B2B and B2C Marketing

You are the business owner of a startup digital marketing agency. You are looking into offering your services to companies that need to advertise themselves online. You send them emails and set meetings with their representatives to hopefully close a deal that would be mutually beneficial for both businesses.

At home, you are a husband and father to two children. You are looking into booking a nice beach holiday for you and your family come summer. You are checking out different beach resorts, their offerings and amenities in the hopes of booking the best one for your family that will fit the budget that you had set.

The scenarios above are both illustrations of marketing. However, the scenario pertains to B2B marketing while the second scenario is a perfect example of B2C marketing.

The Basics of B2B Marketing

B2B refers to Business-to-Business marketing. It is the marketing of goods and services intended for other businesses.

According to LinkedIn Business, the central consideration for a successful B2B sale is ROI or Return of Investment. This means that businesses purchase goods and services from other businesses as a means of generating additional revenue and maximizing profit after availing of that service.

B2B marketers sell to corporate decision makers and company stakeholders. They also sell to a large group of corporate professionals who need their goods and services to fulfill specific functions. Good examples would be software-as-a-service or SaaS subscriptions which provide for greater efficiency and accuracy in the workplace, security solutions which handle concerns on data storage and privacy, and many more.

According to data from Disruptive Advertising, great examples of B2B businesses with global recognition include Skype, a video and audio conference tool created by Microsoft that allows you to have virtual meetings with anyone and anywhere in the world with internet connectivity. There is also WeWork, a pioneer when it comes to curated office spaces and coworking spaces. Slack, on the other hand, is a systematized communication platform where teams come together to work and communicate effectively. Another prolific example is Mailchimp, the world’s largest automation platform that helps marketers and retailers communicate and engage with their clients and establish their branding. On the other hand, Salesforce provides for a centralized space where you can organize and follow your sales process step by step. Finally, LinkedIn is a winner both as a social media networking site and as a thought leadership platform. Businesses - both startup and well-established - have trooped to LinkedIn to reach out to the public and to propagate their branding.

The Basics of B2C Marketing

According to SAP affiliate Emarsys, B2C or Business-to-Customer marketing refers to the strategies and concerted campaigns undertaken by companies to promote its products and services to individual people who use these products and services in everyday life.

The B2C marketing playing field is extremely competitive and is directly connected with the purchasing power parity of its target market. The world’s most prominent manufacturing companies have carved for themselves their rightful place in consumer society because these companies are superstars in B2C marketing. In fact, the term FMCG or Fast Moving Consumer Goods, was coined largely to refer to these B2C champions.

According to Value Today, the world’s top FMCG companies and B2C marketers according to market value in 2020 were Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical and personal care giant. Trailing behind it is Nestle, manufacturer of the most prolific food brands in the world. Third on the list is Procter & Gamble, known for its numerous personal care brands such as shampoos and conditioners, Coca Cola Company, a beverage giant, and Unilever with its across the board consumer items.

The Comparison

There are many ways that B2B and B2C marketing are similar yet there are also many differences. Let’s discuss the differences one by one.

The Target Market and the Decision-Making Process

According to Disruptive Advertising, B2B marketing targets a very specific group of individuals. B2B marketers need to really focus on an identified and segmented portion of the market for their products and services. Some B2B campaigns are even so focused as to target specific roles within a business. This is because B2B products and services tend to appeal as well to a very specific group of businesses and the products are rarely for general consumption.

B2C marketing tends to be more mainstream and the goal of each marketing campaign or strategy would be to reach as many people as possible. For example, a B2C marketing campaign for feminine wash may reach a 12 year old girl, but the conversion process from marketing to selling and buying is made by the girl’s mother. However, the challenge for B2C marketing strategists is that they are selling in a very crowded marketplace.

The Conversion Phase and the Underlying Motivation

B2C Marketing tends to make a sale much quicker than B2B campaigns. B2B campaigns usually take longer as the end goal of a B2B sale is not consumption but Return of Investment.

Long-term versus Transactional Business Relationships

Relationship building is the lifeblood of B2B marketing. As the sale is happening between two businesses, trust and an excellent business rapport is crucial to ensure a symbiotic and long-term relationship. B2C marketing, on the other hand, is transactional as the conversation phase is much shorter.

Branding

Relationship building is the primary mode of branding for B2B companies. SaaS companies, for example, establish troubleshooting and technical support teams long after the sale has been made. This is to ensure that the other party is assured of all-around support and loyalty. On the other hand, B2C branding is more focused on the actual message - shinier hair, a slimmer body, or a fashionable lifestyle are common messages that urge B2C clients to convert.

An Appeal to the Mind or to the Emotions

According to data provided to Worldstream, B2B sales pitches are made by experts in the field. Business owners and B2B decision makers tend to listen to experts who know what they are saying about a specific product or service. B2B marketers must also know exactly why business owners should avail of their product or service. They must be able to convince the decision maker that the product or service is a necessity and not just an added expense. As for B2C, marketers tend to target the emotions of the prospective buyer. The appeal is generally a promise for a better sense of well-being, greater confidence, happiness, and general contentment about a product or service.