Instead of purely rational communication, early-stage B2B buyers respond better to messages incorporating emotional language, quantified business impact and contrast.
According to The Marketing Practice and B2B DecisionLabs study of 500 B2B professionals, early-stage buyers best respond to messages that include quantified impact and use emotional language. Additionally, adding elements that show the contrast between current risks and future benefits led to better recall than those messages without.
Compared to quantified rational messages with no element of contrast, messages that helped show the difference and used emotional language were more successful in assisting people in identifying their problems. According to Doug Hutton, senior vice-president of products, B2B DecisionLabs, the right marketing messages that are quantified, emotional and include contrast help lead prospects to the next step on their sales journey and evoke urgency in tending to their problems.
Participants felt a certain sense of urgency to resolve their issues after reading quantified emotional messages. Quantified rational messages provided the least urgency among respondents.
[3 minute read]
