B2B Edge: The Principles of B2B Marketing

For B2B firms, investing in brand marketing is the best bet in good times, and it’s an even better bet in bad times when the pool of current buyers shrinks from 5% to 1%. “Only when the tide goes out do you discover who’s been swimming naked.” That colourful quip comes from Warren Buffett, who built a $110bn fortune by deftly navigating economic downturns. So today, let’s ask ourselves the $110bn question: if Warren Buffett were a B2B marketer, how would he invest during a recession?

Many chief marketing officers want their market research to possess more of these three qualities: Faster, cheaper, better. Making it happen, however, can be difficult—especially in the business-to-business category, which targets a more select group of individuals than business-to-consumer. Assembling focus groups takes time. Getting business leaders to fill out surveys can be expensive. Obtaining more detailed responses with follow-up questions can be downright impossible.

The history of marketing is synonymous with consumer brands, but now B2B is the key driver of economic growth and it will be marketers who build those businesses. The marketing industry is obsessed with B2C brands. We love to talk about Coke and Pepsi, Rice Krispies and Frosties, Daz and Dove. Their every logo refresh and agency review gets covered in breathless detail. B2B is the opposite – nothing gets covered in any detail. “Put me on the B2B account,” said no creative director, ever.