“Once upon a time, there was a small business operating within a large industry. This business offered services that catered to the needs of other companies.
In order to grow, it needed to market its services to those other companies.
But, there was a problem.
In the same industry, there were hundreds of similar businesses. And they all offered the same services to the same audience.
No matter how much the business advertised, it just wasn’t enough to break through the clutter.
Then one day, it had a breakthrough. The small business found a way to connect with their audience and lead each connection to complete a sale.
How? By telling their story.
Instead of trying to sell an offer to the market, it decided to Sell a Story.”
Every brand has a story. And while it’s easier to tell your story to a B2C audience, savvy B2B marketers understand that standing out from the competition requires much more than marketing features and benefits.
According to research carried out by Google, 50% of B2B buyers are more likely to buy from a brand with whom they feel an emotional connection. That’s why top B2B brands compete on stories, not products.
Based on the same study, 68.8% of the surveyed B2B buyers were willing to pay more to do business with a brand they trust.
So, it’s no longer a question of if they work. The new question to ask is, why are brand stories so powerful in B2B marketing?
B2B Stories Set Brands Apart
How do you pick between Asana, Microsoft Teams, monday.com, and Slack?
They are all host project management apps, offering almost the same service.
Even more, the strategies used to set these businesses apart have now become the norm. Blogs, newsletters, free trials, social media posts, and cold emails are all cookie-cutter marketing strategies.
B2B content marketing has never been more saturated than it is right now.
A report published by eMarketer showed that nine in ten B2B businesses publish content, which means you need to compete for your readers’ attention constantly.
Brand storytelling is the only way to breathe in the sea of competition. Any business can offer the same services as you, but no business can copy how you make your audience feel.
Consider what happens when a rival copies one of your product’s features. You might feel enraged, but your potential clients won’t even blink an eye.
Compare this to when they copy your story. Your audience’s opinion of the counterfeit brand would diminish. This would have an emotional impact on them since, as humans, we become irritated when we believe someone is imitating someone else.
B2B Decisions are Driven by Emotion
Think about every major religion. What is the one thing they all have in common?
They are all formed around a collection of beliefs inspired by stories. Their scriptures and parables are all stories told to build a collective consciousness.
In a corporate setting, top B2B businesses use brand stories the same way.
We often think of businesses as impersonal entities, but that is far from the truth.
Behind every CEO title is an emotionally driven person who loves a story just like you and me. And savvy B2B marketers speak to the person before speaking to the role.
Storytelling is far more effective in convincing potential clients that they are making the best business decision by being loyal to your brand.
Brand Stories Improve Employee Efficiency
A business succeeds when its employees succeed.
According to Gallup’s report, 85% of employees are not engaged or actively disengaged at work—leading to approximately $7 trillion in lost productivity.
Brand storytelling gives employees a sense of purpose, making them feel like part of something bigger than themselves.
Give them a company to believe in, and their productivity will soar.
In Conclusion
Today, there are no successful brands that don’t have a good story behind them. Regardless of how you choose to tell it — through your site copy, blogs, social media, podcast, or videos — brand stories are your ticket to a successful B2B marketing campaign.
Click here to revolutionize your brand story through iconic B2B videos.
There has never been a better opportunity to transform your brand storytelling.
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