Here's how you can navigate receiving feedback that you disagree with in B2B Marketing Strategy.

10 people will have 20 opinions. The challenge as a frontline B2B Marketing leader is to pick the good ones out of those 20 & remove the noise. Keep your team aligned on goals and try to agree with at least 70-80% of the approach. If the team agreement is absent on more than 50% of the ideas, then you need to reassess goals or communicate their effects better. If and when 70% agreement is reached, keep the remaining 30% as the part where there is ambiguity and consider it an A/B test in your marketing. Communicate this bifurcation and plan to the team and ask them to prepare alternate plans of action for the next Sprint if your idea fails. This way, you're not only adding inclusivity but also multiple alternatives!

You will learn most from people you disagree with. Be inquisitive. Try to find out what their position is based on. And remember: feedback is not the same as instructions, or commands to do something. It is just other people sharing their opinion on your work. You are free to ignore the feedback when you get back to work. Perception matters, so learn from the other person's perspective. Maybe they will change your mind, making you understand that you were wrong and they were right. At least understand their perspective, to help you manage perception better next time.

When it comes to feedback, my first rule is to listen—really listen without interruption. I’m talking about ensuring that every piece of feedback is thoroughly understood. Often, what initially appears as criticism can unfold into actionable insights that significantly refine our marketing strategies. My approach is to base reactions not just on instinct, but on a detailed analysis of the data presented. This might slow down our time to market slightly, but the depth of understanding it provides is invaluable for crafting strategies that are not only responsive but also robust.

Before diving into market strategies, begin by engaging with your colleagues internally. While an approach may have proven successful in another industry, it might not necessarily work in your current market. For marketers, open-mindedness and strategic thinking are essential. Your internal stakeholders often have strong opinions, and it is crucial to navigate these conversations with strategy and tact. Additionally, remember that it’s okay to fail. Without trying and potentially failing, you won’t gain the necessary understanding and insights. Embrace the learning process and use each attempt as a stepping stone towards success.

Maintaining objectivity is crucial, especially when feedback might not align with my initial perceptions. It’s easy to get defensive, but the key for me is to separate emotions from facts. I assess each piece of feedback based on its merits, grounded in data and relevance to our strategic goals. By focusing on the data behind the feedback, I can make informed decisions that enhance our B2B marketing initiatives, ensuring that every strategy isn’t just a response to feedback but a well-considered move that leverages factual insights for optimal outcomes.

In your marketing efforts, it's crucial to remain objective and not let emotions or personal feelings interfere with your decision-making process. If the feedback you receive doesn't align with your views, make sure you have data to back up your position. If you lack the necessary data, take the time to gather it to substantiate your point. Using data to support your arguments not only strengthens your position but also goes a long way in building stronger relationships with your colleagues. Demonstrating that your decisions are data-driven can help foster trust and collaboration within your team.

If you receive other views, this usually gives you a broader perspective on things. That is generally a good thing. You should always try to accept the other perspective and consider what approach you can derive from it. However, not everything should simply be adopted without questioning. After all, everyone has thought about their own view of things beforehand. However, it can help to enter into a constructive discussion in order to find the optimal solution in the end.

As a marketer, it's essential to remember that no question is stupid. If you encounter feedback or views that you find difficult to understand, don't hesitate to seek clarification. Asking questions not only helps you strengthen your understanding of the topic but also demonstrates your willingness to engage in constructive conversations. This approach fosters an environment of open communication and continuous learning, which is invaluable for personal and professional growth.

Whenever you receive feedback that you hadn't anticipated, take the time to understand it before responding. In corporate environments, there is often pressure to respond to emails as soon as they arrive in your inbox. However, if the feedback is negative or doesn't align with your views and facts, pause for a moment. Reflect by putting yourself in the sender's shoes and try to understand their perspective. This approach can provide you with insights you might not have considered and helps in crafting a more thoughtful and constructive response. It also demonstrates empathy and professionalism in handling differing viewpoints.

Every person brings a unique perspective formed from their lived experiences and unique anchor knowledge. When someone brings you feedback it's important to ask them how they would act on that feedback/adjust their strategy/etc. This helps put them into the mindset of thinking from your perspective which builds empathy with you, and helps foster collaboration. Also, it's pretty easy to tell someone what not to do, but telling them what to do is a skill. This practice will help you sus out if they're actually able to be a thought partner to build a solution, or if they're only able to tell you what not to do.

You're inevitably going to receive negative feedback at some point in your career. When it does happen, moving forward in a collaborative manner can be challenging. At some point in time, after the feedback was given an acted on, return and thank the person for providing it. If you know it was hard for them to give you the feedback acknowledge that in the conversation. Building psychological safety and collaborative environment will bring you closer together and ultimately produce a better end product for the team and company.

After thoroughly analysing the feedback—backed by solid data—it's time for me to forge ahead. Whether I tweak our strategy or reaffirm our current path, moving forward with data-driven confidence is essential. Feedback is an integral part of our continuous improvement in B2B marketing. Handling it with a methodical, data-focused approach not only demonstrates my professionalism but also solidifies my commitment to excellence and adaptability in our strategies. This isn't just about making changes; it’s about making the right changes, at the right time, for the right reasons.

Marketing is all about testing and learning. Once you’ve asked all the questions and listened carefully, consider allocating some of your test budget towards the different opinion. Perhaps it’s a tweak of an image or copy, you can run an A/B test. Perhaps it’s a recommendation on a different distribution channel, so try it. Perhaps it’s testing a new audience, why not? Sometimes, even the best marketers, can get stuck in the comfort of “what’s always worked” and the pushback can help even the best stretch their limits. While this doesn’t work for all feedback - and you really cannot do marketing by consensus - marketing is one of the areas that proving or disproving hypotheses should be encouraged.

In this space, I'd like to share an insight that resonates deeply with my philosophy on leveraging data in decision-making, particularly in B2B marketing. It's a best practice to consistently collect and scrutinize data before making strategic decisions. This approach ensures that our marketing strategies are not based on instinct alone but are informed by thorough analysis. By grounding our decisions in data, we not only enhance the effectiveness of our campaigns, but also significantly increase the likelihood of achieving superior results for our clients.

Of all the business domains, is B2B Marketing strategy notorious for giving feedback that recipients disagree with? No. Maybe marketing is a discipline where many untrained people hold strong opinions, maybe more than in other disciplines, where people may acknowledge expertise sooner. But marketing is the field of magic. Making customers fall in love your brand and solution. And in worst cases, to make them buy something they don't need. You can do great things in marketing, but be prepared that people expect to be surprised by your magic.