By now you’ve heard the terms “B2B” and “B2C” a thousand times. In the world of marketing they are almost the bread and butter, and no wonder: they make the difference between various types of communication, audiences and, of course, also influence your results. We leave the detours and go directly to the question: What the BSB and the B2C? Keep reading and you will no longer have this doubt.
B2B and B2C: their definition
Understanding the meaning of both terms can be as easy as revealing that B2B means “Business to business” and that B2C means “business to customer” marketing. Speaking clearly, these are two different marketing techniques: one aimed at companies and the other at consumers. Both options involve different times, messages, schedules and, in the specific case of B2B, a lot of patience. Right now we explain the reasons
B2C marketing, from the factory to the customer
When we talk about a business whose products and services are directed directly to the domestic consumer, there is practically no need to give an example. Any neighborhood business (which we must continue to support, by the way) or supermarket chain must use B2C marketing. What should you keep in mind? Fundamentally, you are targeting a mass consumer market. If we used, as we did in this article, an analogy with fish, you would be fishing in the ocean. There are many infinite dams to sell your product to and it will be KEY that you awaken their interest quickly. The domestic consumer does not usually grant second chances: 80% of them buy on “automatic pilot” and their decisions are made in a matter of very few seconds.
B2B Marketing – from professional to professional
At us we offer our portfolio of services as a marketing consultant to other businesses. Therefore we have a B2B business model. We ourselves apply the keys of B2B marketing with our own clients and, in addition, we specialize in this type of company, especially companies in the industrial and agricultural sector. . And that implies that we cannot address this type of audience with the same messages, or with the same techniques, that we would recommend using someone from the previous case.
In the B2B playing field, you have to be more relational , focus very well on who you are targeting (within companies it is always very clear who has the purchase decision) and define very well the benefits of the product you sell. Also, do you remember that we have talked to you about being patient? Here it is essential because personal treatment abounds much more. The sales process takes much longer (even years) and it is essential to create a climate of mutual trust. For this reason, in addition to traditional advertising vehicles, trade fairs, events and professional meetings continue to be an indisputable pillar of B2C marketing, although relationships, as we all know, have moved to digital planes.
Differences between B2B and B2C marketing
Although some of the strategies can serve both strategies, the differences between B2B and B2C marketing are obvious. Most of them come from the mere definition, and we have even left many brushstrokes, but to handle both concepts with ease, it does not hurt to delve a little more into them:
- The market: B2C is a mass market. On the other hand, a company that wants to sell to another should be very clear about which ones it wants to target.
- The messages: the street consumer must be impressed and convinced with direct, clear and simple language. We see it daily on social media. On the other hand, in B2B you have to emphasize how your product contributes to achieving business objectives. You have to focus more on describing its value and establishing links between the two companies. Burn it to yourself: B2B sales are generally longer.
- The logic: it is not the same to sheep wool buyers buy something for personal use than to buy it for a company. In the B2B and B2C market we want to sell, yes, but if the objective is another company, it must be done leaving emotions aside. You have to demonstrate such important things as that your product will serve, for example, to increase turnover.
Sales techniques, another big difference between B2B and B2C
Both B2C and B2B marketing have to end in the same place: in sales. For this, as a general rule, two types of strategies can be developed. The so-called outbound sale, which for a B2B client would be, for example, an industry fair or “cold door” visits, while lifelong advertising is used to directly attract the consumer, advertising that fills mailboxes. Email and physical or even calls (case of telephone companies, for example).
However, inbound selling is based on the generation of valuable content so that your potential customers are the ones who end up coming to you. The key is in the content itself, and you must bear in mind that you will never generate the same for a company (more technical) than for a mass consumer (who you cannot get rid of with technicalities).
Both types of sale, both the outbound sale and the inbound sale are valid for B2B and B2C businesses.
B2B and B2C: some examples
Take a close look at this video from Volvo and Jean-Claude Van Dame:
He’s a few years old now (he’s on his way to blowing out 10 birthday candles), but he’s part of a masterful Volvo B2B campaign. In the middle of 2021, we ourselves are putting it as one of the best B2B and B2C examples. It has no less than more than 100 million views and generated at the time around 20,000 text publications talking about it.
Examples of campaigns “to customer” could also put thousands. Remember the slogan “What you see is”? We hope so, because it is a campaign that was born to promote Aragonite products, in which we participate from us, and that has been extended to 2021. The specific campaign in Aragon was a whole deployment with which to directly impact the consumer: 189 stores and supermarkets were chosen to reinforce the promotion (which was seen on TV, social networks, advertising media, etc.) of the foods of Aragon in their own land. If you want to discover more about it, you just have to access here .
B2B and B2C, getting closer and closer
We have explained what B2B and B2C mean and have talked about their main differences, but in recent years we see more and more similarities. Why? We put here several keys
Both B2B and B2C target people
Nobody likes to be treated like a machine. However, we are grateful when a company, be it the bakery on the corner, an online store or an industrial supplier, is able to adapt its services to offer us a better solution.
If you work in the B2B world, no matter how much they say it is “Business to Business” communication, you will know that this is about talking to people. When you call by phone, when you leave a ticket, it is always a person who takes care of you. Okay, now there are the bots that are in charge of a part of the process, but in the end it is always a person who takes the chestnuts out of the fire. Knowing the needs of the people you deal with in each company is vital since, as we have mentioned before, B2B relationships tend to be long.
The brand, in B2B and also in B2C
Historically, the brand is something that has been working on in B2C businesses. Consumer goods companies are the ones that have worked the most in this regard.
We are not going to get too technical but when we talk about brand in us we are not referring to the logo, but to much more. We mean that a company is clear about what it is, what it exists for and how it should act. This, which may seem intangible and remote from B2B business, is increasingly important in these types of companies.
A good brand guides the way for the company and strengthens the relationship with customers, distributors, suppliers and employees.
We are no longer just talking about redesigning the logo (which many companies need like eating) but we are talking about reviewing its mission, updating its messages to current times, being able to show everything that they know they do. And that does not finish communicating.
There are so many companies that we find that they do not express even half of their potential!
The new channels conquer both B2B and B2C businesses
The last point we wanted to touch on is our recurring theme. As a marketing consultant with a digital vocation, we get tired of proclaiming the benefits that digital channels have for any business.
B2C businesses, always ahead in aspects related to communication, realized a long time ago and incorporated digital channels into their business. Now it is B2B businesses that are experiencing a revolution, partly forced by Coved, and are incorporating the new channels into their strategy.
This leads them to review their online spaces, their way of communicating, the training of their teams, their means and tools.
Fortunately, more and more companies, both B2B and B2C, are using the new channels to develop their business. From us we will continue working so that any company, of whatever type, can take advantage of digital marketing.
