Who are you writing for—really?
“What’s in it for me?”
It’s essentially the first question you learn to answer in business. If you want to persuade someone to purchase your more expensive socially-conscious product or service—if you want to write really compelling b2b content—you have to clearly outline the business benefits upfront. And for whatever reason, "a more livable planet and equitable society" doesn’t seem to count as an adequate selling point.
But why?
As a non-business major—I studied English, Sociology and Journalism in university—I have to admit, I used to grapple with this question a lot. That was before I was beaten down by life and learned (the hard way) that the entire purpose of a business is to make money. Ipso facto, if you want to convince a b2b audience to do something, money has to be at the centre of it.
And for the longest time, I just accepted this fact as a universal truth. That is, until I read Kate Raworth’s book, Doughnut Economics and realized maybe—just maybe—that isn't all our audience is interested in. Maybe the people reading our stuff—or buying our products and services—aren't actually the soulless suits we envision. Maybe—just maybe—they actually care about things beyond money. And we've been unable to see it because of the myth of homo economicus.
Who is homo economicus anyway?
Homo economicus—or the rational, self-interested economic man—is a mainstay of economic theory. And according to Raworth, this “solitary, calculating, competing and insatiable” figure has been around so long—and influenced so many governmental policies, businesses, behaviours, and media practices—that we don’t even notice his presence anymore. Particularly in the b2b realm.
To be honest, I actually didn’t know he was a thing. And yet, I intuitively learned to write for him after landing my first role as a b2b journalist. I knew, for instance, that this guy wasn’t going to be interested in green manufacturing because it was a nice thing to do for humanity. So, rather than spending a lot of time convincing him of the environmental benefits of a product or service, I would always focus on how much money the technology would help homo economicus save over the long run.
There's nothing wrong with this approach--after all, I was speaking to my audience's needs and interests which is a key element of good b2b writing. And at this stage in the game, money is often the most important driver in b2b. But I guess I've always wondered why "a nice thing to do for humanity" can't also be on the list of desirable selling points. I mean, it seems to fly in the b2c space—consumers are starting to make socially-conscious buying decisions. Why does it remain invisible in the b2b arena?
And this niggling question is likely why Raworth's take on the topic resonated so deeply with me. Because apparently—according to this renowned economist—homo economicus isn’t an accurate reflection of us humans. He’s a caricature. An exaggeration. A painfully inaccurate stereotype.
In actuality, humans are more socially-reciprocating than self-interested. Our values are fluid—not fixed. We're interdependent rather than solitary. Approximating more than calculating. This means—at our core—we understand that we're actually better off when we're all working together. When we're taking care of all our members and recognizing that the planet isn't something to be dominated--but, rather, something we must take care of to survive.
And since humans—not businesses, not homo economicus—are the ones actually reading our b2b content, the “nice thing to do for humanity” angle has to have some relevance, doesn’t it? After all, if your reader also benefits from a livable planet and equitable society, he or she should surely be more inclined to support a business that makes that type of society possible?
Kick him to the curb
I’ll admit, this concept was a difficult one to get my head around—so I did a bit of research. And you know what I found? Thanks to COVID-19, there are actually signs that homo economicus's hold on our collective conscience is lifting.
In June, for instance, the Brazilian cosmetics company, Natura, pledged to reduce its emissions to net zero, reconfigure its management team to include more under-represented groups, and use reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging. The "Commitment to Life" campaign, as it's called, is born out of the idea that, according to its CEO, "you can't run a business on a dead planet." (Source)
(Ugh, I love that.)
A group of 1200 global pension funds and investor managers, meanwhile, recently announced it will decarbonize the global economy by 2050. How? By making sure its collective $40 trillion portfolios are net-zero by the middle of the century—and encouraging other investors around the world to do the same. (Source)
And these aren't isolated incidents. An increasing number of CEOs across the globe are starting to grow a social conscience. Eighty-eight percent “believe our global economic systems need to refocus on equitable growth, ” while 99% agree that “sustainability issues are important to the future success of their businesses.” (Source)
So what does this mean? It means that your b2b audience might finally be open to hearing about all the other great things you're doing for the planet and its people. They might actually—finally—be ready to hear about how your business can help theirs become better corporate citizens. And that means you can finally start broadening the scope of your content marketing efforts to include sustainability.
Of course, just how open your audience is will require some decent market research—but it will also require a lot of courage on your part. And by that, I mean, you're going to have to be bold in how you direct this conversation. You're going to have to make a conscious effort to broaden your marketing efforts, alter your language and bring sustainability issues to the surface—even if your audience isn’t 100% ready to hear it all.
This might involve a more blatant approach—coming right out and explaining why sustainability is now a priority for your business and something you will be regularly talking about. Or it might involve addressing topics that relate back to your customers’ growing desire to hit sustainability targets, become more attractive to investors or strengthen their brand reputation.
The bottom line? You still need to answer that original question “What’s in it for me?” But now, there’s space to subtly weave in another: What’s in it for the rest of us?