6 X B2B Marketing Myths That Are Stunting Your Growth
Your product or service is at the pinnacle of its industry. It’s the best out there. You’re ready to share it with the world, grow your market share and make your mark.
But as you step into the realm of marketing, you find yourself asking a crucial question: is marketing to businesses the same as marketing to consumers?
You’re not alone. Many people leading growing businesses grapple with how to adapt B2C marketing strategies to their B2B operations.
We’re here to help. Here are six common B2B marketing myths that could be stunting your growth and what you can do to build a successful long-term marketing plan.
Myth 1: B2B Marketing Should Focus on Businesses Ready to Buy
If your marketing strategy is all about targeting those immediate buyers, you’re missing out on a massive opportunity. According to the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute’s 95-5 rule, “up to 95% of business clients are not actively in the market for many goods and services at any one time”.
Yes, you read that right—95%. This has huge implications for your B2B marketing.
It means that a huge chunk of your focus and resources should be invested on people who aren’t ready to buy. So when it is time to buy—in a month, quarter or year’s time—the seeds have been planted and you’re top of mind.
Myth 2: B2B Marketing is All About Short-Term Tactics
Since only 5% of B2B customers are ready to buy at any one time, your B2B marketing should not be primarily focused on tactical execution.
Sure, lead generation and events are important. But if your B2B marketing is just a set of short-term tactics designed to keep the sales team happy, you’re playing small.
The most successful brands balance immediate sales targets with longer-term brand building. It's not about serving as a support system for sales, it’s about creating a brand that people remember, trust, and turn to when the time is right.
Myth 3: B2B Marketing is Product-Led, not Marketing-Led
It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that B2B companies succeed solely based on product superiority. If you have a great product or service, it will speak for itself, right?
But marketing is not “just the price you pay for an unremarkable product” (thanks Bezos). B2B companies benefit immensely from adopting a marketing-led approach.
Crafting compelling narratives around your product, understanding your audience’s pain points, and effectively communicating your value proposition are all essential elements in driving demand. Don’t underestimate the power of marketing; it can propel your product from the margins to mainstream.
Myth 4: B2B Marketing Doesn’t Need to Be Creative
Creativity isn’t just for flashy B2C brands—it's a crucial ingredient in B2B success as well. Smart B2B marketers weave innovation, storytelling and creativity into their marketing strategy, making sure they stand out from the competition.
It’s not just about facts and figures. It’s about emotion. B2B buyers are still human, and they make decisions based on more than just the bottom line. The brands that can tap into that emotional space? They’re the ones that stick.
Myth 5: B2B & B2C Marketing are the Same
Similar? Yes. Identical? No.
Point one: B2B buying decisions often involve a committee rather than a single consumer, making the process and audience more complex, which needs messaging and strategies to match.
Additionally, the channels used for B2B marketing differ significantly from those in B2C. The person in market for a coca-cola operates in a different space to the decision-maker looking for enterprise cybersecurity solutions.
If you’re not advertising strategically through the right channels, you’re missing out—no matter how award-winning your advertising creative is.
Myth 6: B2B & B2C Marketing are Totally Different
Yes, B2B sales cycles are longer, and you’ve got buying committees and all sorts of complexities to navigate. But at the end of the day, you’re still marketing to people—and people are influenced by the same basic principles whether they’re buying for themselves or their company.
Understanding your audience, brand building, distinctiveness, emotion, mental availability—these things work across the board. The rules of good marketing don’t suddenly change because you’re selling to a business rather than an individual.
Tap into Your Next Level of Growth
Ready to push past these myths and get your brand where it needs to be?
MarketingMayd is a cost-effective solution designed to help you build a distinctive, fresh and consistent B2B brand that leverages both long-term and short-term strategies for sustainable growth.
We’ll lay the groundwork for a successful marketing strategy and help you hire the right marketing talent to keep the ball rolling and your market share growing.