If you’re like us, you’re probably gearing up for lots of beer, dip, wings and other savory dishes that come with Super Bowl celebrations. The big game’s commercials will give you lots of marketing inspiration, I’m sure, but let’s kick off the weekend with some new articles and insights from some of our favorite sites and thought leaders. In the spirit of all the great consumer brands we’re going to see showing off their TV marketing chops, I wanted to share a few articles that delve further into how B2B brands can learn from their B2C peers:
- Should you choose relevance over personalization?: According to Kapost, the answer is a resounding “yes.” We’ve been hearing a lot of personalization lately, due to the success of B2C brands like Amazon. But as noted in this piece, “automated personalization,” which is a custom greeting or a targeted message based on location, is only effective to a point. They pique interest but don’t necessarily drive hard conversions. Instead of using tactics like personalized greetings and even site or content recommendations, B2B marketers have the opportunity to pivot to a more “audience-centric” approach, where we create content for a tailored group of individuals — usually within our target buying committee.
- It’s time to prioritize UX: Much like personalization, user experience (or UX), has been a core term in B2C marketers’ dictionaries. But it’s time B2B marketers also prioritize UX — largely because it encompasses so many interaction points a buyer has with your brand. If you want to develop a customer experience marketing strategy or want to assess your current UX, this article has three measures you can take today. One of the most critical steps? Develop target personas, a topic very near and dear to the C4D team’s hearts.
- Get chat-happy: Chatbots are all the rage in the retail industry, especially in categories like apparel or department stores. But B2B companies can also embrace chatbots to improve customer service, automate processes and reduce overhead. Facebook’s launch of chatbot support for its messenger service has ignited interest, and this article highlights some really interesting use cases that may inspire you. Do concierge services or an automated help desk have a place in your marketing mix? Read this article and ponder the possibilities.
- Get campaign inspiration: Marketing campaigns are the lifeblood of drumming up interest and winning new business. But when we spend so much time creating so many campaigns, we sometimes lose inspiration. This article from Bizible will give you some great inspiration when the blinking cursor on your computer screen is mocking you. Writer’s block won’t be an issue when you have this handy resource!
We hope everyone has a fun and safe Super Bowl weekend! Stay tuned for some more content on Monday!