Month: May 2020

Podcast 84: how to manage a creative B2B content team

Posted on by The Radix Team

In this month’s Good Copy, Bad Copy, we’re talking about all the challenges that come with managing a creative team – both in B2B marketing, and outside of it.

Creativity is a difficult thing to handle. As this episode’s guest co-host, Velocity Partners’ Harry Kapur, puts it: “It’s not a tube you can squeeze, and magic comes out. Creativity is insane. Creativity is chaos.” (Can you tell he writes for a living?)

So how can you help your team focus all that weird craziness into creating fantastic, engaging content – while still ensuring they keep to a tight B2B brief?

To find out, we wanted to see how people in other walks of life address a similar problem. So we were thrilled when world-class orchestral conductor Alice Farnham, Artistic Director of women conductors with the Royal Philharmonic Society and Ireland’s National Concert Hall, said yes, of course she’d like a chat about B2B marketing.

How does a top conductor manage creativity?

As it turns out, conducting orchestras is surprisingly similar to answering a B2B brief. Both involve sharp deadlines, collaborating with immensely talented people, and confidence in your decisions. Sadly, in marketing, there are far fewer violins.

Here are some of the top insights Alice shared, that we can apply to making content for B2B:

  • Getting communication right is critical. And sometimes, that means knowing when to shut up. Lead by example, and gain authority through enthusiasm.
  • Give your players (or in our case, writers) a clear box to break out of. Too much creative freedom can be counterproductive. Instead, provide structure (or rules for them to break). You’ll channel creativity towards a more specific goal, and the end result is likely to be a lot more focused.
  • Be very clear in what you are telling your team. For Alice, this is all about the power of gesture – every movement of her hand has to convey information. For B2B marketing leaders, it’s about not people-pleasing. If something is wrong with a brief or piece of copy, tell them exactly why.
  • Respect and communication go both ways. Giving all your writers a voice, and the confidence to speak up about a gap in a brief or bad piece of content, will only improve the team’s creativity (and standards).

Take a listen to the podcast for even more insights into Alice’s world. Plus, you’ll get to hear David and Harry’s thoughts on managing creativity in a B2B environment.

Here’s what you’ll find in Episode 84… 

01.11 – Why B2B tech marketing is the best (and worst) job to have during the apocalypse

05:16 – Top conductor Alice Farnham talks about leading creative people

27.51 – Back to B2B: Harry and David find a tonne of parallels between conducting and marketing

46.43 – Harry’s top tips for getting more from creative talent

Send us your feedback, thoughts, or a baton for David…

Contact us through @radixcom on Twitter or [email protected] (if you’ve been writing too much recently, send us a voice memo).

How to listen 

Credits 

Alice Farnham, thank you so much for sharing your time, wit and wisdom with us. Not to mention all your insights into the wonderful world of conducting.

And a big thank-you also to this week’s co-host, Harry Kapur. Your enthusiasm (and experience) is unmatched; we hope you’ll be joining us again soon.

Podcast editing and music by Bang and Smash.

5 cognitive biases, and what they can teach us about B2B copywriting

Posted on by John Kerrison

As is customary, I would like to start this blog with a magic trick. Please follow the instructions below closely – and remember to tip your wait staff at the end.

First, I need you to count very slowly backwards from fifty.

50

49

48

47

46

45

44

43… you know the rest

Now, quickly, think of a vegetable.

Was this your vegetable?

How did I know that you were going to pick a carrot? (If you didn’t, just play along. No one likes a contrarian.)

Is it because someone told me of your fondness for them? Is it because I’m standing behind you right now whispering carrot into your ear? (Yes, in the case of the person who proofread this post.) Or is it because an inbuilt cognitive bias allowed me to manipulate your thoughts?

An inbuilt cognitive what?

Put simply, a cognitive bias is a systematic error in thinking that affects our decisions and judgements. There are hundreds of them.

(And, if you don’t think you’re susceptible to such weakness then I have some bad news for you – that, too, is a cognitive bias.)

