The first rule to remember in B2B market is that every buyer and seller is also a consumer. Before we sell to companies, we are consumers first and foremost. Each of us has a personal and professional life, and part of life is buying goods and services and building and maintaining relationships.
It can sometimes be difficult to remember this for marketers who only market and sell directly to other companies. There are some key tactics and strategies common marketers use that B2B marketers should consider.
B2B marketers can fail if they are not aware that customers and clients are first and foremost consumers.
Emotional Engagement – Too many B2B marketers focus too much on the features of their product or service and too little on the emotional benefits. B2B marketers will include all results in the offering, but there are no benefits suitable for a potential buyer.
People buy for emotional reasons. B2C marketers get it! People buy more Porsches because they are more confident or more successful. You are not buying a Porsche because of the features listed on the price tag. In fact, buyers tend to be more price-sensitive when selling features. B2B marketers need to remind people of the greatest benefits of most B2B services such as stress reduction, clarity, focus, time-saving, more family time, etc.
Traditional advertising can still work – For the right B2B market, direct mail, print radio, and TV advertising can still be viable lead generation and branding tools. As more marketing money goes to the internet, less money goes to traditional marketing tactics. In the past, small businesses received hundreds of direct mails each month.
Now there is not much left in the mailbox that makes B2B marketers stand out. Everything has changed… chaos is no longer in the mailbox, it’s online – be it in your email inbox, in a search engine or by reading business news on a website. There are many success stories of commercial real estate companies that advertise on television and generate lots of leads. Go where your competition isn’t. B2C hasn’t given up on traditional advertising channels, why should you?
Marketing can’t just be about a lead generation; Branding is always important. Not everything a B2B company does with their marketing has to lead directly to a potential sale. Brand tactics such as event sponsorship, outdoor advertising, and display advertising that help build brand awareness can help generate long-lasting leads and build relationships.
When a potential customer finally has a need, your business takes center stage. Branding also contributes to the process of educating leaders. When you have a potential opportunity, the more visible your brand is, the more visible your brand in general, the more visible you are.
On the other hand, there are some things business marketers should consider when reviewing and buying their business skins that don’t apply to their role as a consumer:
Most savvy buyers – higher educated, the greater sphere of influence (others influence decisions), look good on their co-workers, want a success story for their resume, and can be promoted
Longer and more complex sales cycle
More people are involved in purchasing decisions than couples making decisions about family cars. There may be a committee of 10 people who have different wishes and have the final say in the decision.
Months or years can go from the first survey to the end of the sale, not days or hours
In B2B selling, there are usually fewer concerns about price and more concerns about return on investment, target achievement, etc. B2B creators pay more to know that the job is done right the first time and that the product purchased whether the purchased service fulfills its purpose now and in the future.
A more focused approach. With B2C marketing, high-quality watches can still be sold to 10% of the adult US population. With B2B, decision-makers can be narrowed down to industry, company size, geographic area, functional area, etc. There are only 10 potential buyers in your entire market! It can be both good and bad – fewer potential buyers BUT with a smaller B2C target market, the company can use its marketing dollars more and more efficiently.
B2C is more transactional marketing while B2B is more relationship marketing; B2C marketing focuses on one-off sales. Now B2B marketing is all about building and maintaining long-term relationships where more purchases are possible over the years. This means better delivering on your brand’s promises.
In general, a B2B market will be successful if they remember that their leads and customers are actually the primary consumers and that there are B2C “handbook” triggers and strategies for marketing, sales, and marketing. Business people can be used and used.
