South by Southwest (SXSW) is one of the most hyped events in the marketing world. The concerts, sponsored events and industry celebrity-studded panels can feel like a social media fever dream with countless opportunities for brands to create clickbait-y content, but what is in it for B2B brands?
There are more sessions that are applicable to a B2B business than you might think. Business customers are expecting more than they ever have before from brands they work with, which means there has never been a better time to learn from consumer brands. Concepts from the B2C world, like those at SXSW, are a great way to explore how you can step up customer experience as a B2B company. SXSW also has several sessions directly geared toward B2B marketers this year which will help you sell the investment to your leadership.
Below is a list of 2018 sessions B2B marketers won’t want to miss:
B2B Brand Building, Benchmarketing & Big Data As consumer brands create more personalized journeys for customers, B2B brands need to reinvent themselves to address the shifts in these trends. Leaders from W20, Lenovo, Symantec and Proof discuss how they are upping branding, marketing and performance marketing in the B2B world.
Beyond Buzzwords: How to Tell Your Business’s Story You know the importance of storytelling for your business, but what story should you be telling? Workshop attendees will learn how to tell three types of important stories: a vision story, impact story and a why story. These three stories will move your audiences and compel them to take action.
Modern B2B Product Leadership Customer expectations in B2B are higher than ever before and are almost reaching the level of the B2C experience. Attend this session to hear from leaders in tech about how to meet this new standard of product management.
Innovation Fatigue: Tech Content in a Noisy World Everyone uses the term “innovative” to differentiate themselves these days. Innovation isn’t that innovative anymore. This panel will explore the need for unique messaging and marketing approaches to make your brand stand out.
Beyond Electronic Medical Records: The Value of AI This panel will discuss how hospitals can use data they are already collecting through patient records to improve outcomes and the overall patient experience. Healthcare brands can use AI insights to fulfill patient and hospital system needs.
Blueprint: How to Build a B2B Sales Org Though geared towards young companies, an established organization should not shy away from attending this session. You might be inspired to implement new practices on your sales team or at the very least would be a good refresher of best practices. The presenter will break down three pillars of a world-class B2B enterprise: people, incentives and infrastructure.
The Future of Energy is Everyone’s Business Sustainability may be an overused buzzword, but it can actually move the needle on profitability. Your business probably has a solution that can help reduce energy consumption for your customers. This session could be just the thing that sparks your imagination to start talking to customers about your product offerings in a new way.
Also, make sure to check out the numerous parties that are happening at and around the conference to network with other marketers—no one offers experiences like a millennial consumer brand.
When you return from your wild whirlwind week in Austin, drop us a line at connect@inprela.com to talk about how to apply what you learned.
