B2B marketing used to come off as dry and impersonal, but we’ve entered a new era where brands are expected to have a more direct, personable style. After all, business problems are people problems, so communicating in a more approachable, sympathetic and exciting way is an effective way to engage your target audience. A key element in this strategy is your tone of voice, since it dictates how you communicate and displays your values in your content.

Two standout firms in this area are Salesforce and Microsoft; each of whom delivers succinct, compelling and optimistic marketing messages to their audience. For example, Salesforce promises to ‘help you make the most of every customer moment’, while Microsoft invites you to ‘empower your workforce’ and ‘build your future’.

Business audiences are always looking for ways to save time, money and stress within their operations. So, it’s essential to ground your content in these themes and demonstrate your relevance in the lives of your customers.

This means sharing solutions-focused content that promises efficiency, growth, convenience and accuracy across key business processes rather than the specific features of your product or service. In turn, you can educate customers on how your product or service can solve their problems and why they should buy it. Moreover, maintaining this solution focus is especially important for customers who are at an earlier stage in the marketing funnel, since they may not know how your product or service’s features work together.

A word of caution: don’t fall into the trap of using industry jargon. While technical information is important, you could risk alienating your audience if they fail to understand how your product or service meets their needs, so it’s vital to find the right balance. 

Overusing jargon and over-complicating your core message can make content appear inauthentic and ill-informed. Worse still, you risk under-delivering on your promise to solve a customer’s pain points and erode confidence in your value proposition. So, try to explain your product or service’s features one at a time, so your target audience has a clear understanding of how they can add value to their business.

One reliable way to keep your marketing activity grounded and factual is to collaborate with industry experts and embed their insights across your content. This strategy can help you engage your target audience effectively by offering genuine insight into their problems and let you build a reputation for accuracy.

One way to do this is to work with the developers and analysts in your organisation or use industry reports from leading consultancy firms or specialist news publications to back up your claims. Moreover, sharing your sources can help you demonstrate your credibility and authority in the industry and the topics your brand leads with.

When generating content, it can be tempting to add further proof points and data, but be wary of sacrificing the accessibility of your content. Busy professionals need digestible content that allows them to quickly understand what’s being covered and how they can use it in conversations with colleagues or other senior leaders.

By sharing punchy content that links to additional resources, you can help your target audience learn about your product/service at their own pace and build trust in your brand. So, when it comes to details, offer as much as audiences want but only as much as they need at any one time.

Leading with a hard sell is a surefire way to dissuade your target audience from consuming your content without existing industry credibility or clear benefit from the start. Instead, focus on offering value in the form of insightful thought leadership and engaging content, rather than a strict focus on lead generation. 

When customers are interested in learning more, they can reach out to your sales team for more details, making the conversion process all the easier. Learn more about this customer-centric marketing approach in our dedicated article and discover how to find the right balance between in and outbound lead generation methods.