These slides were presented at the 2016 B2B Marketing Summit - they're about marketing in the era of authenticity, and why you should stop lying to your customers and prospects.

1. Stop lying to your customers
(and prospects)!
Marketing in the age of authenticity
Gina Balarin
Senior Marketing Director, OmPrompt
@GBalarin
@OmPrompt
#B2BSummit16

2. 1) We live in the era of authenticity: believe it.
2) What is our job, really?
3) We’re all in it together.
4) Lying doesn’t work – here’s why.
5) Trustworthy content is king.
6) Use your customers.

3. We live in the era of authenticity: believe it.

4. Marketing through the ‘ages’
1970s50/60s 1990s1980s 20102000 2015
@GBalarin @OmPrompt#B2BSummit16

5. Broadcast Direct Digital Inbound Emotional
An evolution of marketing
Authentic
@GBalarin @OmPrompt#B2BSummit16

6. The age of spin is over.
The era of authenticity has begun.
Our customers expect – nay – demand the truth.
And it’s our job as marketers to give it to them.
Or is it?
@GBalarin @OmPrompt#B2BSummit16

7. What is our job, really?

8. What is a marketer’s ‘job’, really?
- To ‘market’?
- To ‘sell’?
- To ‘tell stories’?
- To lie?
asetaet
- To lie?
@GBalarin @OmPrompt#B2BSummit16

9. Lying doesn’t work – here’s why.

10. Our customers (and prospects) might be reacting
to us like this…

11. Customers are the life-blood of our business
Source:
Ian J. Golding. Research, 2016
“67% of organisations are not
actually acting / behaving in a
customer-centric manner.”
http://www.ijgolding.com/2016/06/14/customer-experience-commitment-2016-customer-centricity-research-findings/
@GBalarin @OmPrompt#B2BSummit16

12. http://www.providesupport.com/blog/cost-poor-customer-service/
What happens after poor customer experience?
- 52% will tell friends and family about the experience
- 40% will cease doing business with the company.
Why is this so important?
- It’s all about people and TRUST.
- People trust friends and family more… They pay 2x more attention to
recommendations. (Source: Mckinsey, 2010)
- Referral leads convert roughly 30% better than leads generated from other
marketing channels. (Source: Tony Nissen, R&G Technologies, 2013)
@GBalarin @OmPrompt#B2BSummit16

13. http://www.mycustomer.com/sites/default/files/beliveable%20branding.pn

14. B2B buying is emotional

15. We’re all in it together.

16. Everyone wants the truth!
- You
- Your customers
- Your prospects
- Your salespeople!

17. Marketing and sales trustworthiness
@GBalarin @OmPrompt

18. Marketing and sales trustworthiness

19. Dissatisfied customers can be your best advocates!
Philip Kotler’s Ladder of Loyalty
ADVOCATE
CLIENT
CUSTOMER
PROSPECT
SUSPECT
*
* Have backup advocates.

20. Trustworthy content is king.

21. Trustworthy content helps sales
- Makes you findable
- Makes services ‘real’ / tangible
- Complements / substitutes
reference calls / visits
- Makes you trustworthy.
Image source: http://www.socialmediamktg.it/2014/08/content-is-king-of-social-marketing.html

22. Understand what your customers &
prospects REALLY want

23. How marketers can help ‘turn the tables’
Understanding
(of your product / service AND
customers’ needs)
→
Commercial
Insight
→
Trust
→
Willingness to buy.

24. Use your customers

25. Authentic stories are essential to commercial insight
Find opportunities for customers to communicate
- Bring customers together and learn from them (and from each other)
- Build customer insights into marketing – and beyond!
Talk to and learn from your prospects
- Learn from prospects why you won – or, more importantly, lost a deal
- Develop or improve things that make your product/service ‘real’
(e.g. customisable demos, industry-specific case studies).

26. Truth is stranger than fiction
https://www.omprompt.com/executive-briefing-arla-foods-claims-management

27. “We can quote statistics…
but people buy with their heart,
not with their calculator”.
- Simon Granger, CFO, OmPrompt

28. How to find (and use) the truth to win campaign
investment and influence budgets
- What are your NUMBERS telling you?
- What are you CUSTOMERS telling you?
- What is your EXPERIENCE telling you?
- What is your GUT telling you?

29. PROSPECTS
- Talk to and learn from your prospects.
- Store info about why they are buying, initially.
CUSTOMERS
- Trust your inner moral compass and your nose.
- Find opportunities to communicate with customers.
- Keep your advocates happy.
- Keep records of satisfaction.
- Get numbers: from customers and project results.
- Remember: bad experiences can be positive.
- Reduce risk: engage more than 1 or 2 contacts per account.
Takeaways:
48%
reduction
in staff costs
M £4.5
reduction
in write-offs

31. Get in touch
Senior Marketing Director
OmPrompt Ltd.
Gina Balarin
@GBalarin
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ginabalarin
https://www.omprompt.com
@OmPrompt