From Bland to Brilliant: How to Strategically Pivot Your B2B Brand

In an environment defined by market instability, rapid AI adoption, and more competitors entering the ecosystem all the time, it has become increasingly challenging for B2B companies to truly differentiate themselves. Unfortunately, many companies fall into the trap of deploying “play it safe” marketing tactics, ultimately drowning in the sea of sameness. So, how can B2B marketing leaders strategically rise above the noise to transform a generic market presence into a successful, category-leading brand?

That’s why we’re talking to return guest Pete Fairburn (Director and Co-Founder, Morphsites), who shares his expertise and proven strategies on how to strategically pivot your B2B brand. During our conversation, Pete highlighted the challenges B2B marketers face in differentiating their brands in a competitive market. He emphasized the value of understanding customer pain points, and how brands can create true value beyond just the product. Pete also discussed common pitfalls to avoid, such as mistaking activity for progress, and why deep thinking and customer research are paramount. He advised against “random acts of marketing” and recommended starting with small, achievable pilots. Pete also stressed the value of focusing on critical metrics such as customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), and conversion quality. He underscored the need to align marketing efforts with broader business goals to avoid competing solely on price.

https://youtu.be/SEgt1i2UuVQ

Topics discussed in episode:

[03:06] Why copying competitors kills true differentiation.

[04:54] How short-term metrics create a risk-averse leadership mindset.

[06:06] The danger of mistaking marketing activity for actual business progress

[12:06] Using customer research to uncover pain points and speak their language.

[18:21] Elevate commodity products by removing friction outside your core offer.

[24:41] How to pitch new ideas to the C-Suite (Hint: stop using the word “innovation”).

[36:11] Why great marketing can never fix a weak or undifferentiated offer.

Companies and links mentioned:

Transcript

Christian Klepp, Pete Fairburn

Pete Fairburn 00:00

No human being really likes to admit they don’t know something, even if you’re a naturally quite humble person, it takes, it takes something to say, I don’t know what that is, or I don’t know how to go about that, particularly if you’re a business owner or a stakeholder, that can often be seen as a sign of weakness, to say, I don’t know something. And yet, actually, when you have the courage to say that you can, you can uncover some real things, and at the end of the day, particularly if you’re employing marketing professionals or an agency to help you, the whole reason you’re doing that is because you’ve kind of already admitted you don’t really know how to do this.

Pete Fairburn 00:32

Nice to be back, Christian. Thanks for having me again.

Christian Klepp 00:32

Great to be with you. You know we’ve been talking about this second interview for quite a while on I’m glad that we’re finally getting to pull it off, right?

Pete Fairburn 00:32

It’s definitely, it’s been a while. It’s been a whole world.

Christian Klepp 00:32

Indeed, indeed. So let’s just dive in. Because, you know, this is Pete, as I said before I hit record, this is a topic that’s near and dear to me, and I think it’s something that we contend with on a daily basis. I think there’s still a lot of clients out there and potential clients that don’t quite see the value in doing this yet, and hopefully, after this conversation, perhaps we’ll, we’ll change their we’ll win them over, right, like hearts and minds, as they say, right?

Pete Fairburn 00:32

That’s the hope.

Christian Klepp 00:32

In a, B2B environment fraught with unstable markets, AI and more competitors entering the ecosystem all the time, it has become increasingly challenging for B2B companies to stand up. Unfortunately, companies in this segment have a reputation for deploying play it safe tactics when it comes to their marketing. So how can B2B marketers help their brands rise above the noise and go from bland to brilliant? Welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers in a Mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp, today I’ll be talking to Pete Fairburn, who will be answering this question. He’s the director and co founder of Morphsites, a company with a proven track record in helping businesses grow online by maximizing revenue potential and improving efficiency. Tune in to find out more about what this B2B Marketers Mission is. Okay, and here we are. I’m going to say, Mr. Pete Fairburn, welcome back to the show.

Christian Klepp 01:15

All right. So we’ll start with the first question, where I’m going to say that you’re on a mission to work with high growth brands that truly want to innovate and think beyond the ordinary. And I want to, like just under underline that part think beyond the ordinary, because I hope that we can talk about this at length today, right? Because for this conversation, I’d want to focus on the following topic, which is how B2B Marketers can help their brands go from bland to brilliant, right? So B2B open to interpretation, right? But let’s kick off the Let’s kick off the interview with two questions, and I’m happy to repeat them, right? So first question Pete is, why do you think many companies in the B2B space struggle to differentiate themselves from their competitors? And the follow up question is, why do you think this causes this risk averse mindset in most B2B verticals?

Pete Fairburn 03:06

Yes, it’s good couple of questions there. And I think most, most B2B companies that identify with this problem probably don’t have a marketing problem, or if they do have a marketing problem, it’s because the the issues started long before marketing even begins, and the they default. So they go, Okay, we’ve got similar products or similar services to these brands over here, and there’s nothing wrong with using coach brands to help you, but they’ll they may look at some in the same space as them and go, Well, that’s what they’re doing. So let’s do the same messaging, the same channels as them, because that must work, right? It must work because they’re doing it. But they’ve never really answered the question, Well, why would someone choose us over any of these competitors if price was removed? So if the only thing that differentiates you is your product, your positioning, your messaging, forget price, forget everything else. Why would they choose you? And there’s there’s two kind of camps here. If your product is genuinely desirable, genuinely distinct, the website’s job is just to create clarity around that. But if your product is not distinctive, it’s a commodity, you need to create advantage elsewhere. And many companies are in the second camp, but they operate like they’re in the first, and that’s why they struggle to differentiate.

Christian Klepp 04:37

And where do you think a lot of this risk averseness then comes from? Is it this whole like, well, we’ve never done any of this marketing before, so, you know, we’re not entirely sure what the outcome will be. And let’s, let’s, let’s play it safe. Where do you think this comes from?

Pete Fairburn 04:53

Yeah, I think you’re on to something there. One of the big problems with marketing is it’s measured on typically short term activity, right, rather than long term advantage. You know, every agency or every marketing department creates a monthly marketing report, and it’s right to do that, but it makes you focus on just that short term rather than longer term things. And that can shoot any initiative in the foot, and I think leadership, and that could be owner operators or marketing, CMOs, directors, that kind of thing. They fear getting it wrong more than they value getting it right. So safe decisions feel easier to justify than som...

Ep. 214: From Bland to Brilliant: How to Strategically Pivot Your B2B Brand