While B2B marketers have progressed their thinking to be more B2C-minded, there are concepts we simply shouldn’t borrow from our B2C counterparts regarding ad copy and creative.
Naomi Suman, founder of Storylogick Consulting, is an English major turned SaaS marketing consultant who has tested thousands of campaigns. In this episode, she breaks down the elements we should borrow from B2C marketing and, on the flip side, details the concepts B2B marketers should leave alone. Does ad copy containing a question convert? What about ads that feature people? Tune in to get these questions and more answered.
The B2C heist: What should B2B take?
Having a literary background is highly valuable in the tech space. Great storytelling is what captures audiences and improves campaign performance, not corporate jargon. Naomi emphasized that telling a great story is all in the details and the relentless pursuit of improvement.
“Every story has a plot,” Naomi explained. “And the plot in a technology company is, ‘What is the problem? What does the problem look like?’ Agitate the problem and then present the solution. And the more tactical you can get with that problem, the better.”
But don’t just craft your story and call it a day. Naomi stresses the importance of an optimization mindset — constantly testing, tweaking and refining your narrative. Know your villain (maybe it’s those pesky manual processes), understand your theme (control, efficiency — pick your poison) and always be ready to adjust based on what the data tells you. It’s like A/B testing your way through a novel, one compelling chapter at a time.
What to leave on the B2C shelf
Not every B2C tactic translates well to B2B. Naomi advises against:
- Metaphorical ads that require too much interpretation.
- Overusing questions in your copy.
- Excessive use of stock photos, especially generic business imagery.
B2B marketers have to be a lot clearer about what they’re selling and who they’re selling to. In this space, clarity trumps cleverness. Naomi advocated for a practical approach to testing rather than getting caught up in complex methodologies, stressing the importance of quality over quantity when it comes to leads.
“It’s important to sit down in the CRM, look at which leads are coming in, and if they’re not the right quality of leads, you have to almost disqualify people on the landing page. So instead of trying to get more people in, you try to get fewer people in, but the right kind of people,” said Naomi.
This approach extends to testing as well. Naomi recommended focusing on one element at a time, documenting results thoroughly and implementing successful changes across campaigns.
“We can get bogged down trying to figure out the perfect way to test, but the framework around testing is not as important as actually doing the testing in a healthy way,” Naomi noted.
Listen to episode 372 of SaaS Half Full for more of Naomi’s insights.