Previously, marketing tactics would be the same no matter what kind of business you were running. You'd put an advert in a newspaper, create a video Ad for television or hand out flyers and business cards to people indiscriminately. But now, the availability of digital marketing has allowed different businesses to target their specific audience whether that be consumers or other business owners.
B2B businesses can make use of strategies that B2C businesses could not, just as B2C marketing strategies may not work for a B2B business. This is because the people they are targeting are very different and thus the strategies must be different.
Let's look at the difference between B2B and B2C businesses...
B2B Has A Smaller Audience
While a B2C company can market to hundreds of thousands or even millions of potential leads, a B2B business will likely have a unique product or service that only very specific people can make use of. Because of this, their potential leads could be only in the hundreds. This means the marketing strategies used should be much more targeted and direct. They know the few people they can work with and need to get them interested.
B2B Sales Take Much Longer To Complete
While many products for customers take no more than a few minutes to buy, the product or service that a B2B business provides will often take weeks or months to organise, arrange and implement. A B2B business should market with this lengthy process in mind.
B2B Uses Consultative Selling
A B2B business will usually use consultative selling. By which I mean they fulfil their side of the sales agreement by understanding what the client wants and developing a level of trust. This is quite different from B2C sales in which the customer and seller will usually never speak, and the product is not created to suit the customer's needs but rather made to be generic enough to suit a large majority of buyers as standard.
B2B Sales Are Worth More
A business that sells to another business is likely selling a high-cost product or service, usually ranging from a few thousand to ten thousand pounds. This is important as when someone is considering sending that much money they will take the purchase very seriously and will only buy from someone they trust completely. You should make sure your marketing strategies focus on building a strong relationship of trust.
B2B Are Likely To Want Repeat Customers
When you only have a limited amount of potential customers, and you've spent weeks building a trusting relationship with them, it stands to reason that you're going to want more than just a single purchase from them. Make sure you maintain your relationship after the initial sale and work hard to bring them back for additional purchases.
Should Your Sales Tactics Be Different?
After looking at the differences between B2B and B2C businesses it's safe to conclude that the marketing strategies should be different. A B2B business needs to build trust, target the specific leads they want and ensure repeat purchases. A B2C business should be taking advantage of the broad range of potential customers they have, optimising the ease and efficiency of the buying process and ensuring they have great brand awareness.
For help with B2B or B2C marketing strategies, contact the JDR Group. We are a platinum partner for Hubspot and a UK leader in marketing automation. Visit our website or call us on 01332 343281.
