B2B vs B2C Marketing

Marketing your business correctly is vitally important for obvious reasons. A good marketing strategy can get your business in front of the right people at the right time, resulting in increased revenue and growth.

Yay, that’s what it’s all about, eh? So, what’s so damn important about all this B2B and B2C marketing?

Well, we’re here to explain what the differences between them are to help you plan an effective marketing strategy.   

Let’s get into it!

What is B2B Marketing?

B2B stands for business-to-business, meaning a B2B marketing strategy focuses on getting products and services in front of other businesses so they can purchase them. This means you can get more specific with your strategy and are more likely to find the right audience who can benefit from what you offer. 

As a business can be quite a broad target, a B2B marketer will focus their efforts at the likes of key stakeholders within a business or buying committees. These entities or individuals usually don’t buy on impulse and emotion like a retail consumer would, as they have duties and responsibilities to the businesses they serve. 

This is why an effective B2B strategy is so important. Understanding who you’re targeting allows you to tap into their psychology and fulfill their wants, needs and desires. 

Sounds like a Jedi B2B mind trick, right?

What is B2C Marketing?

Now that you know what B2B marketing is, can you take a guess at what B2C marketing is?

B2C stands for business-to-consumer. Which, you guessed it, refers to businesses selling products and services directly to consumers. 

Selling to consumers is a whole different ball game compared to selling to other businesses. B2C customers make purchasing decisions based on emotion, so a B2C marketing strategy is based on tapping into this emotion in the hope a sale can be made.  

Can Your Business Do Both? 

Yes…many businesses do provide products or services to both other companies and consumers. 

Imagine a business that sells aesthetic products to practitioners and clinics….there’s no reason why they couldn’t also sell their stock directly to consumers from their website. 

The Key Differences Between B2B and B2C Marketing 

As we now know, there are quite a few differences when it comes to B2B and B2C marketing. Below are some other key differences to consider:

Brand Relationships

Building a relationship between a consumer or a business is important, but this subject holds different weight when comparing B2B and B2C. 

In B2B marketing there is more of a long term focus when building a relationship with a customer while the very nature of B2C means that while you still want to build a long term relationship, there is more of a focus on the short term acquisition as you want to initiate a buying response as soon as possible.

In B2B marketing you may not establish a connection straight away with another business, but over time with the right strategy a relationship can form. Once the bond is established there is more chance of a purchase being made. 

Consumers who buy a product usually aren’t thinking about a relationship with a business as they are simply purchasing something that fills their immediate needs. 

Concise Copy vs Jargon

In a B2B world using jargon is definitely encouraged. This is because using industry language and phrases shows that you know your stuff. You want to portray your expertise, and what better way than to talk comprehensively on an industry related topic.  

When you compare this to a B2C strategy it is very different.  

The less jargon the better.

The average consumer has a short attention span so you need to make every character of your copy count. When your copy is short and snappy it can immediately hook consumers and influence their buying decisions. If you start using complicated words and phrases they will less likely engage and move on.

Attention is currency so you need to make sure you’re doing everything to capture the attention of your intended audience.

Buying Decision

When making a purchasing decision from a B2C standpoint there is only one person making the decisions.

The consumer!

Compare this with a B2B consumer and there is usually a chain of command. Knowing this means that your strategy will have to connect and speak with all the individuals associated with that chain of command. After all they will all contribute to that purchasing decision.  

Marketing Your Business at Blaze Media

At Blaze Media we work with a variety of clients, which means we develop marketing strategies for a wide range of B2B and B2C businesses. Our talented team can help your business identify and target the right audience that is going to give you the maximum ROI (return on Investment).

So, whether you’re a business that sells hair products directly to salons or a law firm who wants to target landlords, we can offer you a comprehensive, relevant  marketing strategy. 

Contact us today and let’s get your marketing strategy working for you!