So have you heard? Rick Segal, GyroHSR's worldwide president-chief practice officer, announced at the B2B Marketing Europe conference last week that B2B is 'obsolete.' He declared that work is now a state of mind, carried from the office on a portable computer device to home – intertwining family and friends with customers and clients. After this shocking statement, he shared GyroHSR's upcoming "thought leadership initiative" –they dubbed it a Twitter-like title: The @Work State of Mind.
Taking his vast experience into mind, I have a few questions:
- So does the death of B2B mean all business is now B2C? Or maybe B2C will disappear as well?
- How does championing your brand both in a B2B world and in social media make B2B obsolete?
- If the self-affirming World's Largest B2B Agency just killed B2B, who will they now target for their own marketing initiatives?
- And the GyroHSR website? Still touts its B2B awards on a homepage scrolling News and Insights box.
This philosophy does seem to follow the trend for B2B becoming more human and relationship-focused. The logic is that you are a person, and the business you are selling to is full of people. These B2B transactions are still humans interacting and building a relationship, which is the source of the B2P debate.
It'll be interesting to see who follows their new thought-leadership philosophy, and if the terms B2B and B2C disappear as easily as Segal can declare them obsolete.
Doesn't this startling announcement for GyroHSR's latest initiative produce questions in your mind? What's your viewpoint?