The importance of creativity in B2B marketing: the relationship between innovation and growth

by Marcel Nanning | Last Updated: September 12, 2024

Marketing is increasingly focused on data & systems. Funnels, Cost per lead, Cost per click more such terms reflect a systematic view of contemporary marketing. Automation, processes and optimisations dominate marketing discussions. With that, creativity seems to have been pushed into the background. Yet it turns out that companies that dare to be creative make more impact and achieve greater successes.

I was recently interviewed for the B2B Matrix podcast on this topic which triggered me to write this article. (The link to the interview can be found at the bottom of this article).

In this article, we take a closer look at why creativity is essential in B2B marketing.

Creativity leads to better customer engagement

Creativity in B2B marketing makes companies stand out from their competitors. This is crucial, as many B2B markets are saturated with similar products and services. Innovative campaigns attract attention and improve customer engagement. Research shows that growth companies have as a common denominator that they give innovation (creativity) space within the organisation, including within marketing. (source: deloitte research on creativity). Companies that stand out through unique visual content, stories and innovative approaches not only attract more attention, but also stay in the minds of potential customers for longer.

Creative campaigns create stronger brand recall

In the B2B market, purchase decisions are often long and complex, with multiple decision-makers. Brand recall plays a big role here. A company that is creative in its communication ensures that its brand stands out and is better remembered. This research on creativity in outdoor advertising shows that creative ads are many times more effective in creating brand recall than non-creative ads. This means that companies that invest in original and innovative marketing strategies make a lasting impression with their target audience, resulting in more long-term customer relationships.

Creativity increases ROI of marketing campaigns

It turns out that creative campaigns produce a significantly higher return on investment (ROI) than campaigns with less focus on creativity. A study by Linkedin shows that more and more marketers are experiencing this and are becoming more daring in adding creativity to their marketing communications. These marketers have found that original and engaging campaigns generate more leads, which in turn lead to higher conversion rates.

How do you apply creativity in B2B marketing?

Now that the benefits of creativity in B2B marketing are clear, the next step is to implement creative elements in your marketing strategy. Here are some practical tips on how to do this:

• Tell stories: Use storytelling to convey complex information in a simple and engaging way. Stories stick better and make your message more human. Use the storybrand framework here to quickly achieve targeted results.
  
  
• Experiment with visual content: Videos, infographics and interactive content can often present complex products or services clearly and attractively. Read more about using b2b video to take your marketing creative to the next level here.
  
  
• Use data as inspiration: Data analytics is the backbone of B2B marketing, but data can also be the basis for creative campaigns. Use customer insights to personalise and innovate campaigns. Dive into your CRM software and uncover interests and needs of customer groups and base a creative idea on them.
  
  
• Organise ideation sessions within the company: Make a bold move and organise a brainstorming session within the company. Present a clear case and work in groups to come up with ideas for a surprising, creative campaign. You will see that many people become enthusiastic about this, good plans roll out and support for the roll-out of the campaign is many times greater!
  
  
• Give your idea another form: I did this with the ContentQuartet. Because I often give workshops on content strategy, I was looking for a way to dress it up and promote it in a slightly different way. I turned something ‘dry’ like a content plan into a new form; a card game. This makes the workshop process more fun and gives me a way to market my services in an interesting way.
  
  
• Beware of the cliché monster! There is a danger lurking! If you start applying creativity in marketing, you can quickly fall into obvious concepts. So do try to think a step further than the first idea that comes to mind. Read more about this in this article: beware of the cliché monster in B2B marketing.
  
  
• Reserve budget for the creative concept: Take creativity seriously; it is a driver of success. So reserve budget for it too. Are you going to start working on a campaign? Then start with the briefing for the creative agency. This will ensure that your campaigns are optimised for success on all sides.

Example of creativity in b2b marketing from practice

I worked at the Efteling for a while as a b2b marketer. To market our product (events for companies), we looked at the target group in CRM. We noticed that the group we wanted to approach had mainly asked a lot of questions about festival-style staff events. We were setting up a product for that. This was then developed further. To promote this, we sent a select group a festival poster with the company name loaded.

The core of the campaign was: and use iconic image of a festival (the poster) as a means to surprise and enthuse the target group. A QR code on the poster allowed readers to find more information about the concept and what it might look like for that company.

The campaign was well received, cost relatively little and perfectly matched our products, services and customer needs.

Conclusion

Creativity is not a luxury in B2B marketing; it is a necessity. Companies that dare to invest in innovative and creative marketing strategies will not only position their brand stronger, but also significantly increase their customer engagement and ROI. The numbers speak for themselves: creativity delivers tangible results in the B2B world. So don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

By harnessing the power of creativity, B2B companies can take their marketing to the next level and strengthen the connection with their customers.

My interview about creativity in b2b marketing (in Dutch).