So, you’re in B2B marketing. It’s complex. It’s engaging. The challenges are never-ending. Which is exactly what voracious problem-solvers like us need.
Things are good. But I’m wondering if they’re really great? It’s worth asking because I’m proposing there’s a simple shortcut to greatness – adopting a purpose.
We’re not talking hugging a tree or saving a whale here. Purpose is entirely commercially driven. But it does need you to commit your business to making life better for someone else.
Purposeful businesses outperform the S&P 500 by between six to 14 times over 15 years, the Firms of Endearment study shows.
People buy from people. In the age of mechanised marketing, everyone wants to feel the soul of your business. Adopt the right purpose and as a brand, you immediately, become more human.
Purpose creates customer centricity
My company’s purpose is to help the UK exploit its digital potential. From that mission we created #VOOM, a £1 million pitching competition, which led to the development of Voom Fibre – the fastest business broadband in the UK, by a factor of 4.5. That’s generating a lot of commercial success for us.
With purpose also comes customer-centricity. Since we became a more purposeful business, we’ve put more emphasis on the right research insights. That shows up in our marketing and in our numbers.
Enshrining the macro goals of your audience into your core makes you more relevant at every stage, from product development through to brand work and lead gen, right into customer service.
That’s because it gives you social and cultural substance. By striving to make good things happen, you can become relevant on a societal scale. You stop using meaningless ‘flappy-tongue’ marketing words to promote your own self-interest and instead start doing things that make a real difference to your target market. At its best, your brand marketing no longer feels like marketing at all.
So, if there is a small void in your otherwise perfect B2B world, there’s nothing I can recommend more highly. Adopting a purpose has had a bigger impact on organisations than any other change I’ve seen in my 20 years as a marketer.
