For some people B2B means “Business that’s too Boring”, because:
I have been in B2B environment for my whole professional life, and it has been great, because:
There are a great number of B2B companies out there that is just plain boring. Too many; but it does not need to be that way. To some, it may seem that it is the default state, and it is the fault of common minds. One of my professional ambition is to turn B2B into “from Boring to Bazinga!”. Just like life is too short to be boring, it should not be dull to work.
You don’t need to be a corporate clown to be interesting. There are many workplaces that are meaningful and/or fun, and fully professional. You need to stand for something. What does your brand say about your business?
Sure, everybody wants to look professional. It's tempting to look proper and professional. Nobody wants to look like a pauper, and for sure nobody wants to buy stuff from someone who doesn’t look professional. But there is a problem: if everybody wants behaves this way, you become just like everybody; and then you become nobody.
Yes, products that we sell should be safe. Operations plant should be safe. But do we need to say “safe” things all the time? Sometime when things are too professional, it gets too sterile. Do something different. Something funny. Something unexpected.
If you really think your customer is important and not shallow then don’t bore them. If you don’t try, you can’t do it; and you are just whining how boring B2B is without doing anything about it, I’d love to break the news: it is you, not them. Un-bore your work. That’s one job (of the many) of Marketing.
- Given its corporate nature, B2B communications are more formal and conservative, less creative big bang
- They don’t really understand the products that they are selling (e.g. if you just got graduated with a degree in business administration, what do you know about oil drilling?)
- They can’t relate their work to their life (e.g. when was the last time you buy a server rack, a plane, or a tractor?), therefore they can’t brag about their work to their friends and relatives
I have been in B2B environment for my whole professional life, and it has been great, because:
- If you get to work in your chosen professional field, and do what you love to do, half of the battle is won
- B2B is the place to start to make a positive change to the world. For example, if you want to reduce electricity consumption, you’d need B2B companies who produce energy efficient components)
- I take it as a challenge to make it exciting, and it is an opportunity to prove how great you are. The journey to greatness itself won’t be boring and definitely worth working for.
There are a great number of B2B companies out there that is just plain boring. Too many; but it does not need to be that way. To some, it may seem that it is the default state, and it is the fault of common minds. One of my professional ambition is to turn B2B into “from Boring to Bazinga!”. Just like life is too short to be boring, it should not be dull to work.
You don’t need to be a corporate clown to be interesting. There are many workplaces that are meaningful and/or fun, and fully professional. You need to stand for something. What does your brand say about your business?
Sure, everybody wants to look professional. It's tempting to look proper and professional. Nobody wants to look like a pauper, and for sure nobody wants to buy stuff from someone who doesn’t look professional. But there is a problem: if everybody wants behaves this way, you become just like everybody; and then you become nobody.
Yes, products that we sell should be safe. Operations plant should be safe. But do we need to say “safe” things all the time? Sometime when things are too professional, it gets too sterile. Do something different. Something funny. Something unexpected.
If you really think your customer is important and not shallow then don’t bore them. If you don’t try, you can’t do it; and you are just whining how boring B2B is without doing anything about it, I’d love to break the news: it is you, not them. Un-bore your work. That’s one job (of the many) of Marketing.
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