It’s no secret that there are a lot of complexities in B2B marketing — and on day three of the B2B Marketing Exchange East, Neil Patel took the keynote stage to highlight some of those hurdles. He started by acknowledging one of the elephants in the room: The perceived differences between B2B and B2C buyers.
“B2B buyers are consumers too — they’re not okay with slow load times, unclear messaging and ugly user experiences,” Patel explained. “In fact, 80% of B2B buyers expect the same experience as B2C buyers and if you don’t provide it, your competitors will.”
With the foundation set of improving user experiences for B2B buyers, Patel kicked off day three by focusing on three key areas:
- Creating authenticity;
- Engaging buyers; and
- Leveraging AI.
Creating Authentic Experiences For Buyers
Patel continued that one of the biggest misconceptions in B2B marketing is that practitioners’ only goal is to help customers hit their KPIs. While he noted that delivering on metrics is an essential element of the buying experience, he explained that the real goal is to help customers look good.
“If your customers look good, there’s a better chance they’ll get internal recognition and will be happy to keep paying for your product,” said Patel. “Providing a great overall experience beyond metrics is key to fostering loyalty, differentiating your brand and improving your reputation. Many B2B companies emphasize delivering value, but jargon is one of the big mistakes. It can help you with the sale, but it should be explained so a five-year-old can understand.”
Similarly, Daniel Englebretson, Managing Partner at ShiftHX, focused on placing authenticity at the center of all collaborations. He encouraged attendees to adopt a mindset of empowering others to think more creatively, which includes the need for internal alignment around the company’s competitive differentiation and customer experience so that the entire organization can deliver on the authentic value proposition.
“First and foremost, you must place authenticity at the center to ensure that your collaboration is reinforcing across our relationships,” noted Englebretson.
Building Strong Customer Relationships
With the cornerstone of authenticity set, Patel shifted his focus to building and maintaining strong relationships. He noted that relationships aren’t built simply on testimonials or a “G2 rating banner on websites” — instead, people want to see field results, screenshots, in-depth analyses of successful use cases and even videos.
“Testimonials aren’t enough,” said Patel. “Instead, you need to extend into thorough case studies that ideally contain video. Video is much more authentic than just a textbook blurb about how great a product is.”
On the topic of video, Vin Matano, Founder of CreatorBuzz, highlighted the importance of video in connecting with a key buyer demographic: Gen Z and Millennials.
“Gen Z/Millennials will make a majority of the workforce starting in 2025, and they grew up with technology,” continued Matano. “They consume content in less traditional ways than traditional B2B buyers, and they prefer content that’s in a video format and from people they know. Video is LinkedIn’s fastest growing feature — up 34% year after year — and even time spent on LinkedIn is up almost 11%. People are consuming video content now more than ever.”
Mastering AI Prompt Engineering
Regarding AI, Patel noted that practitioners don’t often think about it from an ROI standpoint. He explained that a lot of users don’t realize they’re spending more time setting AI up to do their tasks than anything else — “in other words, practitioners are spending more time giving AI a prompt to get the right output than it they just did it manually,” Patel noted.
According to Pam Didner — who opened the #B2BMX East event with a Campfire-style keynote — the key to effectively leveraging AI in marketing lies in the art of crafting detailed, specific prompts. She emphasized that marketers should not simply ask for generic outputs.
“The key is to be incredibly detailed in your prompts,” stated Didner. “Don’t just ask for a ‘marketing plan’ — provide the AI with all the relevant information about your industry, customers and desired outcomes. That way, you’ll get a plan that’s tailored to your exact needs, not some generic template.”
By equipping AI with a wealth of contextual details, marketers can unlock the technology’s true potential to deliver personalized, strategic solutions that align with their unique business requirements.
That’s a wrap on our day three coverage from B2BMX East! Check out the day one Campfire Keynote recap, and then discover what you missed on day two. If you’re craving more insights and want to experience the learning in real time, register now for the 2025 B2B Marketing Exchange West, which will take place in sunny Scottsdale in late February.