Talking about copywriting for B2B means facing a very delicate subject. Because we often think we can work with a single register on any type of company. Or look at the Business to Business world with skeptical eyes: here persuasive copy techniques don’t work.
In reality it is not so, these are generalizations that must leave room for softer and more defined positions. The professionalism of a copywriter also passes from his ability to adapt communication strategies to reach the goal. That is the sale, the conversion.
This also applies to Business to Business. There are dozens of aspects to consider when you decide to make a good promotion online for your company, or for that of your client. And every web marketing strategy needs good online writing.
This is why it becomes essential to optimize the copywriting process for B2B. What are the essential steps? I want to start with a clear base of the field in which we are operating.
B2B marketing: what does it mean exactly?
The aspect to consider before starting any web marketing activity (and therefore also online copywriting) is to understand the context. B2B has a meaning: it is an acronym that encompasses the work of companies that talk and communicate with similar realities, not with the end user.
Which has a different approach with the purchase. Do we want to find a generic and substantial difference between B2B and B2C? The sale follows different logics: in the first case it takes longer and more detailed funnels, maybe an approach based on technical and individual insights.
In Business to Customer you work on emotions. The purchase is impulsive, immediate. With a short and direct customer journey. All this must be carefully evaluated when defining the highlights of your web copywriting activity. How do you proceed?
How to write for Business to Business?
With these premises it is clear that one point of the work to be done concerns the millimetric knowledge of the reference target. Precisely because, in principle, the B2B works on profitable niches and not on large-scale markets, you can obtain concrete advantages on this point.
But it’s just one of the essential aspects of a good copywriting job for B2B. Here are a number of elements to consider to achieve your goals.
Create Personal Buyers
Particularly with the creation and optimization of the buyer personas, ideal typical representations of your potential customers useful to clarify what leads to purchase services or products, what problem they solve, what are the customer’s challenges. Any idea to handle this? We have created a guide to organize information and create buyer personas.
Watch Out for the Tone of Voice
Work on web copywriting on B2B risks overflowing into detached jargon, close to the company and to the language that tends to detach the user with the activity in question. This is why it is important to carefully define your tone of voice before you start writing.
That is the communicative style you have decided to follow in online and offline communication. It is better to keep the voice active and direct, to reduce the turns of words and the complex verbal forms. B2B does not mean talking to bureaucrats without personality but with people like you.
Here is a good use of headlines in B2B.
An example comes from Asana: directs visitors towards a clear promise, an immediate call to action without distractions. But above all dedicated to those who work and need solutions that work. All this, however, without losing sight of a brilliant and interesting copy.
Use the information that matters
In Business to Business, I think this way: less emotions, more practicality. Work on the numbers, give the data to make decisions. This does not mean writing without personality (the point I clarified above) but understanding the needs of those working in the company.
And that he cannot afford to make a bad investment just because he has been attracted to colours that are pleasing to spectacular titles. So, your copy must be in constant balance between the lightness and consistency of a text capable of confirming, informing and convincing with skill.
One of the concrete cases: the use of numbers and figures to reassure those who have to make decisions, or perhaps in-depth manuals. B2B purchases can be emotionally driven, but not as in B2C. Tendency to limit risk, fear of failure and need to save / earn are emotions that are often associated with conversions.
The content must be informative, educational, able to address critical points and offer solutions. Perhaps with the help of videos and infographics able to summarize the essential points. Do you want a concrete example? Take a look at the Dropbox guide for business users.
Work on Social Proof
In principle this can be a good technique to increase the conversions of your web copywriting work for B2B. People are always very attentive to the stimuli coming on the front of social proof, the signals that allow us to find reassurance.
This also applies to Business to Business. Obviously, the tone of voice is different from the one you use in B2C: in the latter case it may be sufficient to review a site like Tripadvisor to make a difference, while in B2B there must be a report signed by professionals in the sector.
Copywriting for B2B: Where to Start?
Certainly, from the value you can give to your project. The text you write for a newsletter or a blog post must bear in mind the need for a project that turns its attention to an audience that does not allow itself to be influenced by impulsive emotions, but evaluates the activities more carefully.
And maybe he needs a different, longer buying process. Did you find these points in your B2B web copywriting strategy? Leave your opinion in the comments.
Author Bio
Wanda Mooree run’s professional SEO authority services firm in Texas. Also spends a lot of his free time educating the minds of thousands of young Texas SEO’s and top agencies. She is a featured author at various authoritative blogs in the health and fitness industry and currently associated as a blogger with Justseotech.