Take, for example, confirmation bias; a pattern of thinking that makes you more likely to favour information that confirms your existing beliefs or notice patterns that you’ve recently been made aware of. To paraphrase the writer Jon Ronson, once you become aware of confirmation bias, you’ll start seeing it everywhere.

Or how about the Dunning-Kruger effect, where unskilled individuals tend to overestimate their ability, while experts tend to underestimate theirs. Which, if you think about it for too long, creates a kind of cyclical loop which makes it impossible to know which you actually are.

For those of us in the B2B copywriting trade, understanding these biases can help us learn a little bit more about how our audience thinks, acts, and makes choices. Which, in turn, should help us engage with them more effectively. Like any superpower, they can be used for good or evil… so I’ll try to keep it ethical.

Here are five cognitive biases I think all B2B marketers should at least be aware of.

1. The Availability Cascade

The theory behind the availability cascade is simple: if you repeat something often enough, people will start to believe it to be true.

That’s why straplines are so useful in marketing. It’s why you know Ronseal does exactly what it says on the tin. And it’s how Kanye West convinced everyone he was the best rapper in the world, simply by telling everyone that he was the best rapper in the world over and over and over again.

It’s also why our political landscape has recently been transformed by a handful of incredibly irritating slogans. You probably don’t need me to name them here, but one of them rhymes with Shmake Shmamerica Shmate Shmagain.

Political opinions aside, these recent campaigns show that there’s actually little need for debate, or even manifestos if you have a good marketing strapline.

If a slogan can sell Boris Johnson – a man who hid in a fridge to avoid a live television interview – it can probably sell your product too. The secret is to make your message both memorable and consistent.

2. Authority Bias

I recently saw a full-page magazine ad in which TV personality Richard Blackwood was the face of a promotional campaign for a toilet.

My first thought was, ‘I bet that was an awkward phone call from his agent’. Followed shortly by, ‘what makes Richard Blackwood an expert on toilets?’ You can come up with your own amusing answer to that, should you desire. But the answer is probably ‘nothing’.

This is what’s known as Authority Bias, a pattern of thinking that sees us attribute greater accuracy to and be more influenced by the opinion of an authority figure – regardless of whether or not they have any knowledge of the subject matter.

The lesson for marketers here is simple. Using case studies, testimonial quotes, and any other instance where an authority can speak on your behalf will always have a stronger impact than simply telling your audience how great your, um, toilet is.

3. Decoy Effect

The decoy effect is used all the time in subscription pricing models. The rule states that the preferences for either option A or option B will change in favour of option B when a third option – C, shall we say? – is introduced.

Horrible and confusing sentence, that. Essentially, if you have two options, and want someone to opt for the more expensive latter one, then introduce an even more expensive third option and Bob’s your uncle.

(I know I said that this would all be ethical, and that definitely sounds a bit…not. But what were you expecting from a blog that started with a magic trick?)

On a serious note, although I absolutely can’t condone doing this, it is a trick worth being aware of. Now you’re wise to it, you’ll no doubt see it everywhere. And although it might not help your marketing much, it might save you a quid or two on your next SaaS subscription.

4. Anchoring or Focalism

I went to school with a boy called Ian who had a full beard at the age of 13. He went on to move to Canada where he now works for an accountancy firm, lives in a large house and has two children.

In other news, anchoring describes our tendency to focus on one piece of information when making decisions – and it’s usually the first piece of information we receive.

This is why it’s important in marketing to lead with your main selling point. And it’s also the reason why, when I now mention Ian (who absolutely didn’t exist) the first thing you’ll think is ‘oh yeah, the child with a beard.’

I mean, it’s obviously not the only reason. But you get my point.

5. The Present Bias

Ever been asked where you see yourself in five years? Incredibly hard to answer, isn’t it? But that’s because, in general, people don’t really like working towards long-term goals.

As much as we like imagining a future where we’re richer, healthier, smarter and being asked less tedious questions, research shows that we fall short of effectively working towards that future. Why? Because meeting our present needs will always be more important.

