B2B buyers are grappling with the repercussions of COVID-19. Scenario planning has replaced long-term forecasting. Budgets are under scrutiny. And the relationships you’ve relied on for years can no longer be taken for granted. In this context, how should B2B brands adjust their campaigns to maintain resilience? Behavioural science offers some useful principles.
Root yourself in empathy
Start by sharing the thoughts and feelings of your customers. Not in a performative way, but genuinely. Think about what a trusted colleague would say to you right now. They wouldn’t lead with a sales pitch. They’d acknowledge the situation, be sensitive to context, and offer something useful. Your communications should do the same. Empathy is not a tone of voice exercise, it’s a strategic orientation that shapes what you say, when you say it, and how you say it.
Seek to make a connection with your audience
Google’s research paper From Promotion to Emotion demonstrated that emotional campaigns significantly outperform rational ones, even in B2B. Binet and Field’s work for the LinkedIn B2B Institute reinforced this: brand-building campaigns that create emotional connections deliver stronger long-term effects than short-term activation alone.
People trust faces behind a brand. In remote meetings, non-verbal cues matter more than ever, turn your camera on, make eye contact, and be present. Use the word “because” when making requests or recommendations. Research into heuristics shows that simply providing a reason, even a modest one, significantly increases compliance and trust.
In summary, as you plan your B2B campaigns in this environment:
- Build trust through consistency and transparency
- Show genuine empathy, not performative concern
- Reflect your customers’ language and concerns back to them
- Explain your reasoning (“because”), people respond to rationale
- Demonstrate authenticity in every interaction
