Emotion Works In B2B Copy, Too

When marketing to other small businesses, we tend to automatically speak to the “person just like me.” We have a ball making pop culture references, being tongue-in-cheek, and “getting real” with our market. And it works. But if you’re looking to net a larger clients with HR departments the size of a small US city, it’s best to pull out the jargon and talk numbers, right?

Well, yes and no.

You see, only one thing’s for sure about anyone at a company of any size, and it gives you a huge advantage: they’re human.

Imagine that you’ve sent a brochure to a company you’re interested in, or sent them an email that would send the reader to your website. All things being equal, with qualifiers swept under the rug, you’ve got a person looking at your website. What is he thinking?

He’s thinking about his deadline, his budget, what his boss will think, the 50-something other things he has to get done too soon, the potential that filling his company’s need will bring his annual review up even higher than last year, what he could do with his raise.

All those thoughts come with their own emotions: fear and anxiety, pride, ego, anticipation, and more. You see a world-weary man in a suit. I see a man who has a lot of emotional baggage you can help unload with your marketing copy. So waste no time doing so.

Appeal to his anxiety to get things done by helping him imagine how easy his life would be if your service or product could do it for him.
Appeal to his ego by talking about what his life is like, mentioning his industry and even his position if you’re marketing to a specific niche.
Don’t forget to give him what he needs to rationalize his decision, because that’s what he’s going to repeat to everyone who asks him why he hired you. So don’t make him hunt for your credentials and testimonials. Use numbers. Explain your process. Provide a guarantee.
Wrap it up in the jargon and other industry-speak necessary to gain his confidence that you’re an insider, too.
Make the call to action his idea by reminding him what it is he’ll be getting–or by reminding him what he could be missing out on.

How has your marketing copy worked for your B2B business? Do you use emotional marketing?