Guide for B2B product development and marketing

From crafting a marketing message to the 3-30-3-30 method, there is one overarching theme to “Different Rules: The B2B Marketer’s Guidebook to Product Differentiation”: 

Marketing is all about differentiation.

By looking at the contents page, a reader can guess the main argument. Throughout the book, author Chris Wirthwein discusses not only the importance of differentiation but how to express the differences to your audience. 

The importance of differentiation in marketing 

No matter what market you are in, we all want to stand out. We want the audience to see our product and/or services as the best available. Wirthwein argues the best way to do this is through expressing what makes your product or service different. 

“Different stands out. Different grabs attention. Different unconsciously engages our brains and bodies; we can’t prevent or stop this. Different engages our mind and body at its deepest animal core. When we encounter something different, we pay attention,” writes Wirthwein. 

He argues that our flight or fight reactions have programmed us to notice and appreciate differences. Which is why, as marketers, we need to capitalize on how our product and services differ from our competitors. 

Marketing messages 

A marketing message is a “summary of your product’s difference, value and reason to believe,” writes Wirthwein. He claims that a marketing message is akin to a resume for your product. It is a way for your product to stand out in the crowd. 

However, this message is not supposed to be used on ad copy. It is a tool that you can use to identify your main points of differentiation. 

So, what should be included? Good questions. The following three questions about the product should be answered by a marketing message:

  • What’s different? 
  • What’s worthwhile? 
  • Why believe?  

The 3-30-3-30 method 

The 3-30-3-30 method is a structure in which to write a marketing message. 

First start with a 3-to-10-second attention-grabber. Then take 30 seconds for a “support message.” The next three is for three minutes’ worth of “proof points” – proof of what you are saying about the product. Finally, you have 30 minutes to fill in details appropriate for who you are targeting. 

Wirthwein shares an example of a template for one of these statements. The example is from 5MetaCom and basically breaks the message structure down into three categories. 

  • Main message/headline. This is the spot where your three-second attention-grab goes. 
  • Support message. Here you would fill in three 10-second (30 seconds total) support message points. 
  • Proof points. This part differentiates from the original description of the 3-30-3-30 method slightly. Here the template combines the proof point (3 minutes) and the complete resume (30 minutes). It creates one larger section to add the proof you need to the message based on the audience you are targeting with all the detail the resume requires. 

This structure is a great way to organize your thoughts for various product launches and campaigns. 

B2B marketing research

As someone who is new to the industry, prior to reading this book I did not realize how little B2B research there is out there. 

Wirthwein mentions this lack of research a few times in the book. Many of the studies he references are studies in the B2C markets. However, he makes the argument that the two markets are very similar. 

Both B2C and B2B marketing should have a logical appeal and an emotional one. While most (including me) think that B2B is all logic because the purchases made are for business reasons, Wirthwein makes the point that we are all humans and emotions are going to be a part of any decision. The amount of emotion just varies slightly. 

B2B marketing and product differentiation 

All in all, “Different Rules: The B2B Marketer’s Guidebook to Product Differentiation” includes interesting methodologies to share with readers. I hope that more B2B research is done to better understand this type of consumerism. I believe increasing our focus on the nuances of B2B can only improve the marketing research industry.  

At the end of the book Wirthwein posed a question to readers that I think perfectly sums up the book: “What makes your company, your product different?”