Marketing people LOVE -- really

Marketing companies talk about appealing to your customers' emotions — hit them where they live. And it's true: as logical and business-focused as people are, buying is inherently emotional.

I’m a skeptic--and so are the customers we help reach. HubSpot, a leading inbound marketing platform, strives to be the technology behind "marketing that people love." I follow their research closely, but test at every turn for relevance to the markets we serve. PLS works with companies that sell to research scientists and engineers in industries like medical device, semiconductor, defense and security -- not exactly "touchy-feely" guys.

So how do B2B technology customers sell on an emotional level? You have to establish credibility and build the business case, but also appeal to their gut and their heart for them to take action. This is a big hurdle: the tendency to do nothing is stronger than ever. Neal Elli of Empire Precision thinks it's genetic: the first apes that were brave enough to come down from the trees got killed. The ones that stayed put lived, and passed on the tendency to stay put.

It takes a lot to compel people to act, or in the case of your customers, to buy. In consumer marketing, you can promise to make people thinner, more desirable, more loveable. In optics, photonics, and instrumentation, we have to hit different emotional chords:

Safety: Your track record of delivery and product performance, your position as market leader, customer testimonials: all these create trust — a belief that you're the safe bet.
Payoff: They'll keep their job.

Heroism: Your product lets them do something they couldn't before. They'll save the company money, conduct break through research, get published.
Payoff: Personal brand and career advancement.

Resonance: Your brand, salesperson, product, and service hold up a complimentary mirror. They see you the way they want to see themselves.
Payoff: Comfort and prestige. It's the reason you buy a Mac, even though it costs 2x the price of the HP. You want to be associated with the Apple brand. This consumerism spills over into decisions you make for the business.

There has to be a business case for the company, but also a personal payoff. What's your product's appeal? Why should they care about your product and not someone else’s?

The positioning process helps you define who your buyer is and the unique value proposition you offer the buyer and his company, but also how you can elicit those emotion-based responses needed to make the sale. It is the foundation for marketing that works.