B2B & B2C lines are still blurring into P2P
Marketing has almost always been broken up into two sectors, Business to Business and Business to Consumer. Determining this was always one of the first questions during the discovery phase of projects. Crafting the “perfect†message and delivery technique designed to target a business or consumer specifically was the end goal of every project.
Rise of P2P
Over the last few years there have been a few books that have delved into the idea of People to People marketing; from “Starting with Why,†to “Scaling Up,†and “Peoplework,†the idea that we are all Human and all make emotionally charged decisions was littered through these books. Marketers have realized this idea more and more and are tailoring messages to be rich, authentic, and purposeful.
Decision Making
The end-goal of the majority of marketing work is to educate and assist in influencing decisions. There are a lot of factors at play in both B2B and B2C decisions, yet the bulk of those factors are the same regardless of business or consumer predisposition. A few of the factors that are at play include biases, age, past experiences, relevance, and relationships. By appealing and capitalizing on these emotionally driven factors, messages have a better chance of being well received by the audience. Decisions, whether made in a grocery store or at a conference room table, are still made by real people.
Your Day
Let’s take a look at a few decisions throughout your day.
Driving into work on barely any gas which requires a stop at the gas station for a fill-up. What gas station are you going to stop at? Lowest price? Best rewards points? Easiest in, out and back on the road? This decision is influenced by your consumer predisposition on what is important to you in this situation.
Arrival at work brings the necessity of obtaining the first cup of coffee to get caffeine rolling through your body. Does this constitute drinking the coffee provided at the office or stopping at Starbucks on the way in? Decisions, decisions...
During your first meeting, it’s been decided that you have to select a vendor to work with on an upcoming project. There are two options to choose from; one has not done any work with your company before. You’ve heard great things about them, but their presentation was rocky. The other company has done work with your company before, some projects have been great, some have been really shaky, and their presentation was great because they know your company. There are a lot of factors at play with this one, it’s a business decision that will be influenced by personal and business convictions on who to choose and why.
We are all Human
Essentially, we are all human. We all have feelings, convictions, desires, and thoughts. It’s these things that drive who we are and the decisions we make. Looking at marketing solely from a B2B or B2C perspective can sometimes be selling yourself short. Look at the bigger picture, appeal to the human characteristics of the decision makers, be real, be approachable and problem solve together. Every person has problems (whether personal or in their business) and every person wants solutions that help make their life easier. Take care of people, help people solve problems, craft and deliver messages directed at people. If you have a people first mentality, everything else will fall into place.
Original Post: https://baldwincreative.com/p2p/
About the Company
Baldwin Creative & Co. is an innovative marketing and design firm that powers organizations with market-smart research, branding, messaging and communication across all traditional and digital mediums. Finding your clients, motivating them to take action and increasing your conversion rates are just a few of things we do well. With a strategic approach to marketing, we will help you spend wisely, accomplish more and market smart!
About the Author
Jonathan Hauge is a Project Manager at Baldwin Creative & Co. While paying close attention to process and workflow management, he ensures that client expectations are met and quality service is delivered. Jonathan also lends his talents to our digital services while supporting search engine optimization and social media objectives.
Helvetica heart in a Comic Sans world.
9 å¹´This is so true. One of the most interesting by-products of an information economy is how personal we expect - and demand - everything to be. This holds true through all areas of our lives, which themselves are overlapping more and more. It's at once old-fashioned and futuristic.