Introduction to Business to Business Marketing
Man as an existing entity in the universe is faced with unlimited wants which he craves to satisfy through his continuous engagement in some activities and one such activity is business, an economic activity, which is related to continuous and regular production and distribution of goods and services for satisfying human wants.
Marketing on its own, which is a strategy in business refers to activities undertaken by a company to promote the buying or selling of a product or service.
However, Marketing strategies are used by businesses to promote their products and services. The marketing strategies might be totally innovative and when it's very effective, helps to get ahead in the competition.
Thus, there are several marketing strategies but our preference shall be business to business marketing strategy.
What is Business to Business marketing?
There are different types of marketing strategies available. Picking up a marketing strategy includes analyzing the needs of your business, your target audience, and the specifications of your products.
The two main types of marketing strategy are:
- Business-to-business (B2B) marketing
- Business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing
Hence, Business to Business marketing which is commonly referred to as B2B marketing is a marketing strategy whereby a company or organization sells out services or products to another company rather than selling to consumers. https://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/b2b-marketing.html
Also, it is a situation where one business organization makes a commercial transaction with another. In the real sense, B2B marketing content tends to be more informational and straightforward than B2C because purchase decisions, in comparison to those of consumers, are based more on bottom-line revenue impact.
In Business to business commerce, it is often the case that the parties to the relationship have comparable negotiating power, and even when they do not, each party typically involves professional staff and legal counsel in the negotiation of terms.
Also, the cost of a sale for the B2B market can be more expensive because a business to business transaction often takes more consideration, involves more people, and requires more decision-makers. Business to business clients often need to prove a return on investment for their purchase, popularly understood as wanting to get value for their money.
It is necessary to mention that business to business marketing is more than just one firm or company doing business with other companies. It involves the task of developing and managing customer relationships for the advantage of both customer and the supplier.
Here, Relationship Management rests at the heart of B2B marketing, and it requires complete attention to retaining and gaining new customers or clients for long-term sustainable growth. This is the reason why B2B marketing needs you to possess strong relationship-building skills.
B2B marketing involves building valuable relationships to guarantee lasting customers, an important goal for any company, whether a mega retail corporation or a smaller one. The B2B market is the largest of all the markets and exceeds the consumer market in dollar value
The distinction between Business to Business Marketing Strategy and Business to Consumer Marketing Strategy
We will now consider the difference between Business to Business and Business to Consumers. An initial X-ray has already been made which points to the fact that -
1. Business-to-business marketing refers to the situation where one business organization makes a commercial transaction with another. This marketing strategy has as its target other businesses that are willing to apply the kind of business brought forth.
- However, business-to-consumer marketing as the name implies, refers to the marketing strategy whereby the products of the business are targeted toward meeting consumers' wants. Furthermore, it could be referred to as the tactics and strategies in which a company promotes its products and services to individual people: creating, advertising, and selling products for customers to use in their everyday lives.
- It will be necessary to point out that consumers generally seek out goods and services based on an immediate need and want, and make purchases more quickly, with less research and due diligence than a business would conduct. B2C marketing also points to the strategy of marketing whereby the tactics and best practices used to promote products and services among consumers are applied.
2. Another point of distinction is that B2B marketing solely demonstrates value while B2C often depends on campaigns’ abilities to invoke emotional responses.
3. Also, B2B is a business model where business is done between companies and organizations while B2C is another marketing strategy applied where a company sells goods directly to the final consumer.
4. Furthermore, In B2B the customer is a business entity and organization while in B2C, the customer is a consumer.
5. Also, B2B focuses on the relationship with the business entities, but B2C’s primary aim and target is on the product. Essentially, in B2B the buying and selling cycle is very lengthy as compared to B2C. Also, In B2B the business relationships last for a longer duration but in B2C, the relationship between buyer and seller lasts for a short duration.
6. In B2B, the decision-making is fully planned and logical whereas in B2C the decision-making is emotional. The volume of merchandise sold in B2B is large. Conversely, in B2C small quantities of merchandise are sold. B2C marketing targets the needs, interests, and challenges of individual consumers who are making purchases on behalf of, or for, themselves, thus making the individual the customer.
- Here are a few examples of B2C companies: An e-commerce company that sells office supplies to remote or self-employed individuals, A store that sells t-shirts and other clothing and accessories.
Business to Business marketing targets the needs, interests, and challenges of individuals who are making purchases on behalf of, or for, their organization (rather than for themselves), thus making the organization the customer. Examples of such services are;
- A co-working space that leases office spaces to remote teams and freelancers.
- An on-demand order fulfillment, warehousing, and screen printing service.
- A marketing software company that sells social media management tools, lead generation software, and other marketing tools to businesses and organizations.
- A human resource company
- Hiring companies
- Advertising companies
- Oil servicing firm
Social Media and Business to Business Marketing
Social media has been a great tool when it comes to B2B marketing because, when one thinks about B2B companies with a great social media presence, a lot of examples come to mind: IBM, Google, HubSpot, and so many more. Social media is a powerful tool for building brand awareness, giving your company an online personality, and humanizing your business — all very powerful factors when it comes to marketing and connecting with potential customers.
Like email marketing, social media is also a highly effective channel for sharing your content and enhancing your brand expertise, the latter of which we know B2B customers appreciate. Hence, B2B marketing had been made easier through online marketing strategies like; content marketing, pay-per-click advertising, Search Engine Optimization, Paid Search Advertising, Conversion rate Optimization, Social media marketing, and lots more.
Evaluation and Conclusion
Effective marketing is derived through effective communication therefore, marketing isn’t effective unless you keep your audience in mind, and no other audience is as target-driven and critical as business customers. Your marketing should communicate how your business can help theirs, how it can put them ahead in the competition and if it doesn’t, you may as well not be marketing at all.
