Author: Tomris Yavuz
Date of publication: 12/07/2023
Are you going to start your own business and want to learn more about B2B and B2C sales strategies? You are at the right place!Let’s take a look at the differences between B2B and B2C.
What are B2B and B2C?
Although the concepts of B2B and B2C may not mean much to you at first glance, they are actually in our lives and are very familiar to us. All the product or service providers we know are divided into B2B and B2C. For example, McKinsey & Company is a B2B company as it provides consulting services to other companies. The most important feature of B2B lead generation companies is that services or products are sold from one business to another.
Other examples of B2B companies
• Intel: Sells hardware etc. to other companies
• FedEx: Provides logistics and cargo services to other companies
• Boeing: Sells aircraft, defense systems, etc. to other companies in the aerospace industry.
Amazon, on the other hand, is a B2C company as it sells products directly to consumers via its e-commerce platform.
Other B2C company examples
• Nike: Sells Sportswear products directly to the consumer
• Coca-Cola: sells beverages directly to consumers
• Uber: Provides direct-to-consumer transportation
B2B vs. B2C Sales Strategies
Marketing strategies may differ depending on the target audience. In particular, the process of converting potential customers into actual customers is called lead generation. Here are some lead generation methods used in both B2B and B2C companies are:
1. Digital Marketing
This is the process of promoting products or services and achieving marketing goals through the internet and digital channels. Actually, it is the general name of the other methods below.
2. Email Marketing
Email Marketing is a common marketing strategy. While preparing an e-mail, the subject and title should be interesting. Customize your email according to the company you will send it to, your email should appeal to the target audience. Also, remember that your email design must be mobile-friendly!
3. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Your company should have a website and you should make this site appear at the top of the search engine with the help of SEO. You can use the following methods to achieve this:
3 a. Using keywords
You should determine the keywords that potential customers search most frequently in the search engine and use these words on your own website.
3.b. Interesting content and titles.
Your titles should be short, concise and interesting. For example, the title of a blog post that you will share on your website may be “B2B vs. B2C Sales Strategies: Key Differences and How to Adapt”.
3.c. Backlinks
A link from another website to your site will increase your site's credibility and visibility. But be careful that low-quality backlinks can harm your site's reputation!
4. Social Media Marketing
It doesn't matter if your company is B2B or B2C. Social media marketing has a significant impact on business nowadays! In advertising campaigns, especially for B2C companies, influencer collaborations are a very effective way to reach potential customers.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “ the dynamics in B2B customer engagement have changed to resemble more B2C ones”. More than 70% of B2B marketing teams are planning to invest this year in influencer marketing.”. Also “ 75% of B2B buyers and 84% of C-suite executives saying they use social media when making a purchase.”
Differences Between B2B And B2C Sales Strategies
The targeted audience is the most prominent difference between B2B and B2C marketing.
B2C targets individual consumers and their aim is to satisfy our daily needs, interests and challenges.
B2B targets companies who are looking for a solution for a problem such as consultancy companies.
Key differences between B2B and B2C
In B2B marketing, there are multiple decision makers. This is because B2B companies involve multiple stakeholders and have complex organizational structures. However, in B2C companies, there is only one decision maker as the individuals are the only buyers.
As there are few targeted companies, there is a small pool of customers in B2B marketing. On the contrary, in B2C there is a large pool of customers as we are all targeted customers for a B2C company.
Purchasing processes in B2B sales are much more complex than in B2C. For this reason, more time and effort is required for B2B companies to establish a solid relationship with their customers. As the services provided by B2B companies are more complicated and expensive than B2C, we need long-term partnerships. Thus, the decision-making process takes time.
B2C, on the other hand, is cheaper, for one-time and lasts short-term, as it caters to the inst
ant requests and needs of consumers. At this point, the image of the brand is very important in terms of the instant and emotional decision of the customer. In short, B2B
requires long-term relationships, while B2C is momentary and short-term.
Since B2C products generally target basic wants and needs, the content doesn’t change over time, it is mostly fixed. But B2B products require optimization as they aim to meet the larger and more complex needs of companies. IFor example, they can be customized and enhanced from company to company.
B2B and B2C differences in marketing
To sum up, if you had to keep something in mind is that B2C marketing depends on being memorable and remarkable. On the other hand, B2B marketing is more about building long term relationships, reliability and price!