5 Ways B2B Marketers Can Think (and Act) Different

On August 3, 1997, Lee Clow, then an advertising agency rep, pitched the Think Different campaign to Steve Jobs and the team at Apple. At the time, Apple had a tarnished brand, slumping sales, and they were being dwarfed by Microsoft. The theme, “Think Different [2],” resonated. And it was what would define and continue to define Apple.
 
The “Think Different” campaign—and all that it entailed—helped rescue Apple [3]. This same message, if accepted, will be what rescues B2B marketers today. Here are some of the lines from the commercials:
 
“Here’s to the Crazy Ones … The ones who see things differently … You can quote them, disagree with them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing that you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They explore. They create. They inspire.”
 
These words (change, invent, imagine, explore, create, inspire) encapsulate the approach and attitude that needs to be adopted and embraced by today’s B2B marketer. Marketing receives so much negative press today. We read about the marketing skills gap, our lack of visibility at the C-level, our lack of lack of alignment with sales, our in ability to justify our budget, etc. Unfortunately, much of it is true. That’s because we keep doing the same thing over and over again.
 
I submit that the time has come to change, to change for the better, to think different. Here are 5 things marketers can do differently: ...