The biggest way in which B2B content fails to change business executives’ perceptions is by too closely resembling a sales pitch, according to a study released last year by the Economist Group and Peppercomm. Yet, a sizable portion of B2B marketers might be falling into that trap, per new survey results [pdf] from Corporate Visions.
The survey asked more than 500 B2B marketers and salespeople if their companies’ marketing campaigns and sales content are more customer-centric or company-centric. While a plurality (41%) of respondents indicated that their campaigns contain an even mix of both, slightly more respondents said they focus on their own company’s story (32%) than indicated that they focus on their prospects’ story (27%).
That’s an interesting result in light of the emphasis being placed of late on “customer-centricity.” It also harks back to the aforementioned Economist Group study, which found that B2B marketers are more frequently referencing their products and services and experts’ points-of-view in their content than curated research and insights, which may offer a broader view of the industry that’s more in line with what executives reportedly want when making decisions.
There’s certainly room for organizational improvement when it comes to marketing developing a more customer-centric approach, according to a CMO Council study released late last year. Only 45% of respondents (52% of whom identified as B2B brands and another 30% as hybrid brands) to that survey rated the customer centricity of their organization as high (14%) or good (31%).
