Say No to Crack (berry) in B2B!
If you read the title of this week’s blog entry, I am betting your first answer back to me was “As-If!” In B2B marketing, being connected is key – and we have all become addicted to our little tethered friend who keeps us connected to our clients, our team, to everyone. And I for one could never say “No!” completely – and I promise, that’s not what I’m proposing. However, if you can cut the tether at appropriate times, such as before a meeting, it can mean the difference between keeping and losing a client.
To explain, when was the last time you met with your coworkers before a meeting and had a quick pow-wow about the client, why you’re there, what you want to achieve, etc.? As we all know, this is an integral part of preparing and making the most out of every B2B marketing meeting, but my guess is you don’t do it. Instead, I bet before a meeting you sit in the waiting room with your colleagues as you all field emails until the meeting commences; and because of this, research has shown that your work is suffering.
Behavioral scientists have discovered that our fine tethered friends cause us to have continual partial attention due to our lessened mind share. In other words, working on our smart phones doesn’t allow us to have full mind share on any one given task, which results in our only giving it partial attention. This has huge implications because partial attention equals substandard work. And in times like these, we don’t have the luxury of developing poor work; we can’t afford to have our clients be anything less than 100% satisfied, because there are plenty behind us just waiting for the chance to prove themselves.
So the next time you are gearing up for a meeting and get there early, say no to crack(berry)! Instead, take a minute or so to think about what you’re hoping to achieve, and this will get your mind prepared for making that happen. I understand that sometimes we just can’t help it, but research has also shown that many other times we simply do it out of habit. So leave it in the car, turn it off, or do whatever you have to do break the cycle and Just Say No! Your meetings, and your client relationships, depend upon it.
Vann Morris is the Director of Buying Behavior Studies with the Atlanta B2B advertising agency, MLT Creative. She is a Social and Behavioral Scientist who is currently working on her PhD in Communications, and uses her strong theoretical background in order to show how scientific theory should be used to develop strategy and effective B2B marketing campaigns.