It’s often said that B2B marketing can be a little, well, boring compared to B2C campaigns – but that needn’t be the case. Just because you sell machinery, components or specialised B2B products, it doesn’t mean you can’t make your business or your products as exciting as consumer goods.
One of the key obstacles to making B2B marketing ‘sexy’ is the fact that technical jargon is often used to describe a product or service. While it’s important to include technical details when talking to engineers or product developers, for example, it doesn’t mean your website, social media posts, or email newsletters need to be difficult for everyone to understand.
In fact, easily digested content is a key marketing tool. Engaging with your existing clients and prospects in a way that makes an every-day part of your business sound exciting can help you to grab attention, drive sales and create long-term client relationships.
But how can you make manufacturing jargon or business terminology sound exciting?
From ‘blue-sky thinking’ to ‘scrubbing’ and ‘off the shelf’ there are many terms used in business – including the manufacturing and engineering industries – which can often cause readers to check twice to truly understand the terminology being outlined.
To avoid your company website, brochure or blogs reading more like a glossary of business jargon than engaging content that leads to sales, consider the following when undertaking a content strategy:
Keep it simple
Have you outlined your products and services in a way that even someone with no industry knowledge could understand? When trying to sell to a new audience, it’s best to explain things in layman’s terms – imagine you’re describing what you do to an investor who has no background in your industry, or even your next door neighbour. You do of course want to ensure the technicalities of your product are included, so those with a deeper understanding can get to grips with your offering, but it’s important to strike a balance and appeal to every audience.
Avoid acronyms
There are hundreds of acronyms in business, from OEM to MRO. Acronyms tend to only be understood by those who are highly experienced in the topic they relate to, so if you absolutely must use them ensure you also spell them out in full (e.g. Original Equipment Manufacturer or Maintenance, Repair and Operating Supply). If the person reading your content has to leave the page/brochure/blog to look up the meaning of the acronym, their distraction could cost you a new business lead.
How many syllables?
Using really lengthy, techy words can put off your reader, or send them into another zone. Keep language crisp, clear and concise if you want them to read on and understand what your company offers.
Keep it light-hearted
Just because you sell to other businesses doesn’t mean you can’t share some light humour in your content – or at least make it quick and easy to read. Prospective customers are more likely to relate to your business if they can easily digest your content, rather than trawling through pages of lengthy words or technical terms.
All filler, no thriller
It’s so tempting to add filler words when writing copy for marketing material. But keeping sentences short and snappy makes for a better flow of content. For example, do you really need to use the phrase ‘in order to’, or will just a simple ‘to’ suffice?
Still unsure how to cut through the noise for a no-nonsense approach to content marketing? Give us a call at Sugar Marketing and we’ll talk you through how to make your company sound more captivating than confusing.