Also known as ‘Hyperbolic Discounting Bias’, the fruits of this cognitive quirk are most often seen in the form of ‘buy now, pay later’ deals.

How does this translate to B2B copywriting? Well, if people want a better future, but are secretly bad at delaying gratification, why not describe both the long and short-term rewards?

So tell your audience what the enduring impacts of your product will be, but also be sure to mention how fast it is to get up and running, how quickly they’ll see results, and how there will be a 20% discount at the point of purchase.

How does your buyer think?

It’s not about manipulating your reader – at least, it shouldn’t be; your brand’s likely after a lasting relationship as a trusted advisor, and you don’t get that by hoodwinking your customer. Instead, smart B2B copywriters use these little elements of psychology (and dozens more like them) to write B2B content that really resonates. Knowing about the reader’s sector, challenges and pain points can get you so far – but if you want to inspire action, it helps to learn how people think.

What’s the perfect work environment for creating B2B content?

Posted on by The Radix Team

If you’ve read our Barriers to Great B2B Content 2020 report, you know the results are pretty bleak. Of the 105 B2B marketers we interviewed, 68% said they’re not proud of even half their own content.

You might even be one of that number. And if so, it’s probably because where you work doesn’t work for you. Whether it’s because of internal politics, limited resources or interfering stakeholders, our survey showed that lots of marketers just don’t have the right environment to thrive.

And while many of these obstacles may be out of your control, every self-appointed marketing expert will still judge the ‘unoriginal’ work you produce as a result.

We talked to Maureen Blandford, VP of Marketing at Community Brands, about this particular frustration and she gave us a great response: “A lot of the time we have no choice, unless you happen to be in a lucky fairy land.” (Feel free to yell that whenever the mood takes you.)

But don’t give up hope. Your perfect B2B workplace – where you really can be proud of the content you publish – could be out there.

So, what would it look like and how can you identify it? We’ve spoken to Maureen and examined the statistics. Here’s what to look for.

Does company size matter?

Unsurprisingly, our survey revealed that across small, mid-sized and enterprise-scale firms, marketers have different ideas about what makes content great. Similarly, we found that different sized business find some obstacles more challenging than others:

But which will enable you to create your best content? Well, that depends what problems you find least intrusive, and what aspects of B2B content you value most.

We’ve taken a deep dive into the survey results shown above. These figures, taken directly from our global survey of B2B marketers, suggest how the benefits and obstacles of working in an enterprise, mid-sized organisation or a smaller firm could vary.

Enterprise:

Benefits

  • Least likely to struggle with workload or budget
  • Best chance of being proud of your content’s design, humour or emotional impact
  • Close correlation between perceived quality and business results

Obstacles

  • Brand, legal or policy issues could be an issue
  • Direct contact with your customers is likely to be very limited
  • Lowest chance of creating content that reflects customer priorities

Mid-size business:

Benefits

  • Highest likelihood of reflecting customer priorities
  • Slightly better chance of avoiding stakeholder interference
  • Fewest problems with brand and legal restrictions

Obstacles

  • Workload and budget issues are almost inevitable
  • Least chance of using humour, originality or emotion
  • Most likely to experience departmental friction

Small business:

Benefits

  • Easy contact with customers
  • Coordinating with other departments is less of a challenge
  • Best chance of writing copy you’re proud of

Obstacles

  • Constantly changing priorities likely to be a big issue
  • Micromanagement from senior leadership is likely
  • Smallest correlation between satisfaction and business results

When we asked Maureen, she said:

“I work in a sizable company as head of marketing for one of the divisions, and I’ve also worked for small tech companies and start-ups. And while size doesn’t really matter, a HUGE difference – in our quality of work and its results – is seen when bosses and executive teams are switched on and work collaboratively.”

So if you have an excellent leadership team, you’re more likely to create effective content you’re happy with – regardless of where you work. But what does that team look like? Well…

“Results follow good leadership”

When Totaljobs surveyed 2000 UK employees, they found one in two people had left a job because of bad management. And HR tech firm AdviserPlus found that in at least 70% of cases, management coaching resulted in better employee performance.

