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The path of B2B marketers & B2C marketers has been dissimilar from the dawn of corporate marketing. This primarily is based on the observation that the people who buy items for themselves act in a different way than people who purchase products or service on behalf of their companies.
B2C marketers have always been considered as the cool kids while B2B marketers have been the geeks. This is because B2C naturally falls under the exciting category, with household brands that do extravagant consumer campaigns while B2B marketers are busy with selling complex solutions over excruciatingly long sales cycles.
But times are changing & over the past few years, we are seeing emerging trends that challenge many of the traditional practices of the dark arts of marketing. The progression in B2B marketing from how it was earlier received a huge thrust with the adoption of concepts like account based marketing alongside the boost of Artificial Intelligence in the B2B space. Yet B2B marketers still face the challenge of creating unique marketing solutions for their campaigns while their B2C counterparts dive deep into content that triggers emotional responses. But despite the differences, there is space for opportunity to brainstorm for ideas with a bit of inspiration & originality.
B2B marketers of many organizations have already begun applying B2C practices to deliver a satisfying experience for their audience & increase customer acquisitions. And for those who haven’t, here are some cool ideas that you can try out.
B2B marketers are now learning that in order for marketing campaigns to be fruitful, they have to resonate the target market. This is where the idea of buyer persona comes in. It enables marketers to segment their market & fill the funnel with qualified leads that will convert better. B2C marketers have been relying on buyer personas for targeting prospects while B2B marketers have been overlooking it without realizing how much it is important to go beyond a standard demographic persona & filter by specific companies. Buyer persona is also essential for content marketing as it makes it easier to push out content that is specific to the needs of the audience. This not just increases viewership towards the content but also increases the traffic flow towards the content.
Customer engagement is a field where B2C brands excelled more than any other business area. B2C marketers rely on their customers for promotion, feedback, new ideas & even leverage their power to attract new customers & to strengthen brand power. But majority B2B marketers focus on featuring their customers on the website. In today’s environment where even a minimal increase in market share is a success, there is no room for error. Having a deep understanding of customers & knowing them intimately is important for B2B marketers to ensure that the product, channel, & the message stay relevant in the market.
Medium is what supports the message. This is because however good the content is, it doesn’t have the power to distribute itself around the online world. But it should also be taken into notice that the performance of the mediums can differ. Being able to sell through multiple mediums is the plus point of B2C brands while the majority of B2B marketers are still focusing on traditional processes. In the case of social media marketing, Twitter & LinkedIn are the best places to be for B2B brands than Facebook. B2B companies like Maersk have skillfully executed campaigns on the platform of Instagram which can be followed by other organizations.
Online ad campaigns which are normally seen notoriously ineffective in the B2B world are more of a function of the two- dimensional, traditional B2C methodology. It’s true that it’s not possible to get far by simply throwing content in the general direction, it still enables B2B audience who are specifically looking for your kind of services or products. Direct mail also faces similar challenges but is one of the most cost-effective B2B marketing tactics. B2B marketers should consider their B2B email marketing strategy as a way of lending a helping hand to your sales department and also for the lead nurturing process. It’s also high time that B2B marketers should start using individual-level data powered with Artificial Intelligence to ensure that campaigns they invest in reach the right audience.
B2B marketers generate only 19.4 percent of digital commerce revenue from mobile, compared to 22.6 percent for B2C – Gartner.com We are in the year 2018. Mobile has a great influence on the audience whether it’s from B2C or B2B. It’s important for B2B marketers to make their content mobile responsive so that their target prospects can view it on the go rather than just from their office desktops. B2B marketers should constantly test & optimize their mobile pages & if possible, speed up the load times to less than one second.
Majority B2B marketers are still relying on antiquated forms of market research, such as focus groups and brand awareness, despite the increasing accessibility of data. B2C marketing teams around the world have already mastered the beautiful art of managing real-time data. Real-time data sets are what update immediately after collection. With its help, marketers can immerse themselves in the customer experience & acquire results that drive revenue. B2B brands can upgrade their marketing by crafting unique marketing campaigns that make it easier for creating buyer personas, requesting feedbacks & rethinking the ways in which communication with customers is currently done.
B2B marketers suffer an inferiority complex with only 59% expressing similar confidence in their e-commerce compared to B2C marketers (77%) who believe their firm’s digital commerce exceeds that of their competitors – Gartner’s survey of CMOs First B2B marketers need to shrug off this inferiority complex as we don’t need to feel bad because we B2B marketers are way better than B2C counterparts in building long term relationships. We can succeed more & drive growth by learning from our B2C counterparts. Remember you’rewhat your prospects are, first & foremost, humans with all kinds of feelings – who will appreciate you if they like your style.
Also read: THE SEO BATTLE TRADITIONAL SEO VS MODERN SEO
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