Add a smile to your corporate communications.

Introduction

Larger B2B companies can face complex challenges when it comes to creating effective marketing campaigns.

Global corporations are a melting pot of different #products and #brands that have often been acquired from smaller companies. These “assets” become part and parcel of the wider #portfolio.

While there may be strength in numbers, corporate communication departments can lose sight of the needs of individual #customers, which differ across the regions. What may be a pain point for a customer in the UK, may be a different experience for a European neighbour, for example. You can also expect customer requirements to differ from product to product, #service to service, and brand to brand.

Communication professionals may agree, it's all too easy to revert to a corporate voice, one which is factually correct and legally safe, but can appear monotone and impersonal. We have all seen generic #corporate videos that make our eyes glaze over, and press releases that fail to engage. 🤔

I've included a list of pointers below to bear in mind, that may help your teams deliver campaigns that connect with your customers in a more effective way.

1.  Know your customers; you probably have some talented people within your teams. Could you empower them to get to know their customers? Meeting customers face-to-face to talk to them about their problems will offer immense insight. If it's not possible to meet in person, #zoom meetings, online #questionnaires or surveys, and informal telephone interviews could be a good way to draw out information from your customers. Don’t just rely on agencies to do this for you. They are less likely to have a vested interest, and it’s much better to offer a personalised customer experience.👍

2.  Discover the conversation around key topics; what are your customers talking about? Who is talking? How do they feel? Can you put this into words and images? Your Customer Services teams will be a good source of information, but you can also use online tools, such as social media listening to gauge emotions and opinions, as well as online search #listening tools, such as “Answer The Public” to draw out the key phrases and questions. Research doesn’t have to cost you a fortune.🙌

3.  Do not patronise your customers; show that you understand and value your customers. Empathise with them and offer a positive angle to your campaigns.👂

4.  Assess the current situation; the above will help you to assess the current situation from your customer’s perspective, but don’t forget to take a deep dive into what the #competition is doing. Discover your key strengths - perhaps this is the features of your product, an efficient distribution channel, or maybe a service which offers added-value? Be aware of the key limitations that may impact your campaign or create adverse #risk. 👓

5.  Create a detailed campaign plan; create #SMART objectives that are #customer-oriented. Position your campaign in a unique way. Use a creative mix of communication tactics and channels, and integrate activity. Plan the resources for each element of your campaign, in terms of the people and the tools that you will use to create and distribute your media. Create media plans and map out a timeline with key #milestones, to ensure you stay on track.📰📊📉

6.  Have fun and generate internal support for your campaign; Could you use an internal communication platform? If you are consulting your sales teams, ensure that you have facts and figures to support your recommendations and justify your creatives. If you are using agencies, be sure to keep your internal marketing team involved in the #creative process. 🤩

7.  Be prepared to test and try again; Use A/B testing, assess and tweak your campaign accordingly.🅰🅱

8.  Ensure you create KPI’s to measure the effectiveness of your campaign objectives; clearly identify the tools that you will use to extract this information - these could be broken down into online and offline tactics for ease of reference. 🤓

9.  Don’t aim for 100% #perfection; not only will this ease the pressure, but an element of imperfection may add human charm. Perhaps you could use original photography instead of generic stock photos? Or videos filmed by your teams? 💯❌

Well planned #campaigns can be time consuming, but the rewards will be worth it. Your creatives will be unique, different to anything on the market, with messaging that truly connects. Your teams will feel empowered and engaged, not side-lined, while reducing #agency spend. Finally, people will be drawn to your business and more likely to become satisfied customers in the future.