What are the key differences between B2B and B2C marketing strategies and how do they affect your tactics?

High-level, these are the 3 areas I break it down into: 1. Buyer journey: In B2B, the buying journey is typically longer with more people (personas) involved in the decision-making process. Think about buying a t-shirt versus procuring enterprise-level software. 2. Content: B2B marketing content is typically more technical and informative than in B2C because B2B buyers are more likely to be interested in the benefits of a product/service, rather than emotional appeal. 3. Channels: B2B uses a different mix of channels than B2C. Some more common B2B channels include trade shows, industry publications, and online forums. A good example is with social; B2B may leverage LinkedIn, whereas B2C would find Instagram or TikTok more valuable.

At the core, B2B and B2C are both H2H, human to human sales. What I find happens when we don’t start off with more of what they have in common, I find some B2B sales strategies start to get rigid and overly promotional. The buyers persona might be different, but the core human emotions behind figuring out how to solve their problems… supports a better start to both B2B and B2C strategies ???? #foxrocks

It's all B2H - Business to Human. There are different stakeholders, milestones, and the time to convert with B2B is longer, but there are more overlaps than differences. As a buyer and marketer of B2B Saas, as well as for B2C, it's all about relationships. Your personal relationship with the internal champion, or your brand's relationship to the end consumer. Finding ways to motivate these seemingly disparate ICPs to take action ultimately isn't so different. It always comes down to "what's in it for me." Make that value proposition clear, explicitly articulate what the transformation that client/customer is going to experience by selecting you, and you will cut through the noise to be the provider/product of choice. Every time.

B2B marketing targets businesses, while B2C marketing targets individual consumers. So you are either getting paid by a business's bank account or an individual's wallet. With a business, you really have to know who the decision maker is. It may not be the same as the person who has the problem that you solve. B2B sales typically have a longer and more complex sales cycle, involving multiple stakeholders. You have to understand what is important to each type of stakeholder, and be able to address those objections or concerns in your marketing.

After the pandemic, I would argue that B2C and B2B marketing gaps have tightened. The pandemic pushed online purchasing of products & services that the B2B & B2C have more overlapping requirements in common. The main differences now: B2B = Longer case studies, more data as images / video, proposals with past projects & recommendations, more stakeholders B2C = Shorter demos, peer written reviews with data / video / images, less stakeholders B2B & B2C requirements to solve problems, support claims, improve a process, achieve a goal, customization, credibility, value proposition are now closer than ever in the minds of consumer & business stakeholders as online visibility to compare solution options have increased. ???? #FoxRocks

B2B marketing tactics tend to focus on building relationships and providing personalized solutions to meet the needs of other businesses. Tactics may include networking events, industry conferences, and email marketing campaigns. You'll more likely want to focus on LinkedIn rather than Facebook/Instagram for social media. B2B marketers need to be in lock step with the sales team. In B2B marketing, a sales team often plays a critical role in building relationships and closing deals with other businesses. In B2C marketing, the sales team may be less involved, as consumers often make purchasing decisions independently.

No matter who you are selling to, everyone is human and has emotions. B2B sales can still be influenced positively or negatively through emotive content and marketing techniques. That's why sales reps take their business customers on corporate golf days or other 'jollies'. It's harder to say 'no' while watching F1 from a corporate suite. Emotions play a significant part in any sale. Sure ROI, value and understanding pain points are crucial but so are building relationships

Segmenting your B2B email list is important to make sure the messages you send are relevant to the recipient. The best way to do this is to split the list into smaller groups using industry, company size, job titles, past behavior and geographic location. This will allow you to tailor each message to the unique needs and interests of the recipient and lead to higher engagement and greater return on investment.