What B2C strategies work well with B2B?

[Mike_Cartwright]

I'm really curious about B2C (business-to-consumer) sales and marketing strategies that work well in B2B (business-to-business). Do you have any in mind?

Also, are there B2B-specific strategies that also fit the B2C arena?

 

[WebshopMechanic]

Hi Mike,

I think over-delivering with added-value before the sale has now become a key marketing strategy for both the B2B and B2C market.

There is so much noise around these days and inboxes are full of people trying to sell you stuff so you need to do something out of the ordinary to capture attention. Very few corporate companies or brands actually try to build a relationship first before they try to close the meeting or the sale.

I like to provide something of value from the outset and expect nothing in return. Once you have done this you have overcome the first trust barrier and you've effectively opened the door to start building the relationship.

This is popular in the B2B marketing world with 'lead magnets' but it is only just filtering through in the B2C world. Brands need to think about what they can offer customers other than their products.

Of course, some brands hold events and have fantastic social media which is great but costs huge sums of cash.

Sometimes it's about offering something small yet, impactful and valuable. Yes, it takes time but you can't build loyalty in 5 minutes.

Matt

 

[fisicx]

Advertising works well.

 

[Oliver King]

HI there.

I think that marketing automation - which has been mainly B2B - is definitely moving over. Also, as Matt says, great service / products, over delivering and great customer interaction are also key.

I also think that B2C overlook the power of being 'market leader / thought provoking' - While more a B2B technique, companies should never stop trying to engage with their audiences and really really good information.

 

[fisicx]

While more a B2B technique, companies should never stop trying to engage with their audiences and really really good information.

Which can't be done well with marketing automation

 

[Oliver King]

Which can't be done well with marketing automation

It can be done well - and certainly in many cases a lot better than doing nothing.

 

[fisicx]

Agreed, but most automated marketing isn't done well. I get the same pointless email from one company every day. If they did the job properly I might use their services but they are so lazy they can't even set up the emailer to use my name (which they do know)

 

[Oliver King]

Agreed, but most automated marketing isn't done well. I get the same pointless email from one company every day. If they did the job properly I might use their services but they are so lazy they can't even set up the emailer to use my name (which they do know)

Absolutely, and those are companies who just are lazy or take their customers for granted.

But done well / properly with a bit of imagination they would do massively better. But, I have no doubt that the relevant people see lots of emails going out and assume they are doing great from mediocrity!

 

[effie9]

Really nice topic. The only one thing which came into my mind is email marketing, sending PR releases etc. Of course, the content for B2B and B2C is different but there are still similar points

 

[fisicx]

Really nice topic. The only one thing which came into my mind is email marketing, sending PR releases etc.

If your email marketing means sending out press releases you are doing it wrong.

 

[effie9]

No, I did not mean that email marketing should include sending out PR. But thank you for pointing this out