This article is from WeChat official account:Time Note Book (ID: Think-Growth) span> , author: Hanni, the original title: “B2B brand marketing what to learn from B2C? 》

In recent years, there is a very popular saying “To B marketing needs to be done again with To C thinking”.

The reason is that B2B is ultimately B2B2C. Everyone must focus on the customer journey.

This point of view has certain truths, but it is somewhat distant from the status quo of domestic B2B companies.

For example, technology-based B2B companies have certain technical barriers to their products, and the customer’s procurement process is complex (most of which require bidding), sales The cycle is long and the relationship is intricate and complicated… It is not too work to directly get the user (user) by B2C.

From the perspective of customer buying behavior, the core difference between B2B and B2C lies in collective decision-making and individual decision-making.

For a simple example, Xiao Ming is a new media editor, and he needs to buy a mobile phone.

Scenario 1: Help the company buy for customer operations

Scene 2: Use by yourself

When the company spends money, it must first apply for fees(project establishment), even if it is paid by itself, it must be approved by the boss(process), come back to reimburse (approval), maybe financial participation is required .

Buying it by yourself is completely different. Buy it if you want, depending on your mood. If you don’t have money, you can use Huabei, credit card, justIt’s willful.

Then mobile phone companies do marketing, and if the target customers are consumers, they must be technologically advanced, products must be of high value, spokespersons must be popular, and they are willing to smash advertisements…

If the target customer is a company, in addition to the product itself, it must also talk about cost performance and after-sales service……

In this way, the mobile phone industry is really not suitable for corporate customers (Eneterprise), Jobs also said.

“I like the consumer market and hate the corporate market. We design a good product to let everyone know that everyone will vote for themselves. Even if you say yes, you can still go to work tomorrow. The corporate market is not that simple. People who really use the product There is no right to decide, and the person who makes the decision often doesn’t understand (confused).”

However, regardless of whether it is a user or a decision-maker, there are similarities, everyone is a living person. There are emotions, can think, and there are also psychological rules to follow when making decisions.

B2B learns from B2C. Only when we have a deep understanding of the differences and commonalities between cognition and the purchase process, can we choose a marketing model that can drive business growth and conform to new consumption habits.

Let’s start with the procurement process of B2B customers. Need a note here, the B2B mentioned in the articleIt does not include channel marketing for operators, agencies, retailers, etc. in B2C companies. We will discuss this topic in detail.

1. B2B customers’ cognition and decision-making cycle is long

Gartner published a survey of the global B2B industry buying journey in 2019. There is such a picture, which looks very complicated. (don’t open it to see , Can’t see clearly).

(Report from Gartner official website)

The four pieces in orange are: Clarify the pain points—find solutions—determine needs—select suppliers, which basically summarizes most domestic companies’ “project” to “selection” process.

Between the first and third steps, more and more customers have learned about suppliers’ information and products through search, forums, communities, websites and other channels before they start communicating with sales. During the negotiation process, they will learn from multiple perspectives such as feedback from acquaintances and participation in activities.

Actually, a research report a few years ago has shown that the total number of active and passive contacts between customers and the company exceeds 12 times before the final transaction. From the impression (Awareness), interest (Interest), intention (Intent), compare (Evaluation) to purchase (Purchase), the cycle is really long .

Let customers make choices during the experience journey of (<12 means more efficient) within 12 times. Every contact is very important.

In another picture, in the purchase decision of the demand side, 27% of the independent online search and 18% of the word-of-mouth information have accounted for 45% of the total.

(Report from Gartner official website)

This further highlights that B2B marketing needs to cover the entire process of customers from finding information to selecting suppliers, and the quality of content and social media interaction are becoming more and more important.

Action Suggestions:Make obscure products and services, high-end technologies and even future technologies more specific and easy to understand. Make it easy for customers from different industries and different sizes to see.

2. B2B needs to communicate with many objects and different roles

The characteristic of B2B business is that it is not enough to let only one person understand it. It is also necessary to let influencers and participants in the enterprise know, because each role has different professions and different focuses.

For example, buying a digital marketing software and participating in decision-makingThere are marketing department, CIO, purchasing department, etc.

The marketing department is concerned about whether it can increase customer acquisition after using it; the CIO is concerned that the data can be connected with the existing system; the purchasing department is concerned about the cost-effectiveness? Is there a better option?

These three have different understanding of software. They all tell them how advanced the technology is and the products are more advanced. Maybe they can only move the IT department. Other departments are completely in the cloud.

It’s impossible to impress all decision makers with just a set of words.

Action suggestion: Brand information houses for different decision-making levels of customers are very important. For customers, partners, marketers, and investors, the company’s products and the value they bring should be explained in a language that is familiar and understandable to the other party.

