1. Ann Handley heads up all of the content at
MarketingProfs. She's a 13-year veteran of
creating and managing digital content to build
relationships for organizations and individuals, and
the co-author of Content Rules. Previously, Ann
was the co-founder of ClickZ.com and spent 12
years as a business editor and writer for
publications including the Boston Globe.
The key to B2B marketing innovation is
focusing more on the stories of your
customers, and less on your product... oops, I
mean...your "solution." (God I hate that
term.)
Many B2B "solutions" are boring -- something
like technology isn't inherently interesting
when you describe what it does. But it
becoming far more interesting when you talk
about what it means for your customers:
How does it help people? How does it
shoulder their burdens? Ease their pain? The
main character in all of your marketing --
even when you are marketing a technology --
should be a person.
In other words: "Make your customer the hero of your brand's
story.