When we think of marketing, we often think about an engaging Facebook post from our favourite brand or the John Lewis Christmas adverts. These are great examples of how businesses market their brand or products to end consumers. They’re designed to lead you towards a purchase that is usually a one-time purchase of a consumable product. However, when a business communicates its services to another business, there are many more complexities and nuances to understand and take into consideration. We don't always need to create award-winning campaigns but as a B2B marketing agency, it's important for us to educate our clients on these nuances and discover how we can take them forward.
There are several key factors that make B2B marketing different from its B2C counterpart. For starters, good B2B communications tend to be more informational – focusing on the benefits offered to the business they’re selling to. For example, a B2B solution may save the customer money, increase profits, increase productivity or save time. Or perhaps you have a quality product but offer a better level of service than your competitors. More often than not, the sale is determined by whether your solution will benefit the business you’re selling to – and offers value in doing so.
A Business to business marketing team often faces unique challenges in the quest to gain visibility in their chosen marketplace in comparison to B2C marketing. For example:
Lead times
The sales cycle of a Business to Business solution is more often than not much longer than that of a B2C sale. Also, once a sale is made or completed, businesses have a harder time attributing the sale to the original channel that led to a purchase.
The number of touchpoints
Due to the longer sales cycle, B2B companies often need to engage with prospective buyers across a number of platforms and have numerous conversations before a purchase is made.
Consultative sales
B2B sales tend to be more consultative and based on the knowledge, experience and expertise of the business you’re purchasing from.
Higher value sales
B2B transactions are often of higher monetary value and so the purchase is much more of a ‘considered’ one. Larger businesses may have purchasing departments that engage in long-term contracts with their vendors who are vetted rigorously before engaging in business.
Cultural fit
More so than B2C transactions, you’ll often have a lot more interaction (face-to-face or via phone calls) with a person when it comes to the B2B sales cycle. You could have the best product on the market, but may not be a cultural fit for the company you’re selling to. ‘People’ have much more of an influence on the final sale in comparison to a B2C transaction which can happen without speaking to a single person.
Legal requirements
Many businesses, particularly in construction or in education, have strict requirements for their vendors or products needed (as outlined by governing bodies).