Crossing the B-to-B Divide

Sure, there are inherent differences in marketing to consumers and businesses. While B-to-C marketers can make great use of mass media, it isn’t so helpful to their B-to-B counterparts when trying to hit a more refined target. And honestly, for small to midsize B-to-B firms, the budget for such fanciful flights isn’t there anyway.

But there are business-to-consumer tactics that business-to-business marketers can add to their tool kits.

Chief Marketer recently talked with several B-to-B marketing specialists — Ruth Stevens, principal of eMarketing Strategy; Mac McIntosh, president of Mac McIntosh Inc.; and Michael Brown, president of Business to Business by Phone — for their thoughts on the subject.

What elements of consumer marketing should the B-to-B world emulate?

STEVENS: Even though they’re buying on behalf of their companies, B-to-B marketers are still people, so we can appeal to them in consumer-like terms, making the message personal and warm and friendly, and making a compelling motivational offer. And then, of course, on the data side, we can make sure that we have the right information about the individuals in the company. Often B-to-B marketers get confused. They think they’re trying to sell to Company X. But they’re really trying to sell to a group of people in Company X — decision makers, specifiers, end users. They’re individuals, and you can appeal to them using the same principles of consumer marketing.

MCINTOSH: The theory is that B-to-C marketers aren’t very analytical, but they spend much more money on market research. I see way too little market research being done in B-to-B except by the very largest companies. And testing in general is not a discipline that B-to-B marketers have learned. They’ll roll the dice and do a mailing rather than do an A/B test and actually learn something. They say, “Well, I have to get leads right now.” Yes, but you can still be testing 10% of the list to see if you’ll get a lift! B-to-C marketers are also quicker to follow the customer than B-to-B. Consumer marketers were quick to look at what was going on in the economy and come out with value-priced offers and messaging. B-to-B marketers proceeded as business as usual, or they stopped marketing altogether — and the problem with that is that you don’t feel the effects until six months down the pipeline.

BROWN: B-to-B marketers in their private lives are all consumers, so we can think about that and consider how B-to-C behaviors could translate. But in most cases, B-to-C marketing is still enmeshed in mass marketing, because it’s stood them in good stead for many years. In B-to-B you really need to pay attention account by account, opportunity by opportunity. This doesn’t mean there aren’t [consumer] sectors we can approach, but the idea of a billboard in B-to-B probably isn’t going to be that effective.

Should B-to-B marketers be following B-to-C into social media?

MCINTOSH: I think B-to-B marketers should move more into social media. But I’ve been asking for quantitative evidence that social media is driving B-to-B sales, and so far I’ve just gotten anecdotal evidence. Still, I know if I’m thinking about buying something now, I might go to Twitter, even if I’ve met with the salesperson, and ask people what they think about it. That’s part of marketing, making sure you’re represented [in the social space].

BROWN: We need to attend to it, but I don’t think we should be putting as much stock into it as some people would have us believe. Remember, it’s the buying behavior in B-to-B marketing that we need to attend to. On a LinkedIn forum recently, a person asked if social media was forcing businesses to change from the inside out. The collective wisdom was no, but it is influencing businesses. It’s more the customers’ buying behavior than their social behavior that will force businesses to change. And that’s true in both B-to-B and B-to-C.

STEVENS: I see social media as being heavily effective for business development, but for scalable marketing, it has its limitations. Social media is very individual, but except for a corporate site on LinkedIn, you’re talking to individual people in social media. You can’t Twitter a company, you can only Twitter people. And you can only be followed by individuals.

Humor is prevalent in consumer advertising. Should B-to-B marketers go for the funny bone?

MCINTOSH: B-to-B marketers tend to get more into features and benefits. It takes real talent to use humor well to communicate. Having a penguin in the ad is cute, but it doesn’t make any sense unless it relates a benefit — say, “Our refrigerator trucks are so cool even penguins like them.”

BROWN: Yes, but they need to do it judiciously. Something that could work in the consumer realm might fall flat in B-to-B. For example, humor about Chapter 11 might not go very well if they were pursuing a company currently in that state. Creative can be humorous, but it has to have a point and tell the product’s story.

STEVENS: It’s good in advertising, but not in B-to-B or consumer direct marketing. You have to be very cautious about humor.

To flip the question, what can B-to-C learn from B-to-B?

STEVENS: B-to-B marketers understand the buying process and how to move the prospect from stage to stage. It can be a long and complicated process, and in order to sell, you can’t just walk in and say, “Hey, buy my $100,000 solution.” It takes a while to get them to that place. That deep understanding of how consumers buy could benefit many consumer marketers. Of course, verticals with considered purchases like real estate and automotive tend to really understand this, but does it have applications for things like buying a Lands’ End polo shirt? I don’t know.

BROWN: B-to-C telemarketers need to unplug the predictive dialers — these represent mass marketing at its worst and people hate them. And after introducing one’s self and company on a call, and stating the reason for your call, always ask if it is an okay time to have the conversation. The B-to-C crowd thinks this is nuts, but it has singularly produced six figures of business for my company over the years.

MCINTOSH: B-to-C can learn about lead nurturing and scoring from B-to-B marketers. Lead nurturing campaigns are a great way to turn more prospects into customers, and lead scoring allows you to determine which prospects are closer to converting and hence worth extra effort to convert into customers.

HEY B-TO-B MARKETERS! CONSIDER….

Marketing Automation: B-to-C firms were early adaptors of marketing automation for things like stemming customer churn or upselling. Now that many of these offerings have been scaled down, says McIntosh, midsize B-to-B companies should take a look.

Remember the Rules: Remember that the tenets of consumer and B-to-B marketing differ. “In the world of B-to-B, if I meet you at a trade show and we exchange business cards, I fully expect you to follow up with me by e-mail,” says Stevens. “I’m giving you tacit permission. You don’t have to get a formal opt-in from me.”

Go Mobile: “B-to-B people are consumers too,” says McIntosh. “We’re using our phones as our PDA, yet half the e-mails we receive aren’t formatted to look good on mobile devices.”

Lure Customers Into Your Web: Consumers and business people go to the Web first when researching a purchase. So don’t waste your time with a cold call, says Brown. Once the prospect has raised his hand by participating in a social media conversation or downloading a white paper, pick up the phone and initiate the conversation.

Loosen Up: “Lots of B-to-B marketers are too concerned with being dignified,” notes Stevens. This means they’re missing out on attention-getting techniques that could give them a lift — like free gifts or splashy calls to action. — BNV