B2B marketing is typically thought of as buttoned up, uneventful, staid, and maybe even a little boring. But it doesn't have to be! In today's episode, Scott Trobaugh and Cliff Lewis join me to talk about making B2B marketing weird—and what that really means.
Don't miss a MarketingProfs podcast, subscribe to our free newsletter!
Cliff and Scott are MarketingProfs veterans, having performed at several of our B2B Forums.
You'll notice I use the word "performed," not "presented," because their sessions are true performances. Artfully created, perfectly choreographed, and effortlessly delivered, they include costumes, puppets, sound effects, and more.
These guys definitely put on the most fun marketing presentations I've ever been a part of (I've been lucky enough to play a bit role in a few of them).
And that's where the "weird" element comes in. As Cliff tells us, "weird" doesn't mean what you think it means. It's simply shorthand for divergent thinking.
Most of human thought can be either thought of as convergent thinking ("closed" mindset) or divergent thinking ("open" mindset). Approaching your audience from a place of divergent thinking creates a more open environment that leads to communications that are conducive for even more divergent thinking.
In short, presenting your audience with something weird and unexpected doesn't just grab their attention, it primes the minds of your audience for change.
Weird can be anything from using puppets in your presentation to putting forth the (very valid) proposition that Mr. Rogers is the patron saint of B2B, and everything in between. But being weird for the sake of being weird is not enough. As Scott puts it, "If you want to get weird, you have to tie it back to the authentic."
And that authenticity is what makes brands stand out. It's the customer outreach. The talking to clients and prospects. The seeking of opinions. It's about truly understanding who your customers are, what they're looking for, and how they're hurting.
I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed recording it!
Episode Audio Highlights (click to jump right to the quote):
- Weird is shorthand for divergent thinking
- If you want to get weird, you have to tie it back to the authentic
- Mr. Rogers listening and gathering qualitative research
- Empathy is your greatest tool
Want to score one of the MarketingProfs sticker packs we talk about in the fourth highlight above? Help spread the MarketingProfs love and get rewarded!
To catch Scott and Cliff's presentation (puppets and all), Wonderfully Weird Ideas: How to Catch, Tame, and Train Them, check out the MarketingProfs B2B Forum on April 7-8, 2021.
Listen to the entire show now from the link above, or download the mp3 and listen at your convenience. Of course, you can also subscribe to the Marketing Smarts podcast in iTunes or via RSS and never miss an episode.
This episode brought to you by Terminus and Adverity:
 |
 |
|
| Leader of the account-based movement, Terminus helps Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success work better together to drive a winning go-to-market strategy and exceptional customer experiences. Terminus offers the best data, channels, and analytics all in one platform—powering high-performing go-to-market teams. We're proud to be helping over 1,000 customers on this mission. To learn more about how Terminus can help you grow your business, head to terminus.com. | Adverity is an intelligent marketing analytics platform enabling data-driven marketers to make better decisions and improve performance, faster and easier. By transforming siloed data into actionable insight, Adverity reduces the complexity involved in optimizing ROI of marketing spend. Adverity powers the marketing intelligence of some of the world's leading brands and agencies, including IKEA, Red Bull, GroupM, Unilever, SAP, and Forbes. To learn more or book a demo, visit adverity.com |
"Marketing Smarts" theme music composed by Juanito Pascual of Signature Tones.
...sign up for free to continue reading
Don't worry ... it's FREE!
Sign in with your preferred account, below.
Don't miss a MarketingProfs podcast, subscribe to our free newsletter!
Published on April 1, 2021
