WEEK 4 EOC: Business to Business Marketing

“Marketing for B2B vs. B2C – Similar but Different

Business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing is different. A person buying a product for themselves verses buying for their company is a very different, emotional experience. In fact, there are profound differences that you must remember when developing your marketing activities. B2B depends on relationship building marketing efforts.”

http://masterful-marketing.com/marketing-b2b-vs-b2c/#ixzz2AMyOEhyF

Another article points out 5 differences between business buying and consumer buying:

“1. Business buyers usually aren’t spending their own money. There’s a different mind set about personal expenses and business expenses. Therefore, most purchases need to be justified in quantifiable terms.

2. The buying process for major purchases is often complicated. It can follow a formal, rigid pattern of bids, budgets, bargaining, and analysis. Business buyers need plenty of information to make a decision, often over a long period of time.

3. You must sometimes talk to many layers of a company. This includes decision makers, buyers, influencers, and users. And you may or may not be sure who is who. Then there’s the mailroom and secretary barrier, people you have to go through first to get your message to your target.

4. Business buyers are particularly wary of taking chances on unknown products and services. The cost for mistakes — in time, money, and personal reputation — is too great. While some like to be on the cutting edge, most prefer to play it safe. They are especially influenced by the actions and opinions of colleagues and competitors. And they have elephantine memories when it comes to bad experiences.

5. Business buyers are time-conscious during business hours. They don’t welcome cold calls from businesses they don’t know. They are barraged with mail and sort through it quickly. However, if something interests them, they will read it, though they want to get to the point fast.” http://www.directcreative.com/blog/b2b-vs-consumer-marketing

“Long-term, loyal B2B customers buy based on the power of a relationship you forge or don’t forge with them. Things like creditability, trust, integrity, and putting your client first are essential. The best marketing approach for creating lasting B2B customer relationships is customer centric marketing.” http://www.mymarketingdept.com/b2b-marketing-versus-b2c-marketing/