Factors That Make B-2-B Marketing Projects Unique

Is business-to-business marketing really different to marketing to the general public? Although there is a cross over, business-to-business marketing is different from consumer marketing in deep and fundamental ways and this most certainly affects the way that b2b marketing should be carried out.

Business-to-business marketing is about meeting the needs of other businesses, though ultimately the demand for the products made by these businesses is likely to be driven by consumers in their homes.

There are four key factors that make business-to-business markets special and different to consumer markets:

· The decision making unit is far more complex in business-to-business markets than in consumer markets
· Business-to-business products and their applications are more complex than consumer products
· Business-to-business marketers address a much smaller number of customers who are very much larger in their consumption of products than is the case in consumer markets
· Personal relationships are of critical importance in business-to-business markets.

COMPLEXITY OF THE DECISION MAKING UNIT
In most households, even the most complex of decisions is confined to the small family unit while items such as clothes, food and cigarettes usually involve just one person. The decision making unit (DMU) in business-to-business markets is highly complex or at least it has the potential to be so. Ordering products of low value and low risk (such as the ubiquitous paper clip) may well be the responsibility of the office junior. However, the purchase of a new plant that is vital to a business may involve a large team who makes their decision over a protracted period. Often the DMU changes during this negotiation period as specialists enter and leave it to make their different contributions.

This complexity has implications for business-to-business markets. The target audiences for b2b communications are amorphous, made up of groups of constantly changing individuals with different interests and motivations. Buyers seek a good financial deal. Production managers want high throughput. Health and safety executives want low risk. And those are just their simple, functional needs. Each person who is party to the DMU will also bring their psychological and cultural baggage to the decision and this can create interesting variations to the selection of products and suppliers.

Given the complexity of the decision making unit and the many influences on these decisions, it should be no surprise that it is difficult to arrive at a needs based segmentation in business-to-business markets.

COMPLEXITY OF THE PRODUCT
Just as the decision making unit is complex in relation to business-to-business markets, so the same rule applies for the actual products in these markets. Business-to-business products are far more likely to be complex than is the case with their counterparts in consumer markets.

Where the purchase of a consumer product requires little expertise, the purchase of an industrial product frequently requires a qualified expert. Where consumer products are largely standardised, industrial products are often bespoke and require high levels of fine-tuning. Even relatively complex consumer products tend to be chosen on fairly simple criteria.

Industrial products, on the other hand, frequently have to be integrated into wider systems and as a result have very specific requirements and need intimate, expert examination and modification.

These differences have a great impact on the way consumer and industrial products are marketed. Buyers of consumer products are not interested in the technical details of what they are buying. As a result, consumer products are frequently marketed in ways that are superficial or even vacuous.

Business-to-business campaigns seek to educate their target audience by providing specific factual information. Many target companies in business-to-business campaigns are already well-informed on the product area, in which case promotional material may have to go as far as offering product specifications. Often, however, campaigns are promoting products that the target market is unaware of – in such cases, the physical benefits of the product must be concisely conveyed.

LIMITED NUMBER OF BUYING UNITS
Almost all business-to-business markets exhibit a customer distribution that confirms the Pareto Principle or 80:20 rule. A small number of customers dominate the sales ledger. Nor are we talking thousands and millions of customers. It is not unusual, even in the largest business-to-business companies, to have 100 or less customers that really make a difference to sales.

There is also a matter of scale. In consumer markets there are reasonable limits to the amount that a single person can buy and use of any product. The range of spend between the largest and smallest buyer in a business-to-business universe is likely to be much much larger than the range of spend between the largest and smallest buyers in consumer markets. Small numbers of customers of widely different sizes is a major distinguishing feature of business-to-business markets and this requires a completely different marketing approach to that required for consumer markets.

IMPORTANCE OF PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
The fourth distinguishing feature of business-to-business markets is the importance of the personal relationship. A small customer base that buys regularly from the business-to-business supplier is relatively easy to talk to. Sales and technical representatives visit the customers. People are on first name terms. Personal relationships and trust develops. It is not unusual for a business-to-business supplier to have customers that have been loyal and committed for many years.

The differences between business-to-business markets and consumer markets that have been outlined are clearly considerable.

Special Requirements Of B2B Marketing
· Creating personal relationships
· Offering high levels of service and support
· Close targetting through direct marketing


Common Ground Between B2B & Consumer Marketing
· Understanding customer needs
· Communicating vital messages about the company and its products
· Building a brand

Special Requirements Of Consumer Marketing
· Reaching large numbers of potential customers with promotional messages
· Ensuring consistenly high standards at the point of sale
· Creating loyalty amongst fickle consumers

The common challenge for both business-to-business and consumer marketers is to truly understand their customer needs and to be able to communicate that their products or services really are special in being able to satisfy them. There is usually substantial room for improvement in both respects.