The way you market these two groups is completely different and it is important that you identify the differences so that your strategy and content are as effective as you want them to be. The following key differences between B2B and B2C will help you structure your message to get the impact you want on your goal.
Long term vs. short term relationship
If you are considering a company making a decision about the type of printing papers to buy for the copier, that company will look for a supplier who can provide the copier paper over a long period of time. The decision they will make is based on a number of considerations such as the quality of the paper, how regularly the supplier can provide this, whether they are reliable and so on. The B2B content for this would have to defiantly fuel the creation of an informed decision that will last a long time.
On the other hand, a consumer looking to purchase a soft drink would seek to meet a current need that is more driven by the shortage. The choice between one drink and the other probably doesn’t depend on an intention of continuing to go to the same store for that soft drink. The content for this does not have to be detailed. A simple and concise message informing the consumer that a particular drink meets their current needs may be sufficient. In short, you just have to address emotions.
Expert knowledge versus good information
As mentioned earlier, B2B decisions are made after a number of considerations. This means the content needs to be more detailed!
B2B marketing content is usually designed to demonstrate that you have expert knowledge of the service or product that you want to offer the company. You should clearly explain how this service or product works better than what the competition is offering. Essentially, you are trying to build TRUST and VALUE.
B2C differs in that you try to create content that makes the consumer feel good about the product or service they are going to buy. Aspects such as low prices and prestige can dominate B2C content. Above all, the content creates EMOTIONAL SATISFACTION.
Content medium
Given that in the B2B space, you need to provide more information, the media through which you can deliver the content are usually restrictive. This doesn’t mean there is no media for the content, but compared to B2C, you have fewer options. LinkedIn is one of the most preferred and effective channels through which business content can be shared with companies.
When it comes to B2C, however, the media are diverse. Social media is one of the simplest, as simple video clips, text messages, and pictures are enough to influence individual decisions or create awareness about a product or service.
This means that B2B content marketers need to be more strategic in choosing their channels to get the message across. The potential is there, but the effort has to be much greater than choosing B2C channels to get content out. However, this doesn’t mean that the B2B marketers should ignore the other media used by the B2C strategy, they may still generate some leads as well.
Content format
Based on research conducted on recipients of marketing content, the majority of B2B customers find it more convenient to consume content from blogs and whitepapers. You’ll also be keen to see research-based content that provides clear evidence of the different claims made by marketers.
B2C differ in that the majority can handle user-generated content better. However, there are still those who may still enjoy reading blogs and white papers, and B2B isn’t just limited to the more convenient formats.
The format may be flexible, but it is wise to focus more on the format that has the most comfortable recipients for a more effective campaign.
similarity
It’s not all clear, however, but when it comes to both segments there will be some fuzzy lines at some point. Some experts point out that some goods and services can be both B2B and B2C cross, which can make it difficult to categorize their content.
If you take software as an example, not only will you be marketing it to businesses only, but an individual can purchase it as well. At some point, you may need to consider the short and long term purchases as opposed to business-to-business.
At some point, the content marketer needs to profile their target to determine the type of content they are generating for each end user. Understanding the interests and needs of the target can be critical to whether content should be generated in a particular format, the medium used, and the message itself. The fuzzy lines can possibly be redefined for certain campaigns that cross both segments.
The most important thing to keep in mind as a content marketer is that B2B requires that you provide expert knowledge of a particular product or service. They appeal to the intellect more than anything else. The company needs to be able to trust you and see your product as the solution it should choose.
B2C, on the other hand, is about addressing emotional connections. They find ways to make the consumer feel like they are in a relationship, and they feel comfortable in that relationship when they buy the product or enjoy the service.
Crucially, however, it remains that both require research and understanding of the target in order to produce content that best suits the target person. This also applies to goals that cross the B2C and B2B divide. #KhabarLive #hydnews