7 Ways How Humor Works in B2B Marketing

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Hilarity in advertising is common. Fun and laughter is often observed in B2C marketing . But we hardly find instances using humor as marketing element in business markets. In fact, hilarious approach is considered irrational when dealing with prudent markets. However some B2B firms are breaking this fervor by making use of mirth in their commercials, blogs, online ads, video marketing, etc. Quite a few firms have witnessed positive ROI too. Cases like IBM’s viral video Mainframe: The Art of the Sale, Lesson One proves that, a good dose of humor has the power to boost B2B brands. Realizing this, many B2B marketers are changing their stance and redefining their approach. In mid 2000, Amaron Batteries quickly penetrated into the dull automotive battery market in India dominated by players like Exide, through some exciting fun-filled advertisements. It grabbed 6% of the market share within short span of time since its launch. Today it supplies automotive batteries to several automobile manufacturers like Ashok Leyland, Fiat, General Motors, Hindustan Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti & Tata Motors and is also an exclusive supplier to Daimler Chrysler, Ford and Swaraj Mazda. GE Healthcare came out with a series of 3 videos targeting hospital administrators that took a humorous look at cost, quality and access challenges that hospitals face every day. Though it received criticism for making hospital administrators look foolish, the campaign was successful in communicating the real hospital administration challenges in a humorous way.


Ultimately people in the businesses make decisions. Associates in buying centers are human beings and have emotions. By entertaining business buyers and decision-makers, they can be truly connected and engaged. For instance when Cisco launched its global campaign the human network effect to promote its Tele-presence service, it showed senior business executives behaving funnily in the commercial. An accounting software company Farm Plan, targeting at commercial farmers uses humor to catch a farmer's attention and as well as convince him/her that the software will make life easier. This could be a better way instead showing charts and person sitting before computer. If B2B marketers start targeting people instead of marketing to organizations, their efforts can have better impact. Find below seven ways how humor works in B2B space.

Catches attention easily – Like in B2C, humor can grab the attention of client's staff, media and other stakeholders without much effort. It has potential to create buzz in the markets and carry free press coverage through business media and blogs. IBM when it launched its mainframe server has created a lot of buzz and received wide press coverage due to its humorous viral videos.

Spreads like wildfire – Humor makes B2B communications to go viral. Cascading effect takes the message to decision-makers’ desks quickly. IBM’s funny viral video received more than 270000 views increasing website traffic 25 times within short period. Today’s social media can further fuel the effect by manifolds.

Clutter Busting – Humor can be used as one of ways to bust clutter, especially in crowded B2B markets. It was easy for Cisco to get into prospects consideration list through its funny ad campaign, the human network effect, in a fully crowded tele-presence market dominated by WebEx and other organized as well as unorganized players.

Brand Recall – Amaron’s award winning Pandu Mangal campaign ‘lasts long, really long’ with jingle ting tong is one of the few B2B brands that are remembered most. Research shows that, the ad was not only attention grabbing, but has put the brand on top of the mind giving longer shelf life.

Pulls End-User - Tetrapak’s funny ad campaign ‘Protects What’s Good’ about a park ranger Roy Sullivan who is struck by lightning seven times - sent a strong message to the end-consumers to buy milk, food or juice in an environment-friendly tetrapak cartons, creating potential derived demand.

Simplifies complexity – Speaking or communicating about industrial products/services is not only bland, but complex too. It makes market communication look tedious and dull, making selling effort more challenging. But breaking the conventional approach, GE Healthcare simplified its market communication using a series of humorous videos about how its medical equipment can tackle complex operational and technical challenges that hospitals face every day.

Amicable & Authentic – Finally, humor personifies the brand creating human touch and friendly space. It gives business buyers a feeling of social, friendly and approachable vendor. This make organizational buyers feel more comfortable in pursuing purchase deals.

15 Ways to Develop Customer Loyalty

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Focused customer-driven culture encompassing 24/7 service ethic, lead-by-example philosophy, flat management structure, open communication, service beyond letter-of-contracts, amazing client experience.....keep business customers loyal. Find below 15 ways how customers can be kept loyal in business markets:

