#AfricaMonth: Demographica's Warren Moss on the business of B2B marketing

The annual B2 Awards Gala is set to be held during the upcoming 2017 Masters of B2B Marketing, presented by ANA's Business Marketing Association on Wednesday, 31 May 2017.

Warren Moss, founder and CEO of Demographica.

I chatted to Moss about the awards themselves, the importance of benchmarking yourself against the top-performing B2B marketers around the world and the impact of Demographica’s recently concluded deal with a private equity fund, which has taken them from Level 3 BEE status to a Level 1 BEE status, with 60% of the business being black-owned, and 30% black female-owned. He explains how the agency will go about implementing broad-based transformation within the sector as a result…

Share a brief overview of the BMA B2 Awards.
The awards recognise the top performing Business to Business (B2B) marketers around the world. In 2016 over 230 agencies submitted nearly 700 entries for evaluation, with the top 82 being awarded a prestigious B2 trophy.

Judging wrapped up a few weeks ago. The B2 Awards' top award winners, including 'B2B Marketer of the Year', 'Agency of the Year', 'Best in Show', and 'Marketer of the Year' will be presented on Wednesday evening.

Congrats on being the only African on the judging panel, that’s impressive! Tell us how you found out and what this means to you personally.
Thank you so much! The organisers of the awards contacted with me with the good news.

[Behind the Selfie] with... Warren Moss

Leigh Andrews  10 Jun 2015

I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity and am really looking forward to seeing what the top performing B2B marketers around the world have to showcase. My team and I consistently keep abreast of the latest B2B trends and best practices around the world, and being a judge in the awards will further expose us to global B2B work and provide an opportunity for us to benchmark our work against a global standard – which is incredibly valuable for us as an agency and our clients alike.

How does B2B marketing differ from consumer marketing?
B2B marketing has many differences when compared to B2C marketing. These are a few key differentiators:

1. B2B marketing is far more measurable because the audience sizes are significantly smaller than those of B2C.
2. Brands often think they're selling to a company (B2B) but forget that the buyer is a person and that person exists within a context.
3. The purchase cycle is significantly longer in B2B than in B2C. It’s also more complex and very fluid. Often B2C purchase cycles are linear.
4. The impact of the wrong buy in B2B is greater than in B2C because it can impact the entire organisation, whereas in B2C it only impacts the buyer.

Share a few tips for success in B2B marketing.
When marketing a brand to target companies, never forget that whilst there might be one buyer – the financial director, for example – that signs the cheque, there are always influencers around the buyer with their own drivers and motivators. Creating marketing communication for the buyer and their influencers is critical.

That it is. Tell us more about your recently signed deal set to empower black-owned agencies?
We had been on an 18-month journey exploring our options to find the most meaningful solution. We met with many parties – companies, firms and individuals – until we found the right partner. While BEE laws have changed and will likely continue to change, the spirit of the law doesn’t change. That said, the biggest question we asked ourselves along this journey was: “How do we empower, or make transformation broad-based – within the spirit of the law?” From there, we spent a lot of time exploring the best way to go about it and looking for the right partner, which we finally found in a small private equity firm whose mandate is to invest in black-owned businesses. The great thing about this private equity firm is that Demographica is one of their first investments, and by partnering with them we are able to empower their business while at the same time investing in transformation within the industry.

In the long term, the fund will follow through on its mandate and will empower black-owned agencies in the sector. Demographica are big advocates and supporters of skills development and small agency development within the industry, and so my team and I will play an active role in empowering black-owned agencies and developing suppliers and skills through this deal.

What is the importance of this kind of transformational investment/development in the industry?
We wholeheartedly believe in transformation and we see this as an opportunity to participate constructively in transforming the sector in which we work.

People: The heart of Demographica's direct communications

Leigh Andrews  28 May 2015

Sounds like we’re in for extremely exciting times ahead! Moss encourages small black-owned agencies within the marketing and communication space to contact him directly to discuss potential partnership opportunities on az.oc.acihpargomed@nerraw. You can also follow Demographica on the following social platforms: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram·