Expertise
Why emotional connection wins in B2B and B2C
If you want your brand to connect, start with the people behind it. Connection starts with the stories you tell.
Value of engaging emotions
Think about the last time you made a major purchase. You likely read reviews, talked to friends and looked for brands that shared your values or just felt right. Business-to-business (B2B) buyers are no different.
In fact, research shows B2B purchases are often more emotionally driven than business-to-consumer (B2C) ones, because the stakes are higher. There’s more risk. More complexity. More scrutiny. Branding efforts that connect emotionally to build trust, show alignment and feel personally relevant are no longer nice-to-haves. They’re business essentials. This is especially true when it comes to creating loyalty and influencing decisions.
Beyond features to benefits
Take our work with Hillrom (now part of Baxter). Once known primarily as a “bed company,” Hillrom wanted to reposition itself as a medtech innovator. We helped them launch a B2B campaign centered around Redefining Care, for Good, a platform that highlighted their connected care ecosystem in a way that connected emotionally. Read our case study to learn how we showed product features in action, while spotlighting the benefits in a human and heartfelt manner.
Cheeky style meets safety
When Honeywell needed a way to show how their new anti-fog eyewear coating helped keep workers safe, we could have created another product video that simply called out key features. Instead, our storytelling approach featured a host who tested the products on two characters, Alan and Chris, in a tongue-in-cheek style that compared the product’s superior anti-fog coating to the competition in a humorous light. The result? 1.8 million impressions. Grab some popcorn and watch our Honeywell Hydroshield video here.
Put people first, always
Great branding doesn’t start with “What do we want to say?” It starts with “What do people need to feel?” That mindset blurs the lines between B2B and B2C and keeps brands connected to the people they serve. And when brands lead with empathy, they turn transactions into trust. That’s where loyalty lives, and where business growth begins.
Stop simply explaining what your business, product or service does. Dig deep to find the human connection and show us. Emotionally resonant storytelling can help you stand out—especially in B2B––by clarifying purpose, rallying internal teams and most importantly, helping customers understand not just what you do, but why it matters.
Want more? Check out our Brand Slam podcast, episode 39: Beyond sterile marketing, where our co-hosts Steve Rosa and Joe Kayata talk with Nuno Azeredo, vice president of global marketing at Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP), about the big role emotion plays in healthcare marketing.
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