You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll buy stuff.: 5 Strategies for 'emotion-based marketing'

There's a big fat war raging. We've always been told that people buy based on emotions, but need to justify their purchase with logic.

They satisfy the heart before the head kicks in to tell them they've made the right choice because…blah, blah blah (insert boring reasons here).

But, the thing is, two nights ago I was in a fun audience (how many educational events do you go to where you get to sit in the auditorium and sip on wine as the presenter goes through his PowerPoint show?).

Anyway, this semi-famous marketing expert from the cold white north (Canada) was talking about social media as a marketing tool for businesses when he turned around and said:

"Of course you would never use emotions in B2B (business-to-business) marketing."

Kind of caught me off guard.

 B2B, B2C, Aren't They All Just People?

We forget that business-to-business and business-to-consumer have something quite obvious in common.

Consumers are people who buy stuff.

Businesses are run by people who buy stuff.

So why treat B2B marketing any differently?

My 5 strategies for emotion-based marketing

Inside that business owner in the stuffy shirt is a real person. She laughs. She cries. She likes songs and movies because they make her feel. She has a heart and a head. And when her emotions are touched, she tends to remember the message more.

Here are some ways to reach her:

 1.    Tell her stories. 

You can do a lot with the right story, one that appeals to the senses, one that shows your personality and voice, and paints a picture.

 2.    Use analogies. 

People love an analogy because they "get it" right away. And because they are visual, analogies touch a deep, emotional part of the brain. We explained why we dumped our brand new business by comparing the needy "baby" to our jealous 16-year-old, Cat's Eye Marketing. Use this powerful tool when you can. 

3.    Make him laugh. 

John Cleese, one of my heroes, said it perfectly: "If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas." I'm not talking cruel or sarcastic humor here, or just telling jokes. I mean the kind of humor that makes us all see that we are a lot alike. The kind that brings us together.

4.    Scare her (in a nice way). 

Don't underestimate the fear factor. We all have fears of losing something or someone. Of not doing something right. Of losing our best clients. Of our business failing because we made the wrong decision, went with the wrong vendor, spent too much money on a solution that didn't work. Find a way to identify that fear, then walk your client to the solution which, of course, is your product or service.

5.    Satisfy other emotional 'cravings.' 

There are tons of these. It takes a little time and skill to hit on the one your customer may be feeling, but it's worth it. Put yourself in their shoes, find the right emotional craving, then satisfy it. 

What about you? Do you think emotions should be used in B2B marketing? Do you ever market to people's emotions? 

Comments

[Barbara]

I think you're absolutely right: in b2b marketing you deal with people too.
Although the tip about scaring is risky, because what you define as 'scaring in a nice way' is a subjective advice. How do I know that my 'nice way' has the same effect as your nice way'?
And the emotional cravings is largely depending on who you're dealing with. In my experience the traditional business men do not like to talk about their feelings, especially not with women, because they feel inadequate on that subject.
My strategy is asking questions, make them open up about their family or hobby or other personal interest. Later I ask him/her: Shall we go back to the reason we're talking?
It helps me to feel more secure about my offer.

[Judy Dunn]

Barbara,

Thank you for leaving such an insightful comment.

By scaring "in a nice way" (I'll be writing separate posts on each of these sometime down the road), all I mean is that your customers/clients have g=fears. We all do.

Of course, you don't say, "I know you are afraid of______" but you can present a situation or what-if, followed by a solution.

And, while I agree that men are not as prone to talk about their feelings, still, they experience them. We all do. If you can figure out what those feelings/emotional cravings are and speak to them in some way in your marketing copy, that can be powerful.

Your relationship-building strategy works well, I am sure, in face-to-face meetings with clients.

Thanks again for adding value to this post through your comments.

[Flora]

Judy,

This speaker was off his rocker and you are right on target.

Emotion-based marketing is the only kind of marketing. If our approach doesn't get from the head, to the heart to the stomach, our chances for successful selling are slim. We might as well hit folks over the head with a stick and say, "Buy my product!"

Your tips are brilliant, especially #1. Stories are the way we've engaged people from the beginning of time. There must be a reason.

Thanks for this great article.

[Judy Dunn]

Flora,

Thanks for weighing in here. It's interesting how marketers seem to be divided on this issue.

When I work with biz owners who have an idea what they want to say in their copy, I always take them through what I call my so-what exercise. They usually start with a feature of their product or service, but as I continue to ask "so what?" their answers help them determine why it makes a difference in their customers' lives because they are getting closer to the EMOTIONAL benefit. Can work the same way with B2B.

I appreciate your thoughtful comment.

[Jen Vondenbrink]

Hi Judy -
Loved the post because even though we know this is what should happen and it makes sense, sometimes those 1950's stereotypes of B2B selling plaster their pictures in our heads.

The best processes that I went through in the corporate world were those that touched my heart. They are still techniques that I use today. Whenever I needed to train something, funny enough the facts that stuck had an emotional component.

I think the story and the analogy are the two that I've used most. Thank you for sharing the others because I'm going to make them a conscious part of my marketing plan going forward.

Jen

[Judy Dunn]

Jen,

Interesting to hear your experiences when you were in a corporate setting, in a training environment, because, as you know, emotions and memory are very much tied together.

And what biz owner doesn't want their customer/client to remember their marketing message?

Thanks for leaving a comment and hope all is going well with your transition to a new business niche.

[Bruce Colthart (@bccreative)]

I suspect that B@B prospect *may* differ from B2C in that the business's organization may put pressures on the buyer that the B2C buyer doesn't experience. True, the spouse of a B2C buyer may influence that buyer's decisions, but I have to imagine that the logical, scrutinizing B2B left brain gets a bit more involved with decisions that can affect their future and their esteem within an organization.

But it's definitely worth 'romancing the gut' while talking to the head.

[Judy Dunn]

Bruce,

Thanks for the perceptive comments. I definitely think you are right if you are talking about a manager who answers to the CEO in a business. And, yes, logical, left brain plays a part.

Ultimately, left brain is going to want proof that the decision was "right." (No pun intended.) And that manager is going to have to justify his decision to his boss.

But if you are marketing directly t the decision maker, I think you can write messages that do both: subtly appeal to emotions, as well as include the common sense rationale a biz owner needs to make her decision. It's a fine line.

[Howard Howell]

Judy... Thanks for the insight and inspiration. I hope you don't mind, but I referred to your comments on my blog post today at Sensible Selling . com ...Howard

[Judy Dunn]

Howard,

How nice to hear from you. I popped on over to your blog post and you have some good things to say. What a wealth of experience you have. Thanks for sharing that.

And thanks for linking to my post.

[John R. Durant]

Arrived at your site from Howard Howell's. Thanks for the thoughtful post. I think the most under-used mechanism for reaching people in much of our discourse today is using analogies. It's a true art, but I wonder if we have become so immersed in data that we are losing the skills needed to bring data to life, to use analogies to help people connect the dots.

[Judy Dunn]

John,

Always love a comment from a new visitor.

You are spot on with your thought on the use of analogies. If one can master them, their marketing messages will stand out all the more because they are both powerful and underused.

Thanks for visiting and adding to the conversation.

[Doctoral Dissertation]

Blogs are so informative where we get lots of information on any topic. Nice job keep it up!!