Three, B2B decision-making is more rational

The B2B industry is relatively more expensive, and everyone is therefore more cautious in collective decision-making.

Something went wrong, and I lost my seat. Fortunately, I might be suspected of having a gray transaction. Therefore, most companies will adopt the method of bidding at the end to show fairness.

Because of rationality, they will not change suppliers on a whim, and the cost of time and money is too high.

So after B2B marketing acquires customers, it is best to maximize the delivery of value, and it is best to exceed expectations. This will not only renew the contract, but also bring word-of-mouth communication.

Action suggestion: Content marketing needs to explain the product’s functions, advantages, and value to customers. It also needs customer testimony, preferably authoritative certification. Be logical, credible and reliable in the description process.

Four. B2C consumer enthusiasm comes quickly and goes quickly

For consumer products, it’s easier to buy on impulse. For example, price-cutting promotions, favorite celebrities become spokespersons, and even a sentence with warmth will make people buy and buy blindly.

There are a lot of troubles for B2C marketers. For example, competition is fierce and product differentiation is small. If you want to become the category king, you can’t do it without spending money.

Finally, the customer likes it, and after buying it, it is easy to accept other peopleThe temptation of better conditions, there is no repurchase. Therefore, loyalty is more difficult in B2C, unless there are a few companies that have core technology advantages, know how to manage consumers, and have a strong founder IP.

Most B2C marketing must change tricks to make customers feel fresh. Community, live broadcast, community group communication, and KOL delivery are not to be missed. Daily work is very trivial.

It is also necessary to balance the investment ratio of “product” and “efficiency”, as well as do attribution analysis.

Digitalization is also just getting started for traditional B2C companies. Tracking and analyzing the effects can also learn the thinking of B2B business opportunity management. Manage marketing investment more scientifically and do a good job in digital operations.

5. Commonness in B2B and B2C marketing

1) Build a brand

Occupy a position in the mind, that is, brand positioning is very important for B2B and B2C.

A report once proposed that the brand value of B2B companies is to reduce risk, improve information efficiency, and then bring premiums.

Think about it carefully, B2C brands are also in these aspects, but the demand for premium is higher, and the risk tolerance is greater.

Brands are very important to companies. Customer cases in the B2B industry, reports on leading technologies, and expert endorsements are effective in building brand trust. B2C consumer products, spokespersons, and creative appearance are very friendly to the brand image.

2) Emphasize interaction and experience

B2C emphasizes the customer experience journey(consumer experience CX), this is also applicable in B2B. Every online contact and offline communication, whether the information conveyed is consistent, and the content is interesting and valuable .

Active interaction, listening to customer feedback and acting in time, sincere, rigorous and lively in communication are applicable to all companies.

3) Find resonance in the community

Whether it is B2B or B2C customers, they all look forward to communicating with similar people. Companies can find other similar products through products and services, and build a communication platform. (Note, it’s between customers, don’t turn the community into a corporate news bulletin board)

B2B customers are looking forward to communicating with their peers about product usage experience, some tips on secondary development, some industry trends, and successful case sharing, etc.

Many technology companies have communities for engineers to communicate. For example, Cisco has passed the CCIE certification and assembled the world’s top network engineers. Salesforce also has an online communication platform for users, Dreamforce conferences, etc., which greatly satisfy the demand for exploring the same kind and finding resonance.

Six. Differences between B2B and B2C marketing strategies

Talking about the differences and commonalities, the marketing focus of the two business models is also different. If the brand can be understood as “product”(brand)+”brand”( Spread), then:

B2B emphasizes “products”, top-level design, and focuses on content message; B2C focuses on “brands” and contacts for communication

The content of B2B is the core. If you let the target customers know, leave an impression, generate interest and want to know more, and occupy a large position in their minds, it is very conducive to obtaining sales leads and accelerating the probability and efficiency of sales transactions. . This process is also the process of brand building,Long-term results can be seen in the future.

The product and brand image communication in B2C is more important. Whether it is live broadcast, short video, KOL, advertising, etc., are all media for customers to understand. A long time ago, B2C advocated “integrated marketing” and in recent years “experiential marketing” both focused on touch points.

Seeing this, I think everyone should better understand that B2B companies cannot simply copy the B2C marketing model. After all, the business model determines that the characteristics of collective decision-making are unlikely to be subverted in a short time.

In addition, B2B marketing also needs to learn B2C’s experience in building brands, communities, and customer experience, so as to adapt to the needs of the new generation of customers and bring value to them.

This article is from WeChat official account:Time Note Book (ID: Think-Growth) span> , author: Hanni