Written by Clare Hanrahan, Marketing Director
“It needs to be more personal.”
That’s something every B2B marketer has heard in campaign reviews, brand workshops, and boardroom conversations. But in a B2B context, with its complex buyer groups and organisational incentives, what does “personal” actually mean?
For some people, personal means a conversational tone. For others, it means bold creative insights and delivery. And increasingly, the word is equated with personalisation, from dynamic content and segmented journeys to behaviour-triggered messaging.
But being personal in B2B isn’t about sounding friendly. What really counts here? Relevance.
B2B audiences are making decisions that affect budgets, teams, reputations, and careers. As a result, they’re balancing risk, knowing they’re accountable to stakeholders while being under pressure to deliver outcomes. But there can be a tendency to overlook the fact that B2B buying is still human – after all, behind every procurement process is a team of people. And that’s precisely why emotional connection still matters. These buyers want confidence and certainty. Above all, they want to feel safe in their decision-making.
That’s where relevance comes in: relevance signals understanding; understanding builds trust.
Today’s marketers are operating in the most advanced era of personalisation the industry has ever seen. It’s now possible to tailor by job title, industry, funnel stage, buying intent, and past behaviour, to automate and scale within seconds. Despite this, many B2B buyers still feel misunderstood, with data from our latest Superpowers Index research reporting that 75% are at least a little frustrated and would like business suppliers to spend more time seeking to understand them and how they can help to solve the day-to-day problems that they face at work.
A message can be technically personalised and still miss the mark. It can include the right industry reference or even the right product recommendation and yet still feel generic. Personal B2B marketing must go beyond surface-level targeting to demonstrate real insight. The focus is on understanding what your audience is trying to achieve, the obstacles that stand in their way, and the trade-offs they’re navigating internally.
This distinction matters more than ever in a B2B context. As technology lowers the barrier to producing content, the volume of messaging continues to grow, leading to saturated platforms and full inboxes. Consequently, B2B marketing now stands out when it shifts towards clarity, empathy, and perspective.
The Superpowers Index research also highlights a real tension between the perceptions of B2B marketers and those of B2B buyers. While 70% of the former are confident that they're already developing compelling and relevant content for their customers and prospects, 68% of the latter say that they're seeing the same kind of marketing and communications from potential vendors.
The challenges of truly relevant marketing are myriad. It requires an intentional approach, genuine alignment between your brand promise and your buyer’s priorities, and organisational discipline in how you position your solutions. But without this relevance, marketing struggles to build the trust that helps B2B buyers feel understood, rather than merely targeted.
Being personal in B2B marketing doesn’t mean being overfamiliar or giving up on professionalism. It means showing that you’ve done the work to understand your audience and showcasing that in-depth understanding in every touchpoint for a genuine brand experience. Our Superpowers Index shows that brands that communicate via more personal touchpoints during the decision-making process post higher overall brand experience scores from B2B buyers than those that don't deliver personalised communication – a vital metric in today’s experience economy.
These ideas are just some of the topics are covered in the first episode of our 6-part video series, Beyond the Index. Alongside Tim Lamble, Managing Partner at 兔子先生 B2B Media and Mimi Turner, Head of Marketplace Innovation, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, Laura Jennings, Head of Growth at 兔子先生 B2B explores what it truly means to be personal in B2B marketing and why relevance is at the heart of it. Together, they challenge some of the assumptions that have shaped how brands approach “human-centric” marketing and look at what happens when relevance becomes a strategic priority.
Whether you’re reconsidering your messaging, refining your positioning, or trying to ensure your marketing reflects the real concerns of your buyers, this insightful conversation is sure to stimulate your thinking.
Because in B2B, being personal has nothing to do with informal and everything to do with being indispensable. Watch the first episode of Beyond the Index to find out why relevance might just be the most human strategy of all.
