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Steal from fashion
Today marks the beginning of the Autumn/Winter leg of London Fashion Week! So, naturally, we’ve been thinking about what we as B2B marketers can steal from the world of fashion and high design. (Groaaaaan. We know. Sorry.) The answer? Quite a lot, actually.
Stop trying to appeal to everyone.
Fashion brands know who they’re for. They build a particular aesthetic, point of view and identity—and accept that some people simply won’t get it.
B2B brands could (and should) do more of the same. You don’t need everyone to like your content; what you do need is for the right people to recognise themselves in it.
Make the familiar feel new.
Fashion is very good at taking something people already know and putting a different spin on it.
The same principle works in content. You don’t always need a completely original topic. You need an original angle.
“AI is changing X” isn’t interesting. “Everyone is talking about AI changing X, but they’re overlooking Y” might be.
Have a signature.
You can often recognise a fashion house without seeing its name. That’s the power of a distinctive visual and verbal identity.
B2B brands should aim for the same thing. Not just a prescribed set of colours and fonts—that’s just basic Branding 101—but also a recognisable point of view and approach to content.
Don’t confuse trends with relevance.
Fashion moves quickly, but the best brands don’t blindly chase every trend. They know what fits them and hold their space.
Marketing should work the same way. Just because everyone is talking about a particular technology, platform, or topic doesn’t mean you need to.
If it doesn’t make sense for your brand or audience, leave it on the rack.
Give people something to talk about.
Fashion creates conversation. Sometimes through a new collection. Sometimes through a collaboration. Sometimes through doing something that makes people stop and ask, “What is that?”
B2B content could do with stealing from that playbook. Not just for the sake of being provocative, but for the sake of being memorable.
In the industry...
of B2B purchasing decisions are driven by emotional factors
of marketers say brand building is as important in B2B as B2C for long-term success
of marketers use content marketing to drive brand awareness
Ultimately, though, the biggest lesson that fashion can teach B2B marketing is that useful isn’t the same as desirable. The best fashion brands don’t just make clothes. They create a narrative around them; a point of view, a personality, and a sense of identity.
B2B brands could afford to be a little more like that.
Right now, everyone is largely producing largely the same content, chasing the same trends, and saying roughly the same things. But being useful is just table stakes at this point. The brands that stand out are the ones that have something of their own to say—and say it in a way that feels unmistakably theirs.
Lean on a bolder point of view. Be more willing to leave ‘safe’ on the rack. And don’t be afraid to experiment and buck the trends; you just may make something people will notice—and want.