What’s wrong with B2B marketing?

It’s not you. It’s… actually, it is you. What’s wrong with B2B marketing and marketers? As if the label B2B gives you the excuse to make it as boring as possible, drown in jargon, trying to look impressive, and old school gate your content.

3 things that matter in B2B marketing.

𝟭. ‘𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴’

‘There has long been a gap between B2C and B2B marketing. (…) And the bar in B2B marketing is so low. B2B marketing traditionally gets mired in features and benefits, missing the actual people involved in the buying process.’

→ 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: we tend to forget that people working in B2B are still people

All credits to Marketoonist, the copy above is an edit from his full post. 

𝟮. 𝗗𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗼𝗻; 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗶𝗴, 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀

B1 is clear, simple language everyone easily understands. No jargon.

• 𝗕𝟭 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝟮𝗕 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗽. Because if you can’t explain complex ideas simply, you probably don’t understand them that well.
   

• 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. And nothing says ‘I’m bluffing’ like a wall of jargon and buzzwords.
   

• The real experts know that 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁, and most effective, thing you can do.

→ 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: respects your reader’s time, their brain, and their inbox.

🔗 ‘Writing for busy readers; simplify your writing to make reading easy’
🔗 ‘For authentic content and to increase engagement, you write as you speak’

𝟯. 𝗚𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁

Nothing kills interest faster than gated content. Seriously, nobody wants this, except marketers who love collecting (fake) email addresses to bombard them with HubSpot email flows to make people hate you a little.

If you gate content, you’re not capturing leads, you’re collecting resentment.

→ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱: In 2026, give your knowledge and information away for free. And let them pay for the implementation of it.

Interesting read: 🔗 How help content can boost sales and build trust

About my confessions

More about me and my confessions. Why I hold content to a higher standard. And why I write what most people in this industry won't say out loud.

I'm a content strategist with a university background in marketing, media, sociology, and psychology. I've worked in this industry for 25+ years and for 50+ global brands and agencies. 

I've seen a lot. Made many mistakes. Learned even more. 

Now, I share all this to inspire everyone working in marketing and communication to more accountable work. There's already too much crappy content out there; no need to add to it.

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