H2H wipes the floor with B2B

Everyone is talking about love brands, storytelling and emotions - and B2B SMEs are thinking: what does that have to do with me? Enough to take a company to a new level.

There is a lot to be gained for B2B marketing if you break away from the pre-digital division between B2B and B2C. Human to human (H2H) is the order of the virtual day, because whether CEO or sales manager: every brand communicates with a real person on the other side of the screen. But why is human communication so important right now and how does H2H benefit your business in real terms?

B2B convinces with facts, B2C creates emotions. This classic categorisation between business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) divided the marketing world into two galaxies, which made sense for a long time. On the one hand, B2C advertisers outdo each other with imaginative claims that turn every commodity into an experience - on the other hand, B2B marketers spend their lives in the creative broom closet of a company, crammed between product catalogues and industry phrases.

Perhaps no one would ever have been bothered by this communicative two-tier society if - wooooosh! - digitalisation hadn't come around the corner. Our life in the filter bubble blurs the boundaries between B2B and B2C. As digitalisation seeps deep into every corner of our lives, customers are subconsciously transferring their purchasing behaviour and expectations from their private consumption to their business decisions. Because the World Wide Web is one thing: limitless, always available, constantly offering new stimuli.

This all-encompassing cosmos recognises no distinction between consumer and CEO - because at the other end of the screen is a potential customer who is one thing above all: a human being. As such, he wants to be convinced, and as such he will remember a brand.

The digital parallel world in which we have all now comfortably settled is comparable to a noisy party where too many people want to talk to your customer at once. Who do you remember after a raucous party? Certainly the person who managed to engage you in an empathetic conversation. The one who knew how to answer your most pressing problems. Or the mysterious guest who promises something exciting, new, perhaps an adventure. The fact is that our brain links memories with emotions, whether love, hate, fear or excitement. A brand that manages to evoke emotions will be remembered. Those who fail to convince emotionally will be wiped away. Linking your content and messages to the right emotions and responding to human needs is therefore the basic tool for digital survival.

You read that right. It's about nothing less than survival. Because whereas in the past only the German market competitor stepped on the toes of their own sales manager, companies in the digital economy are competing with the whole world for the attention of customers. With the whole world and even with high-resolution images from Mars.

The situation is being exacerbated by another development: while your target customers' mailboxes, LinkedIn accounts and webinar pre-notifications are increasingly overflowing, their attention spans are plummeting. Nobody has time to deal with new information unless it is ultimately relevant to the current problem or touches them emotionally. Attention is the currency of the digital economy. And attention is earned by those who touch on a human level. So it's time to put on your trainers and shift up a few gears when it comes to communication.

the likelihood of buying from a brand multiplies if there is an emotional connection (source: Tempkin Group).

forgive a brand a mistake if they have already established a positive emotional bond (source: Deloitte Digital).

feel connected to their favourite brand primarily because of the authenticity/integrity factor (source: Deloitte Digital).

Don't worry, technology companies, mechanical engineering professionals and craftsmen can also be emotional. H2H, or person-to-person communication, works in the digital space just as it does in real life: Those who are authentic create trust. Those who respond to the needs of others win new friends. Those who tell interesting stories attract attention. In order to find out what is really interesting for the target customer you want to talk to, it is therefore essential to develop an in-depth and realistic picture of your target group and tailor your communication accordingly. H2H starts with people and ends with people - and in between, attractively packaged, lies the information you want to convey.

The first step: start where you want to end up. With people.

For example Martin, production manager, mid-40s, married. What drives him?

To find out how you communicate with potential customers on an emotional level, it's worth looking deeper into psychology and less into the person's CV. Three points of reference provide a good overview:

Pain points: What problem does the person have that you can solve?

Goals: What would this person like to achieve for themselves personally and/or for the company? Where would they like to be?

Hurdles: What fear is stopping the target group from buying a new product?

These questions provide an impetus that enables an initial change of perspective. Because ultimately, that's what it's all about: changing perspective. From the pushy ‘we'll show you what we have’ to the inspiring ‘could this help you?’. Because the future of communication is not a shop window in which products are displayed, but a dynamic dialogue that is always concerned with the needs of the other person. The best friend at the big, loud party.

H2H communication pays off - above all in the form of increasing brand loyalty. Anyone who has taken a brand to their heart is very likely to recommend it to others and remain loyal to it even when a low-cost provider around the corner shouts a little louder.

However, there are still few German B2B companies that are consistently utilising this game changer. Brands that start to change their narrative perspective now and think in terms of H2H instead of B2B conventions can definitely secure a head start. Perhaps a decisive one when the next sales pitch is negotiated again. From person to person.