1. A culture of ‘care and respect’ for clients and their employees shall be instituted across the firm.
2. Set up a flat management structure so that staff at all levels in the business, are easily accessible to customers.
3. Encourage employees to attend social events with customers and their employees.
4. Promote a culture of Lead-by-example philosophy among senior executives. Senior management should spend quality time on the customer site reassuring customers. Directors themselves should visit customer sites quite often to know if they could do anything further. This philosophy not only spreads positive energy among the staff; but also signals how the firm value its clients.
5. Ensure solid and stable management. It contributes to the development of long-term customer relationships.
6.‘24/7 Service Ethic’ of attending to customer problems anytime, anywhere spreads good word-of-mouth and customers start referencing.
7.Promote regular social interaction and offer amazing customer experience – Invite customers into premises (to see facilities, to walk-through business, to see the training center, to get feel of the culture, to see presentations, etc., frequently). Each director should be responsible for managing relations with their own customers – they should regularly telephone customers and invite them for events, product launches and so on.
8. Mentor staff to exhibit ‘humble’ attitude towards customers.
9.Serve beyond the contractual obligations. Don't insist on formal service and maintenance agreements with customers.
10. Spend majority of the time helping customers address their general maintenance issues (though not related to firm's products) - Invest time in relationship building alone.
11. Project division should continuously liaise with client companies, OEMs and end-users to promote open communication.
12.Project management should be considered as all about setting up tangible value adds, to ensure that customers get more than just a product/service.
13.Walk the extra miles with customers beyond strong after-sales service, component support and intensive user training to the point where they feel comfortable with the product. This will help lock the customers into an ongoing relationship.
14. Participate in customers' vendor development programs and adapt technology, resources, policies, etc., as per their changing requirements case-to-case.
15. Implement suggestions given by clients and show high-level commitment towards continuous improvement.

Finally, keep reviewing client interactions on quarterly-basis to know where to follow up relations

'Front-end Customer Strategy' Reinvents B2B

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When a B2B product serves a market with diverse end-users, embracing B2C mindset helps. It drives to a 'front-end customer' strategy involving end-user segmentation and analysis. This enables B2B marketers know the true market potential, real customers’ needs and actual product gaps. Focused insights into end-user behavior help target right markets, define product right and penetrate further.

In a crowded market, end-user segmentation strategy promises business sustenance and growth. Thomson Corporation (currently Thomson-Reuters), a global information services company (offering info products/services in financial services, healthcare, law, science & technology research, and tax & accounting sectors) reinvented and transformed itself by embracing front-end customer strategy. One of its division Thomson Financial, for instance, discovered eight end-user segments in place of three corporate purchaser segments. Such insight enabled Thomson to identify segments where it had opportunities for penetration and growth, understand segment-specific needs and develop products that provide what end-users valued most.

The 'front-end customer' strategy makes more sense when market is experiencing discontinuity or a clear value proposition is lacking or a significant change in market demand patterns is observed or a new non-traditional competition is sensed. But suitability of ‘front-end customer' strategy to a few or all B2B industry types, is something which has to be explored.

Non-Tangible, Non-Financial Incentives to Build Client Loyalty

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Offering 'nontangible-nonfinancial' benefits beyond letter-of-contract makes customers feel positive about the vendor.  Providing extended services such as delivering supplies or rendering after-sales service even on a holiday to keep customers' production lines going; deploying dedicated service personnel to assist staff at customer site for free of cost; helping clients in solving their business problems; proactively moulding to clients' requirements; developing informal relationships, etc., all these keep business customers loyal. For example, the global science major DuPont built amazing informal customer relationships by offering exciting racing experience and hospitality programs to its clients. However to reinforce  customer loyalty, B2B marketers should keep communicating  the nontangible-nonfinancial benefits offered by them, as clients don't keep track and quantify the value of all such services they get from different vendors. In the early years of Arrow Electronics, the supplier was shocked when it found that companies using its parts coordination and design engineering services weren’t aware that they were provided by Arrow. Recognizing such  possibilities made one of the global chemical companies to practice regular communication about nontangible-nonfinancial benefits it offered to its customers via a monthly matter-of-fact letter.

A focused customer-driven model (viz., flat & stable management structure, lead-by example philosophy, open communication, service ethics, tangible value-adds, frequent social interaction, hospitality, etc) helps even a small B2B player to effectively compete with big giants. For example, South-African based ZEST Motors shows how critical is ‘customer relationships’ to withstand competition in B2B arena. Its ability to withstand competition against big giants like ABB and Siemens is mainly due to the customer-driven organization culture and loyalty built up over years. Though loyalty building efforts are appreciated by clients at later stages, binding customers can help firms during troubled times. For example customers of Lucent Technologies continued to buy from it and gave a chance to catch up with its rivals, when Lucent's switching systems did not incorporate the latest technology. This was due to relationships that Lucent has built with its customers over years. 

