Have You To Market Differently To Men & Women In The B2B Industry?

“Men are motivated when they feel needed while women are motivated when they feel cherished.” – John Gray

The title of this article might seem off to our specification and sexist. Still, experts on sales and marketing agree that there is a significant difference between selling to men and women, irrespective of factors like geography, job title, or industry sector.

Research conducted by Robert Morris University shows that men are more likely to shop online than women, but more women spend time scrolling online than men!

But is such a distinct demarcation in marketing between men and women visible in the B2B industry as well? Do gender differences play a vital role in determining a sales pitch’s success in the B2B sector?

These are some of the questions that we are going to answer in this article.

In this blog, we have covered –

The role of gender in B2B sales and marketing
Benefits of understanding the gender of your audience
Differences of marketing to genders with references
Is gender the most vital aspect of marketing?

Does gender difference in B2B marketing exist?

Gender is certainly not the only factor – or even the biggest one – for successful sales. However, the differences that do exist between the consuming tactics of men and women are crucial and are integral to –

Build and update your ideal customer profiles
Strategize sales campaigns
Retarget your ideal customers for retention
Design offers and discount codes for customer loyalty
Develop your product or services to reach out to maximum customers

Click here to know how to download an ideal customer profile template and ace your marketing game

Please note that the differences that we are going to list forth do not necessarily characterize all men and women consumers. Men and women approach their purchasing habits with different motives, perspectives, rationales, emotions, and considerations. Salespeople need to understand the influence of gender differences on purchase decisions, which helps mold their policies accordingly.

Fact – Statistics reveal that women in the decision-making positions like to look out for options or opportunities during the day while at work, while men mostly do this during free time and weekends.

Let’s get ahead with the significant differences

that set the men and women audience apart in the marketing world, especially in the B2B world.

DataCaptive carried out an internal study in March 2019 to segment our CRM database based on demography and strategize marketing tactics to target our ideal customer profiles. We asked our most valued accounts, and this is the result we got.

Most preferred mode of marketing communication

Most preferred social media application for business conversations

93% of B2B marketers practice email marketing irrespective of gender. A data-driven email marketing campaign can boost your quarterly ROI 4X.

Decision-making tactics of men and women

Another graph that shows the varied decision-making tactics of men and women

Both genders are mostly perceived differently by marketing and salespeople across the globe. This isn’t a stereotype but just how things have been working subconsciously for ages. This is because gender-targeted marketing campaigns prove to be more impactful, leading to more revenue in lesser investment.

However, before going into the gender differences in advertising, it is essential to point out that there is very little evidence for these differences. It isn’t science, rather some observations and pseudo-science tendencies that you might want to consider implementing in your marketing campaigns.

Some scientific studies state men analyze the situation better. These studies often show that men’s brains are built for problem-solving, focusing on the task at hand. Such theories claim that, unlike men, women are typically good at remembering events. Women clientele cherish feeling comfortable about professional transactions and prefer feeling appreciated by the vendor.
There is a decade worth of scientific research on this subject, which shows observable differences in how men and women behave as shoppers. Women seem to assimilate more information from an advertisement than men but require far more exposure to the advertising to be convinced by it.

Let us look at the difference in decision-making between men and women and the consideration the two genders make while purchasing products/services:

Men

Great customer service
Good advice
Good feedback
Great value for money
Offers, rewards, and discounts
Regular communication
Personalized offers

Women

Problem-solving product/service
Reduces stress
Products that come with manuals, DIY charts, or instructions on their social media handles
Address the ‘Pain Points’
Helps in time management

Marketing Tip – Women are more keen listeners than men and are more likely to pick on tiny little details. Hence, salespeople must make sure to keep their pitch clean and detailed.

Continuing forward

In 2003, Wolin published a fascinating literary review based on gender-based advertising performance in the past 30 years. He has established some intriguing differences between the marketing practices for men and women clients. This can be used as a reference when creating your marketing campaigns in the future, especially if you wish to appeal to one gender over another.

What must B2B marketers most importantly consider other than gender?

If your data isn’t updated, get your data enriched to yield maximum returns.
Look if your sales and marketing goals are aligned.
Check if the contacts in your database are opt-in ones.
Analyze if your marketing campaigns are reaching out to your targeted audience.
Understand if your ICPs meet the changing market scenarios.

In conclusion

There are multiple common grounds for both male and female buyers in the B2B industry despite differences. There is very little evidence for physiological differences between men and women regarding how decisions are made, but this does not mean they do not exist. Factors like visualization, experimentation, and communication, among many others, collectively form the basis of emotion, which pushes a consumer to buy a product.

A marketer needs to consider all factors while selling a product or a service, irrespective of gender. Your potential customers feel the emotion throughout their buying journey until their purchase, which is vital to analyze. Take feedback and analyze it for better output.

It’s necessary to survey both your male and female consumers to determine their motivations for buying your product/service and convert your prospects into leads. This information will enable you to target other visitors to your website and create a buyer journey that is emotionally convincing for every visitor, irrespective of gender, and retain customers.

If you need assistance in any of the above aspects, DataCaptive is a one-stop- destination for you.

Drop your thoughts in the comment section below. If you’d like us to cover topics you wish to know, give in your suggestion, and we’ll make it happen.

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Miranda Smith

Being in love with writing all her life, Miranda Smith started working as a content writer in 2014. Since her association with DataCaptive, she has authored numerous articles on digital marketing, database management, information technology, sales, and many more. Miranda spires to transform the quality of online content, one piece at a time.

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