By Louise Brooks
A symbol of female empowerment specifically written to subvert the damsel in distress trope, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a significant fixture of pop culture and feminist history. So much so that the show is studied in various university and educational courses around the world.
Fighter of very-scary-lads. Spouter of pithy quips. Purveyor of iconic millennium fashion. It’s these reasons that Buffy still holds so much meaning for so many people. Including me.
Not just as a small, blonde-ish woman battling her own demons, but also as a B2B marketer. I’m not ashamed to admit that, when faced with a dilemma – work or otherwise – my first thought is often: what would Buffy do?
So, here are five B2B marketing lessons taken from a show that defined its generation – and a character whose legacy holds strong 30 years later.
Very occasionally, you’ll have a great idea. Incredible, even. Everyone on your team loves it. Even Mark in accounts did an eyebrows-raised-nod – and God knows he’s hard to impress.
But it doesn’t quite work. Maybe it’s off-brand; maybe it’s too expensive. Maybe it’s too similar to a competitor, or it doesn’t align with the campaign.
‘But it’s really good!’ you mouth into the mirror. This could be your moment of glory. Do you continue to try and fit a round peg into a square hole? Or do you make like Freddy Krueger and get slashing?
Take the lead from Buffy: at the end of the second series, she makes the utterly heartbreaking decision to kill the love of her life to save the world. Angel – a vampire who is the dictionary definition of ‘brooding’ – is sacrificed to the pits of hell in a flurry of flames and tears.
Sometimes, the right thing to do is the hardest. But you must kill your Angels for the greater good. Because this isn’t about you – it’s about marketing. And if you’ve had a great idea once, you can certainly (probably) (maybe) have one again.
2. Try once more, with feeling
During one of the most iconic episodes of the entire show’s run, Sunnydale is rocked when a musical demon shows up and forces residents to sing and dance about their deepest, darkest secrets. This emotional reveal helps the characters connect in a new way, breaking down barriers and allowing for a greater level of understanding and empathy.
B2B marketing is often (fairly) criticised for being dry, jargon-heavy, and robotic in comparison to its B2C counterpart. Yet this well-meaning approach from B2Bers is misplaced. No matter their role or seniority, your audience also worry about whether they can afford that holiday, or find their kids quite annoying sometimes, or drink too much red wine at a dinner party and do a small sick in the downstairs loo. They’re just as complicated and nuanced and disgusting as everyone else. And this means they want authentic, human interactions that speak to their needs.
Basically: a business audience is still an audience. While they might see marketing through a slightly different lens, they’ll still respond with the emotional intelligence of the person they are. Well, most of them – we’ve all met a CMO or two who defies this ground truth.
Because, as the Sunnydale residents found out the supernatural way, the more you understand people, the deeper you can connect with them – and the better the outcome is in the end.
3. Have Faith in yourself
Buffy arguably made the comeback of the century when, after being killed by a wrinkly old vampire, she is revived by guy-pal Xander. Her death triggers the arrival of a new slayer in town: Faith.
Faith is everything Buffy isn’t. She’s laid-back yet high-spirited, giving zero fucks about what anyone thinks of her – the antithesis of Buffy’s dedication to justice and Doing What’s Right. Although they’re fighting on the same side – with the same end goal – their differences are plain to see.
When Faith accidentally kills a human man (big no-no for slayers) and tries to sweep it under the rug, Buffy is forced to confront the reality that they are just too different – and she owes it to herself to stay true to what she stands for.
Getting your positioning right and ensuring brand consistency is challenging. It can be particularly tempting to reboot your messaging every six months in line with the latest trend – but this runs the risk of homogenising your brand, rather than differentiating.
The issue is that, when faced with a sea of companies that look and sound the same, decision-makers are more likely to play it safe and opt for whoever has been around the longest. By staying true to yourself, you’re offering them another way – and the best approach is to be authentic and consistent.
Not sure who you really are, or what you stand for? Well then, that’s the best place to start. (Just try and avoid going down Faith’s track, and keep the killings to a minimum.)
4. Don’t slay before you can strategise
It’s come to the bitter end: the final series of the show. A group of international slayers has joined forces to battle the ultimate Big Bad. Buffy wants to talk strategy; come up with a detailed game plan. But the team of slayers wants to crack on and #slay! After all, that’s why they’re there – right?
Wrong. Predictably, Buffy’s foresight to take a softly-softly approach was indeed correct – but not before several slayers’ enthusiasm got them unalived.
We see this in B2B marketing all the time. Businesses often want to jump headfirst into lead generation – without doing any of the groundwork of solid brand – leading to failure and wasted budget (but hopefully not fatalities).
The thing is, your audience won’t just take your word that your product’s the best. They want to feel like they trust you – like they know you. And much like working out the best way to off the demon of all demons who wants to destroy every living thing, this takes time.
In fact, it takes a formulated journey of drumming up awareness and creating space for careful consideration before they’ll even give your brand a second thought. Skip all of this and you’ll fall at the first hurdle. You’ll still slay … your chances of getting new clients.
5. Roll with the punches (and kicks and throws and stabs etc.)
The last few years have been a lot. Global pandemics, economic crashes, warfare – businesses (and the world) have faced just about every challenge imaginable. I personally suffered greatly when I ordered the wrong size dining table, and had to spend 30 painful minutes channelling my Tetris skills to get it back in the box.
Sunnydale had its fair share of setbacks too. In season five, a gigantic spanner is thrown into the works with the introduction of a new person: Buffy’s little sister Dawn. Through the implementation of false memories, Dawn becomes a beloved family member. But crucially, she is also a ‘key’ – her very existence unlocks a dimensional hell portal (yikes!).
While this understandably brings about all kinds of chaos, Buffy takes it in her stride – even defeating an evil entity while navigating this life-changing turn of events.
Customer expectations skyrocket. Budgets get slashed. Google adjusts SEO parameters AGAIN. Meanwhile, competitors are chugging along, doing their thing – which unfortunately sometimes happens to be incredible.
The best way to combat this is to take a leaf out of Buffy’s book and roll with it. Shit will always hit the fan; that’s life. It’s how you respond and press on that will bolster your brand and demonstrate resilience. And if you’re successful, you’ll uncover your very own ‘key’ to a brighter future. (Ideally along the lines of business growth than apocalypse – but honestly, in these times, who can say.)
So it’s time to stock up on holy water, sharpen your stakes, load up the crossbow, and get ready for the ultimate B2B showdown.
And when in doubt, ask yourself: what would Buffy do?
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