Every day, from channel to channel, your audience is being overwhelmed by ad clutter.
Your biggest competitor is no longer the one with the largest budget or the loudest voice—it’s the one who shows up as the most cohesive, credible, and compelling.
The brands that stand out are the ones that feel real and trustworthy. And trust isn’t just a “nice-to-have”, it’s a core buying driver. People don’t just buy the best product, they buy the one they believe in.
73% of consumers say their trust increases when brands authentically reflect culture, showing that relevance and emotional connection directly impact trust.
The most trustworthy brands are those that speak in ways that feel relatable. That’s the opportunity many B2B brands are still missing—emotion is the thread that connects every human experience. Everyone experiences them differently from other people, and from one moment to the next. That’s a huge canvas to work with. Yet too often, B2B marketing hides behind jargon and complexity, drifting further away from the humans it’s trying to reach.
This is nothing new, though. We’ve understood the power of emotion for centuries. So, let’s take it back to basics. Wayyyy back.
Around 400BCE, Aristotle penned the seven causes of human action. Although the idea occurred long, long before the concept of B2B marketing, these seven human instincts still drive much of our decision-making behavior:
-
Passion
-
Habit
-
Appetite
-
Compulsion
-
Chance
-
Nature
-
Reason
The “reason” category is where B2B marketing is often rooted. People look for logic when making large purchasing decisions. This is why many B2B companies invest in ROI calculators, case studies, and white papers. Data gives buyers permission to follow their instincts.
But to truly stand out among marketing fodder, we can’t disregard “passion.” Emotion creates urgency and momentum. A campaign taps into emotions like pride or optimism connects deeply with the audience. The brand becomes an extension of the buyer’s identity—and once a purchase aligns with how someone sees themselves, the decision becomes automatic.
The impact of “appetite” can also be immense. Some businesses sell not just utility or a “suite of innovative software solutions,” but a vision of the future. When your audience wants to be a part of that vision, the practicality of the product is just the icing on the cake.
The strongest campaigns blend more than one of these causes. Although providing reason, rationale, and proof points is important to B2B buyers, messaging resonates most when it aligns with deeply held values and beliefs:
-
The desire to create a more sustainable world
-
The chance that a product will improve employee’s workloads and wellbeing
-
The compulsion to do something differently or better
Human emotion gets lost in B2B because it’s hard to measure. Selling “technical” products calls for logic, with little room for feeling. But even in the B2B realm, people are still driven by things like joy, hope, and pride—things that simple metrics don’t capture.
By appealing to specific emotions in messaging, brands build deeper connections and enhance trust, leading to higher consumer engagement and stronger brand identity. Appetite combined with chance, passion paired with habit, compulsion supported by reason. Each layer builds on the next to shape buying decisions.
So, tap into your softer side. If you’re ready to explore how to build a deeper, more emotionally resonant brand, let’s start the conversation.
