Brand stories are everywhere. Whether you’re on social media or a company website, watching a makeup tutorial or inquiring about landscaping services, you’ll encounter businesses telling you their story.
But when it comes to B2B efforts, many brands suddenly stop telling their story. Instead, they dig deep into technicalities, numbers, and the nitty-gritty, producing reports, whitepapers, and case studies that make you feel like you’d rather watch paint dry than read another word.
While demonstrating expertise and the ability to drive results are critical components of B2B strategies, that doesn’t mean that the way expertise is demonstrated and results are qualified should be so dull. People want to work with people they know, trust, and like — and they can’t truly get to know you or your business if you give them jargon and numbers. When it comes to B2B marketing, compelling storytelling is vital — but often, it’s the piece that’s missing. Here’s how to ensure your brand narrative shines, even when (especially when) talking to other businesses.
Align client journeys with brand messages
If you’re new to B2B storytelling, an excellent exercise is to map out the typical journey of your clients. Identify the types of clients you already work with, as well as those you aspire to work with, and then pinpoint the challenges they usually face when looking to achieve business goals.
You can hone your understanding of these issues, integrating them into your marketing strategy by determining how to use brand storytelling to address client challenges and offer key solutions.
Demonstrate expertise by taking the reader on an adventure
“Show, don’t tell” is an enduring piece of writing advice for very good reason. Rather than insisting that you know what you’re doing, it’s more effective to prove your knowledge and capabilities by demonstrating them.
When creating case studies, reflect on how you helped your clients achieve their goals, and use that information to build your brand narrative. Follow classic story structure to ensure the reader understands the client, their challenges, how you helped solve them, and the results they achieved with your assistance.
By showing how you solved a problem and always including a strong call to action, potential clients will have a better understanding of how your team approaches challenges and will be able to envision how the two of you can work together. No bold claims or heavy selling needed!
Weave in brand values and key messages
No matter the format of the content you create, ensure that your company’s values and key messages are always included. These principles should guide every piece of content you create, creating a seamless, consistent, and effective brand narrative.
Lean into authenticity
People today are incredibly savvy — they can sniff out an imposter very easily. Because of this, it’s better to develop a brand narrative that is authentic to your company, reflecting the values, mission, and culture, rather than try to be more corporate or more casual than you truly are. In both traditional and digital methods of B2B marketing setting the tone is extremely important, and if it’s clear you’re trying to be something you’re not, it’ll likely be hard to retain clients.
Ensure your brand voice is consistent across all touchpoints
Be it an annual report, social media video, sales deck, or LinkedIn article, every piece of content your company pushes should use the same brand voice. Though you can — and should — tailor content to different channels and the audiences they attract, that doesn’t mean that your brand voice or story changes.
Rather, let your brand voice guide the way you tell stories. In doing so, you can ensure that your narrative and identity are consistent. This will help set you apart from the competition and give potential clients a great idea of who you are, what you’re about, and what they can expect from you.
Unlock your potential in B2B marketing with Mutant
Ultimately, your B2B marketing strategy should reflect who you are as a business — and the stories you tell should, too. By injecting compelling brand narratives, consistent messaging, and genuine personality into your content, you may learn that you’re not for everyone, but you’ll also find exactly the people you are for. They’ll like what they see, know what they’re in for, and trust that you’re the best possible partner. All you have to do is tell them your story.
Looking to sharpen your key messages or elevate consistency for your content marketing audience in Singapore? Reach out to our communications agency in Singapore at [email protected]. Our team of expert storytellers is ready to assist you.