @jaybaer

#3. B2B is about employee engagement too [tweet this]

At first glance, it might seem surprising to see not just one, but at least three, presentations explicitly focused on the importance of engaging employees, but with one factoid in-hand, the rationale for this amount of emphasis becomes immediately obvious. Betsy Henning, CEO and Founder of AHA!, shared research proving companies can improve their business results by as much as 240% by engaging their employees. That same research showed engaged employees are 14x more likely to consider their jobs significant and meaningful. And, when they do, they’re much more effective in creating exceptional experiences for customers.

That’s why B2B is about employee engagement too. Your organization’s ability to deliver on its brand promises—to deliver exceptional, brand-building customer experiences—depends on the effectiveness of your marketing, operations, IT, HR, sales, finance and executive teams. Great companies engage their employees and their customers.

To get to engagement—as we wrote in a recent article,What’s the #1 Factor in Delivering Exceptional Customer Experiences?—marketers need to develop empathy. How do you achieve empathy? See #2 above (insight!).

Brand is no longer just what you tell and message to customers. It’s also the experience & values you provide/reinforce with employees. - @TonyMohr

#4. B2B shouldn’t be boring [tweet this]

In fact, boring is dangerous. Why? Because business customers are consumers too. And they’ve upgraded their expectations of B2B brands based on their experiences with consumer brands. They want to be inspired and entertained (see takeaway #1), just like B2C marketing. (a seasoned comedian, social media expert and all round nice guy) argued there’s room for comedy in any B2B brand. To prove it, check out “The Perfect Gift for Valentine’s Day,” a video Tim and his team created to launch a product that’s far from funny: the Cisco ASR 9000 router.

Business marketing does not mean boring-to-boring. - @bethcomstock

#5. B2B should market like it’s 2014 [tweet this]

“Most business are not doing business as if it’s 2014,” said keynote speaker Gary Vaynerchuk. It’s true. Most B2B marketers still over-rely on traditional techniques and tactics. Approaches that may have worked in the past do not today. The way buyers buy has fundamentally changed, and with information at their fingertips, they’re now in control. In fact, B2B buyers now complete 57% of the buying process on their own before first connecting with sales. The bottom line is, the role of marketing—the jobs that organizations now require marketing to do—has changed, but many marketers have not. It’s time to embrace change. This means social. This means mobile. This means marketing automation. This means jumping in.

Change or feel the wrath of innovation. It doesn’t care about you - @GaryVee

BMA14 was an exciting event to be a part of. It affirmed what an exciting time it is to be in B2B marketing. A time when the clock-speed of change requires us to be more nimble than ever before. A time when product differentiation alone is not enough. A time when deep customer insight can be a transformative brand advantage. If you recognize that status quo is no longer an option for your B2B brand, we’re ready to help.

So, where do you think B2B marketing is going? And will I see you at #BMA15?

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Richard is the resident Demand Generation advocate at Quarry, the MarketingProfs 2013 B2B Agency of the Year. He’s passionate about helping clients succeed in adopting and mastering new marketing technologies and techniques to deliver better buyer experiences. He’s been a champion of marketing automation since the beginning (Level 1 Eloqua certified in 2008), writes frequently on modern marketing and is an experienced conference presenter. You can continue the conversation with Richard on Twitter at @RHsays.

This post was adapted from an article originally published by Richard Hill & Tony Mohr on IdeaExchange, Quarry's blog: http://ideaexchange.quarry.com/2014/06/5-top-takeaways-from-bma14/