Besides value derived from retaining client, benefits of promoting loyalty are ample. Initially, loyal clients tend to grow business relationships in terms of increased purchase quantity or buying other products/services of the firm. Next, they start referring to others and spread positive word-of-mouth. Besides acquiring new clients easily, costs of selling and acquiring reduces. Furthering clients' loyalty convert into affinity that resists competitors' offerings, though rivals offerings are attractive. For instance, CEO of Aeropres, a leading propellant manufacturer and distribution company though had the opportunity to go with other companies offering at lower prices, consistently stuck with DuPont products since he experienced the NASCAR car racing events and hospitality programs sponsored by DuPont. Eventually clients those who develop deep trust and willingness to bank on, will be willing to pay a premium, as well as collaborate to improve product and/or innovate new products/services. This will generate added revenue besides driving product innovation. In the most ideal situation, selected clients show interest to invest in new business ventures that can help them. It eliminates risk of the vendors, both retention and financial risks. However, B2B marketers should be constantly open and flexible to new opportunities and simultaneously focus on business growth while maintaining customer relations.

Celeb-Branding Boosts Visibility In B2B Too

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Celebrity Branding, in many cases, has proven to be effective marketing tool for even firms serving business markets. B2B celebrity branding classics such as Accenture – Tiger Woods, BT Business - Peter Jones, HP - Gwen Stefani, DuPont - Jeff Gordon, etc., put across that, celebrities, if properly aligned can greatly supplement B2B market communication effort to reinforce the brand or pitch the image and visibility. American professional golfer Tiger Woods, with his consistent top performance image reinforced and face-lifted Accenture (formerly Known as 'Anderson Consulting') through the campaign ‘High Performance, Delivered,’ immediately after re-branding as ‘Accenture.‘ By associating with Tiger Woods, Accenture could easily position itself as high  quality, consistent and reliable technology, consulting and outsourcing firm.

Celeb-branding strategies help B2B brands quickly and easily leapfrog cultural boundaries or elevate in a crowded commodity offerings market. But care should be taken so that cultural setting relates to the business context. For instance, Internet and communication solutions provider BT Business campaign featured Peter Jones (a star of the BBC’s Dragons' Den and proven businessman) in a TV ad alongside the gremlins, who attack the whole office leading to an IT meltdown. The celebrity campaign ‘Keep doing what you do best 24x7’ helped BT Business elevate its position in a crowded market.

Celebrity may or may not do ‘referencing’ as effectively as experts and clients do (probably because they don’t possess expert/referent power) in business markets. But, well-known personalities can act as catalysts to quickly scale B2B business across different cultures. Hewlett Packard (HP), for instance, through its campaign, 'The computer is personal again' featuring Gwen Stefani, a famous singer/fashion designer reached the graphic arts and small to medium-size business communities at a global level.

Sponsoring celebrity can also help a B2B brand convert visibility into its advantage. The global scientific major DuPont could take amazing sponsorship opportunity of Jeff Gordon-NASCAR car racing to its advantage. DuPont was immensely successful in creating derived demand for its innovations viz.,automotive finishes, Tyvek (house wrap), Teflon and FE-36 (fire extinguishing gas) by running innovative Motorsports-themed promotional programs and sweepstakes.

Like in B2C, risks also prevail in B2B contexts especially when celebrities’ professional or personal life shatters. The episode of Accenture getting into trouble when Tiger woods scandal became rather public in November 2009 stands latest example. Celebrities with consistent top image exactly reflecting desired B2B product/service attributes are rare. Though available, continuity of their success/image in long-term is uncertain. So a future-proof celebrity avoids risks. The strategy and effort may also become dysfunctional soon if stated performance isn’t proved simultaneously. Damage may not be immediate and high for B2B brands (for a proven brand). This is because clients’ perception doesn’t change and buying behavior is largely based on functional and service characteristics.


‘Celebrity branding’ strategy should be  carefully employed  by B2B marketers. Such strategy can be considered during periods of and situations like product launches, rebranding, scaling across cultures, etc. A balanced ‘celebrity branding’ campaign, crafted based on properly chosen future-proof celebrity matching with offering’s characteristics and relevant time-frame backed by suppliers’ performance can help B2B marketers in their branding effort.

Celebrity Endorsements in B2B

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Celebrity endorsement marketing theory and practice has been evolved mainly based on consumer markets. Therefore ‘celebrity’ has been viewed as a celebrated personality with a public image and has high profile usually in, sports or entertainment. Such individuals are predominantly used to endorse consumer products, services, etc.

Normally firms operating in business markets usually bank on customer referencing for instituting and promoting their credibility with new customers and seldom use prominent experts/individuals (not celebrities) to endorse. However, rather than being sports prodigy or popular entertainer, these personalities are tagged with high profile due to their amazing success in leading firms. Individuals endorsing in B2B, while possessing expertise and trustworthiness should also qualify with attractiveness in terms of “similarity,” “Familiarity,” and “Respect.” Besides, personalities, B2B marketers use high profile organizations usually clients for endorsement (for instance Lufthansa Cargo endorses Microsoft’s Windows Server System). However, endorsing organization should have consistent track record alongwith proper visibility and credibility. When choosing an organization for endorsing, issue arises on ‘similarity’ front, as it would imply using a direct competitor.

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