A study from 2019 suggested that the global marketing industry was worth a staggering $1.7 trillion. That might seem like a lot, but the truth is that business success in the modern world is determined by advertising and promotion as much as by anything else.
If you’re new to the world of marketing, you might not be familiar with the various different industry terms that apply. One of the most important distinctions to be drawn in marketing is between marketing strategies that target businesses, and those that target consumers.
So, in the discussion around B2B vs B2C marketing, what are the key differences to be aware of? Keep reading as we dig a little deeper.
What Is B2B Marketing?
B2B marketing (business-to-business marketing) is the term that describes an attempt to market a product or service to another business, rather than a consumer. For example, if you’re trying to sell office software, chances are you’ll be employing B2B marketing, not B2C marketing.
What Is B2C Marketing?
B2C marketing (business-to-consumer marketing) is, as you might have guessed, the type of marketing you do if you’re trying to get an end-consumer to buy your product or service. As you’ll see, you’ll have to employ different kinds of techniques to succeed at this kind of marketing.
B2B vs B2C Marketing
There is a world of difference between B2B marketing and B2C marketing. We’ve broken down a few of the major divergences below.
Target Audience
When you’re executing a B2B marketing strategy, you’re targeting a much smaller audience. You’re not necessarily going after the people who will actually end up using your product or service; you’re just targeting the person whose decision it is whether or not to buy from you, such as a CEO or purchasing manager.
With B2C marketing, you can typically cast a much wider net. Even if you’re not targeting the person in charge of spending, you can still find success. An example of this would be ads for children’s toys.
Length of Time Taken for Conversion
When devising marketing strategies for businesses, it’s always important to consider timelines. If you’re a B2B marketer, you need to realize that the time it takes to get from initial connection with leads to actually making a sale is much longer than for B2C marketers.
Logic & Emotion
When you’re dealing with consumers, you need to know how to leverage the power of their emotions. With B2B targets, this isn’t the case to the same extent; business buyers tend to rely much more on analysis than emotion.
Having the Right Approach Regardless of Your Target
The first step to building a successful marketing strategy is knowing who your customer is, and how that should affect your marketing strategy. This is the reason why the “B2B vs B2C marketing” conversation is such an important one.
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