In B2B marketing, you target other companies, not end customers. That's why B2B marketing requires a different approach than traditional B2C marketing aimed at consumers. Learn what the differences are between B2B and B2C marketing and what marketing practices to focus on when you do business with other companies.
How B2B marketing differs from B2C
B2B marketing is conducted in the same way as B2B commerce between two companies. You are simply promoting your goods and services to another business, not to the end user. The company consumes your products for its business or sells to customers.
To understand how to do B2B marketing properly, you need to understand the differences between B2B and B2C business. These could be summarized in the following points:
- motivation to buy - businesses buy from you to use the goods and services for their profit, whereas in B2C customers buy for their own use,
- demand stimulation - firms buy according to their needs and the orders they have from their clients, discounts that motivate end customers to buy do not work so well,
- buying behaviour - in B2B, buying decisions are more rational, thoughtful and systematic, more people in the firm make decisions, whereas in B2C, customers make decisions on impulse and based on emotions,
- target group - specific companies and specific people, not a meat of customers that you can target across the board,
- volume of business - in B2B you do business with fewer customers who buy more expensive goods, these are larger orders, by contrast in B2C many customers buy smaller quantities of goods.
The basis of B2B marketing is personal relationships
Because you're targeting a smaller group of people, you need to be effective. You need to understand as best you can what makes your customers tick, what's essential to them and what you can use to persuade them.
Therefore, more than anywhere else, building long-term personal relationships and capturing and processing customer data is important in a B2B marketing strategy. Our RAYNET CRM will help you with this, where you have all your data, information, contacts for all your leads and clients stored clearly and in one place.
What to focus on in your B2B marketing strategy
The better you know your potential and existing clients, the better you can prepare a tailored offer that will appeal to them. A smaller target group also allows you to be more direct in your communication and reach out to clients individually with an offer just for them. That's why the following methods of reaching customers are typically used in B2B:
- personal visits,
- presentations at conferences and trade fairs,
- LinkedIn communication,
- direct mail,
- cold calling.
Finally, a few more tips on what to include in your B2B marketing strategy:
- Present rational reasons why clients should buy from you. Show how your products will make them successful, more profitable, how your services will make their jobs easier, etc.
- Convince clients based on accurate data and figures, have a perfect overview of your products. The client has the expertise and expects the same from you.
- Focus on building trust, which will keep clients with you and bring in more customers through referrals.
- Offer added value. Offer to train your staff so they can work better with your products, or supply promotional materials that make it easier to resell your goods.
- Prove your expertise with testimonials and case studies.
