If you were to use just 3 words to describe what business-to-business (B2B) marketing and business copywriting is all about… it’s these 3 words…
Connections, sales, and partnerships.
Building long-term connections between businesses to either get more sales or form strong partnerships. And that’s where business copywriting comes into the picture.
Unlike the other types of copywriting skills, this is focused specifically around businesses. Which brings us to an important criteria in how you choose to communicate your messages…
The Multiple Decision-Markers in Business Copy
Nothing is more important than your target audience in copywriting and marketing in general. Who they are, what do they want, what problems are they trying to solve etc.
That’s how you communicate your message, throw in some persuasive language and tactics, and you have yourself a killer conversion piece.
But what happens when your target audience is no longer just 1 person?
Not the business owner, or the finance manager, or the human resource executive… but all three of them together and maybe more.
Because that’s how most larger corporations run and make decisions. You may have a product that helps the I.T. department increase efficiency and make their life much simpler. But your prices are a little steep, maybe a little more than their budget allows. Suddenly the finance department comes into the picture. And if you were to leave it to the I.T. manager to “sell” for you…
You’ve probably already lost the battle. The I.T. manager isn’t trained for sales, much less about your services.
Instead, a good business copywriter will create marketing materials that appeal to the emotional side of the I.T. manager, showing them how much faster they can get things done and really hook them onto the idea they need this solution or they can never work again. And even better… an A* copywriter will do all that and remember that the finance manager is mainly concern about the return on investment.
He’ll use real proof to emphasize real and solid tangible benefits for the company.
That naturally makes B2B writing a little tougher than expected as it “breaks” normal copywriting conventions of focusing on only 1 audience.
So How To Ensure Quality B2B Content?
While there are now additional decision makers involved… the main aim and purpose of your copy never changes.
The I.T. manager (your main audience in the example) has a problem you can solve. That’s where you bring out all your benefits and paint out the dream to create an aching thirst for your product. But there are also positive outcomes for the business. It could be a more productive department or it could foster stronger loyalty to the company… the role of a business copywriter is to include these hard facts to support what you’re offering.
Or many of us call the Twin Towers of Persuasion – Features & Benefits.
And this principle remains the same whether you’re writing for the web or something as simple as a flyer you give out at trade shows and at industry exhibitions.
Of course the other copywriting principles are also relevant… engaging your audience… there’s no such thing as too long a copy, only too boring… giving tremendous value upfront to build brand loyalty and relationship… among many others. It’s not about having a technical writer to do a write-up about your business or give you quick product copies.
It’s about using the copywriting secrets to create an irresistible content your readers can’t put down.
And this process holds regardless of whether you’re a small business owner, or the marketing manager of a large Multinational Corporation (MNC) with a huge team. Because somehow when it comes to b2b writing in many marketing mediums, the content immediately becomes dead boring. Formal language. Stiff design. Unfriendly messages.
But these Advertisers have Forgotten…
The people reading your marketing collaterals are human beings with goals and concerns. Not an inanimate company.
This is why we call it communications. You are talking from one person to another. Or in this case, to a group of people. The persuasion rules are the same, just applied a little differently as you have a couple more audiences with different priority.
But that’s where a professional B2B copywriter enters the fray to design a sales copy that persuades every one of the decision makers involved.