Earlier this year, the business marketing world descended on Chicago for the annual ANA Masters of B2B Marketing Conference. Expert business marketers from across the industry were on hand to share their insights on driving tangible business growth. Six of those insights are covered in this presentation.

1. 6 Expert Insights
on How to Increase
Business Growth

2. LinkedIn’s VP of marketing solutions,
Penry Price, needs no convincing
about the benefits of economic growth.
Businesses prosper, people become
happier, healthier, and smarter, and
the world becomes a better place, he
contends. However, Price believes B2B
companies are falling short on driving
“substantive growth” because marketers
are too focused on lead generation,
marketing to narrowly targeted segments,
and promoting the features and benefits
of their products or services. At the 2019
Masters of B2B Marketing Conference,
he advocated for placing a greater
reliance on brand building, targeting
broad audiences, and establishing
expertise through thought leadership.
In this slideshow, learn what six other
industry leaders at the conference had to
say about spurring business growth.

3. “Brands are judged on the quality of the experience they deliver.”
— Alicia Tillman, Global CMO at SAP

4. 4© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved. 4© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.
In an intense competitive environment, customer experience
wins. By 2020, 81 percent of marketers expect to be competing
mostly or completely on the basis of customer experience,
according to a study by Gartner. While no two experiences are
created equal, it’s imperative to understand how your customers
truly feel about your brand or product. That comes from placing
greater emphasis on experiential data and using the information
to drive success operationally. Marketers need to lead this charge
and serve as the voice of the customer within their organizations.

5. “There has never been a more logical time to make a case for emotion.”
— Victoria Morrissey, global marketing and brand director at Caterpillar

6. 6© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved. 6© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.
Numbers may lend credibility and validity to a story but
they don’t drive feelings and attitudes. To influence buying
decisions, B2B marketers need to connect emotionally with
customers and prospects. Great creative can bring emotion
to life and strike a chord with a target audience on a human
level. Pride, for example, is one of the strongest emotions and
is deeply tied to decision making. Use emotional storytelling
to make the challenging more interesting, but be sure to treat
each buyer mindset differently.

7. “Customers appreciate useful disruption.”
— Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing and PR officer at Ally Financial

8. 8© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved. 8© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.
B2B customers are real people, and there’s more to getting their
attention than simply having the best algorithm. Seek disruptive
ways to stand out to customers, but make sure there’s a value
exchange. In other words, you can’t just have great marketing
without an equally great product and business experience.
Start by being introspective: What makes your company or brand
special and sets it apart? Your point of view must be authentic,
inspirational, and purposeful. Also, instead of telling customers
what they’re doing wrong, empower them with the right tools.

9. “We know taking risks is necessary for success,
but being brave is easier said than done.”
— Chris Duffey, senior strategic development manager, Creative Cloud Enterprise, at Adobe

10. 10© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved. 10© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.
The need to take risks has never been greater in B2B marketing,
yet marketers are often told to play it safe. Is it still possible to
be bold without breaking the rules? Absolutely. “Taking intelligent
risk” means understanding your company’s North Star so you can
easily course correct, knowing what your customers stand for and
their values, continuously testing rather than making big bets,
and being authentic. Perhaps most important, don’t jump on
every trend. What does your audience believe and hold to be true?
The key is customer listening.

11. “We need to take a step back and realize the amount of
white space in B2B marketing.”
— Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO at VaynerMedia

12. 12© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved. 12© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.
B2B companies are well known for producing occasional white
papers, case studies, and blog posts to support their products or
services, but it’s not nearly enough to satisfy today’s fickle buyers.
They have a hankering for thought leadership content in all
its forms — from infographics and slideshows to videos and
podcasts — and are willing to engage with it across media
channels. Of course, this comes with one important caveat:
the content must be relevant and of value to the desired
audience. In an industry infatuated with reach, relevance
inspires people to take action.

13. “Marketing needs to take charge of acquisition and retention.”
— Geoff Ramsey, co-founder and chief content officer at eMarketer

14. 14© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved. 14© Copyright 2019 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. All rights reserved.
When landing a new customer, it’s critical to start the relationship
off right with a well-designed and effective onboarding process.
The goal is to make the customer feel comfortable and not
second-guess their buying decision. Next, use predictive
analytics to anticipate the customer journey, understanding that
it will be different for each customer. Connect at the right place
and at the right time with messaging that educates, emotionally
engages, and provides utility. As the relationship advances,
ask the customer to advocate on your behalf to help get
potential buyers over the hump.

15. Want more great insights from the 2019
Masters of B2B Marketing Conference?
Check out these session recaps from our Marketing Knowledge Center:
SAP: Turning Purpose into
Action with Experience Management
•
Digging in with Brand Purpose and Growth at Caterpillar
•
eMarketer: Mastering B2B Marketing in a Digital Age
•
Adobe: Go Bold or Go Home:
The Risks and Rewards of Breakthrough Work