So the chances are, you’ve had at least one boss with questionable leadership skills.

And whether your boss was (or is) completely incompetent, or just a bit of a micromanager, poor leaders can prevent you from creating your best copy – or stop it being released.

We asked Maureen about great leadership in a B2B working environment – and how it can enable you to write copy you’re proud of. She said:

“There’s a whole bunch of stuff that goes into making content, that the market doesn’t acknowledge. Talent, passion and will are maybe 10% of it. Do you have a supportive team? Are sales co-operative? What about the leadership team? What kind of budget and tools do you have? How many micromanagers are there?

“I can tell you about my boss here, and my previous boss in Amsterdam, who runs a smaller technology company. Both of them had my back, completely supported me, and bought in to transformation.

“And the experiences I’ve had is exactly what Harvard Business School would say. The results are much stronger when leaders actually know how to lead, as opposed to leaders who are micromanaging jerks. Results follow good leadership.”

Toxic workplaces: “just get out”

You’ll find a B2B marketing workplace is always challenging – as our survey results made clear. With so many different departments and functional areas, everyone has their own goals and priorities. And earning their respect is no easy job – you’ll need to juggle a LOT of opinions.

And even though a challenging workplace is normal, it can still prevent you from producing your best work. 86% of our respondents say a problem with departmental co-operation gets in the way of their content.

We asked Maureen how she navigates this obstacle:

“I treat internal stakeholders like customers and prospects. I anticipate their objections, and what their values are. I’m never going to pitch our Head of Sales on some fancy-schmancy thing I want to do, or talk about colours. I’ll ask about her conversion rates, and where she wants to do better. Then I’ll frame projects to her business objectives.

“When I’m mentoring colleagues, I tell them we’re planting seeds. The first or second seed you plant may not grow or sprout ideas in their minds, but after a couple they start to understand your perspective.”

But a challenging culture is very different from a toxic one. So, how can you clearly define the two? Maureen draws a clear line between them:

“In most cultures, it’s challenging to work with colleagues in other functional areas. I don’t think I can code better than the software developers or do F&I better than the CFO; that’s not a thing. But of course everyone thinks they can do marketing.

“But a toxic culture is to do with the CEO; are they encouraging lying, cheating, stealing, hustling or hacking? People should be respectful but challenging, not demeaning and arrogant. If it’s a demeaning culture, that’s a toxic culture. And you’re not going to be able to change that, so just get out.”

And if you’re really, really determined to find the perfect workplace…

…You might need to commute a little further.

The statistics show that if you were to work in North America, you’re more likely to create content you’re proud of. Our survey found 39% of North Americans are happy with most of their work – a big jump from the 12.87% of European respondents.

It seems strange, we’ll give you that. But the figures above suggest some possible reasons. Only 30% of North American marketers find workload a big problem, compared to 50% of Europeans.

Meanwhile, North American marketers are least likely to agree with statement: “There’s always a trade-off between creating enough content, and keeping quality high”, while the European marketers we spoke to agreed 100%.

Of course, you’ll find plenty of job opportunities closer to home. We’re just saying – it’s an option.

How do you spot your ideal workplace IRL?

By now, you (hopefully) have a better image of a workplace that will enable you to create the content you’re proud of.

But when faced with a real-life opportunity, you might not have the transparency you need to know it’s right for you. Even Glassdoor can’t always help – despite having 67 million visits a month.

And truthfully, you’re going to have to gamble a bit. As Maureen says:

“For the most part, and this is not just for marketers, it is really hard to understand the culture until you get there. And it’s important not to feel ashamed about that – you did your best.

“But one way around that is if you actually know people at a company. If you’re being hired and you know someone, they can give you the straight scoop.”

So, use this guide to know exactly what you’re looking for. Then tailor the search to your specific preferences and find someone on the inside to get a clear picture. And when you get there? That’s when the real work begins.