The Difference Between B2B And B2C Marketing

When marketing to a business versus a consumer, the process is very different. In short, when marketing to another business your marketing should reflect the logic of purchasing your product or service where marketing to consumers should reflect positive emotions they will feel having purchased your product or service. Although you are selling the same product, the logic versus emotion distinction makes the product more attractive to different audiences. Here is what we mean.

Business-to-Business

Your product or service will be most attractive to other businesses if they see the logic in purchasing. You can successfully market this by focusing on the features of the product or service. The best thing to remember is that it’s not about the product – it’s about the consumers using it, so the best thing to do is to put yourself in their shoes and convey the benefits of purchasing your product.

Some examples of benefits to market are the fact that your product or service increases efficiency, the return of investment, the money they will save, and the resources they will save. Keep in mind, you will need multiple touch points to making a sale in a B2B relationship because the purchasing process is longer.

Business-to-Consumer

When marketing to consumers, you will still be pushing the benefits of the product or service. This time you will find success in pushing the emotional benefits. In this type of marketing scenario, you will have to adjust to the small attention span of the average consumer and get to the point. They will want everything spelled out quickly because the purchasing process is short.

The best way to push your product is to spell out the results your product or service will bring. The consumer will want to hear about how the product will improve their life whether it be through efficiency or by elevating their self-esteem… whatever the case, express that you can solve a problem.