How much is dull costing you?

It’s time we stop lying to each other. And ourselves.

The data has spoken, again, and what it reveals about the state of B2B marketing is not flattering. In fact, it’s downright embarrassing. A study from LinkedIn’s B2B Institute and System1 asked customers to rate 1,600 B2B ads for creative effectiveness. Seventy-seven percent of those ads earned a rating of 1-star. Or less.

One freaking star. Out of five.

We bore our audiences with facts that don’t engage them. We somehow confuse dull work with appropriately serious and responsible when trying to reach business audiences. And we believe this approach is “safe.” That’s not safe B2B work, it’s ineffective. And irresponsible.

We must stop pretending that people think differently when considering B2B marketing. People don’t suddenly adopt a Spock-like, hyper-pragmatic mindset when thinking about their jobs. The difference between a customer and a consumer is context, not humanity. As we like to say at our agency, don’t think of B2B as business to business – no one talks to buildings or org charts – think of B2B as business to businesspeople.

Whether consumers or customers, at work or at home, we are all just people. And nobody engages with flat, boring work that highlights specs and features. The kind of ads our industry has long considered safe. Why do we continue to get this so wrong?

History. Or, perhaps more accurately, habit. B2B marketing developed its definition of “safe” decades ago, before the internet and smartphone, when brands controlled the information. Back then, if audiences wanted specs or pricing for B2B goods or services, they had to come to us.

We don’t control that information anymore. It’s available at everyone’s fingertips. So that definition of “safe” is actually wrong. Because, let’s be honest, what we all call “safe” really means comfortable, non-boat-rocking, corporate sanctioned in tone and content. “Safe” means comfortable internally. But such comfy ideas are ignored in the marketplace. They do nothing to spark discussion or grab the attention of our audiences. Out in the market where B2B work must engage and motivate our audiences, that kind of safe is ignored.

It’s dull. And we can’t afford that.

Dull marketing is like a beige Ferrari.

Dull marketing programs and campaigns are superexpensive. They waste media investments, squander our audiences’ precious time and fritter away opportunities to drive sales.

They make about as much sense as driving a beige Ferrari – it might get you to the grocery store but you’re wasting a huge opportunity to turn heads, excite your friends and neighbors, and make people jealous of how well your work is paying off for you. We can’t keep deluding ourselves that engaging and provocative ideas only work with consumers, as if somehow the moment they get to work, people stop being human.

Hardly. We’ve met customers, and they are us. They’re funny and quirky and interesting. They have unique interests and live full lives. And they bore easily. If something doesn’t engage them, they move on. Or click on. Or scroll on. So, how do we stop that scrolling? How do we start making B2B work more interesting?

By keeping in mind one simple human truth: To be perceived as more interesting, be more interested in your audience.

Talk about what they need, what they want, what interests them. Bragging about your car at a cocktail party will never make you as interesting as asking about someone else’s family or job … or even their car. When you take an interest in your audience, they find you anything but dull. You move them.

And when you move people, you’re far more likely to move the market.