One would think that because you are still selling a product to a person, business-to-business (B2B) marketing and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing would be the same; however, they are, in fact, significantly different. In this blog post, we will compare B2B and B2C marketing. It is essential to understand the differences as this will guide your efforts to create content and marketing strategies for the company.
B2B Marketing
B2B marketing focuses on the logic of the product and its features. Unlike B2C marketing, there is very little to no emotion involved in the decision made to purchase. Instead, its marketing is focused on the interests, needs, and challenges of the purchaser for the organization. As the seller, the focus is on understanding the operations and procedures within their organizations. B2B marketing is mainly about the use of the product and not the product itself; therefore, marketing should focus on how the product works to save time, resources, money, and the expected return on investment the product could cause. For example, software such as salesforce may cost a company hundreds of dollars each month; however, the company benefits from the leads brought in through salesforce and the automation software that allows the marketing team to best market to their various audiences. Although it will require the company to not only pay for it but train their staff to use it, in the end, it will lead to more revenue generation.
B2C Marketing
B2C marketing focuses on the benefits of the product. This decision is connected to emotion. This marketing is dedicated more towards the needs, challenges, and interests of the person in their daily lives. These customers want the brand to get to the point and clearly state the benefits of the product. The message should be short, sweet, and easily understandable. The processing process for B2C is more concise; however, they demand a vast amount of distribution channels for the sake of convenience.
When you are marketing to a consumer, you want to focus on the benefits of the product. Their decision is more emotional. Consumers also are different in that they demand a variety of distribution channels for convenience. Consumers are less likely to be interested in a lengthy marketing message and want you to get right to the point. B2C customers want to hear about how the product or service helps their everyday lives and personal benefits. The focus in this marketing strategy is the consumer pain point that the product or service solves. Using the salesforce example, the customer will want to know how salesforce would make their life easier. For example, the task feature in salesforce can remind coordinators or lead owners when they need to follow up with customers, so it keeps them organized without them having to organize their work.
When it comes to B2B marketing, the focus is on proving your knowledge and expertise to build a relationship with the business so that they trust you with providing a solution. On the other hand, with B2C marketing, the goal is to sell an emotional connection attached to a product or service that will make consumers want to purchase it. It is less about providing industry expertise and more about showing customers the humanity of the brand.
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