B2B marketing

The answer may be clear from the previous paragraph: businesses that want to reach the B, or business target group.

The target group here is in fact very broad: in addition to companies, it includes government institutions, organisations, very small businesses and multinationals.

A typical B2B customer is therefore an organisation that does not use B2B marketing services for one person. Here we can think of quite extreme, perhaps at first sight strange things.

Take for example, a zoo that buys, say thousands, perhaps millions of crickets a year to keep certain species of animals in good health. In this case, the seller of the crickets is one B, the other is the zoo itself - don't be fooled by the fact that the focus of B2B sales can be on such unusual items or foods and institutions!

Another special feature of B2B marketing is that B2B buyers are usually looking for the goods or services they need to do business. For a small manufacturer of mugs, this might be the raw material, ceramics, for a large automotive company the right spare part, for a software developer the operating system or a special program for a particular computer.

So it is clear that anything can be a B2B product. The point is that the specialised B2B business unit (within the company) or B2B company finds its market.

To get there, of course, you need an effective marketing agency (we can recommend one while we're at it).

Here we can stop for a word to find another three-letter acronym - important to know this one too!

Wait. What is B2C anyway? We already know the word B(usiness). But the C in this case is short for Consumer.

Staying with the well-known soft drink, a bottle of its sugary or even light/diet version is bought by the average person to quench their thirst. There is no additional business purpose, and typically the purchase value is lower and the purchase frequency higher than in B2B purchases.

The difference between B2C and B2B is that B2C targets the average person and therefore a much larger audience.

For example: a certain drink is only for 18-25 year olds, or a pair of trainers for amateur runners, or a certain colour of paint for people starting to renovate their house. In all three cases, many, many people may be among the target customers.

B2B marketing is more specific because it tries to reach fewer target groups - there are far fewer organisations than individuals. B2C marketing, on the other hand, thinks in terms of the masses.

The above already sets out the answer: in B2B marketing, you need to find the right person from a particular company, explain the offer and influence them.

So, on the surface, it's ultimately about getting the attention of one person. According to the rules of marketing, it is possible to prepare the ground for the right B2B marketing activity by taking into account the target market, the customers, their expectations and needs, and by mapping the competitors.

B2C communication to consumers uses a variety of tools. For example, the Coca-Cola example is much more about appealing to our moods and emotions: it conjures up a beach in summer and an intimate cabin in winter. It doesn't necessarily make a rational argument, although it does, especially if the product has a clear advantage over others or costs less for a certain period of time.

In such cases, the purchase is often decided in a moment in the store, especially if other store facilities are available - for example, the product is placed near the checkout, which is easy to spot during the waiting minutes...

In B2B marketing, there is no impulse buying. Since it is typically a higher value purchase that does not happen often in a given period, rational reasoning also plays a more important role in the communication process.

The first and most important thing for any company that wants to sell in B2B is to have a relationship with its customers. The emphasis here is on personalisation, which is why we find sales people, contacts and accounts trying to make personal meetings on the buyer's side.

B2B marketing collects so-called leads, i.e. enquiries (e.g. a form filled in on a website by a representative of the company you are interested in), and conversions, and the aim is always to build a personal relationship.

A conversion is achieved when there is a response to the message, a reaction to the marketing activity.

For those of you who have come this far, it may come as no surprise that the digital world has given B2B marketers some fantastic tools.

Social media is all about social networking sites: in particular Facebook, with over 3 billion monthly users, Instagram, the older champion of image and video sharing, or the emerging new star TikTok, a creative way to serve shorter, user-generated videos. The most important rule in using these is to know your options and limitations. All three platforms have their advantages and disadvantages, and the target audience and the way they are used also show differences.

Email marketing adds good old-fashioned email marketing to your marketing arsenal. There is no question that it is too old-fashioned to harness its power! Even today, email is one of the most important means of communication between companies. A good email draws the reader in, from the subject of the letter to the first few sentences, with the right image and content, and guides the user towards the B2B marketing objective of contacting the customer.

Content marketing is also a must, as blogging, for example, can greatly increase your chances of attracting attention in safe hands. What's more, you can not only publish texts here, but also much more useful forms - such as a free downloadable e-book like ‘How to do it’.

SEO, or search engine optimisation, takes into account the rules of search giant Google. By paying attention to this - and working hard - you can achieve the best possible ranking for your company on the first results page. Since people almost only look at the first page, good SEO is extremely important.

A website is a digital showcase, where you can quickly and professionally provide information about your company on desktop or mobile. Here you can introduce your team, your management, explain the benefits of your product or service in B2B marketing.

Look for a company where these mistakes cannot happen.

Contact us and let's talk! We will be delighted to assist you!