B2B Buyers make long term purchases 

Though consumers indulge in long term purchases, like purchase of houses or cars, such purchases seldom happen. However, long-term purchases are a common feature in Business-To-Business Markets, where capital machinery, components are purchased for a longer duration.

Further, such products and services necessitate service back-up from the supplier as opposed to the consumer markets. Say, for instance, a computer network, new machinery, a photocopier or a fleet of vehicles, call for far more extensive after sales services than a house, or a single vehicle purchased by a consumer. Moreover, repeat purchases in case of machine parts, office consumables, will call for ongoing expertise and services, like delivery, implementation/installation advice, etc, services which a common consumer is less likely to demand.

The Role of a Business-to-Business Marketer

A B2B marketer has to keep in mind two important points here: First, the importance of relationship-building in business-to-business markets, especially with key customers and second to nurture technically focused sales team.

B2B Markets are more innovation driven than Consumer markets

Consumer markets are largely driven by innovation, vis-à-vis consumer markets. B2B companies that switch on to an innovation mode are generally done to counter an innovation that has taken place in a competitive company. B2C businesses generally have low-risk, as they behave according to the whims and fancies of the consumers as opposed to the calculated behaviour of various businesses.

However, this does not mean, that B2B marketers are bad innovators as compared to those in the consumer markets. Sometimes the opposite could be true, as innovation in a B2B world is carefully planned, implemented and eventually commercialized. Audiences in a B2B world are more defined and trends can be easily traced as opposed to consumer markets.

The Role of a Business to Business Marketer

Business to business markets has both time and indicative data from upstream, this helps them analyze various options before arriving at a decision. As competitors are at power with you, it becomes absolutely imperative to gather good quality intelligence. B2B marketers are suggested to take on detailed market research and then blend it with the upstream information in order to come up with complete market intelligence picture.

Consumer Markets rely on packaging to gain maximum leverage

There has been an unprecedented growth in the packaging of consumer goods in recent years, as packaging today is not simply reduced to preserving and protecting the goods, today it has evolved into a vehicle through which aspirations and desires get transpired to the customer. Consumers being less logical than business-to-business buyers, this strategy has proved quite successful in the consumer markets.

However, the same strategy can’t be applied in a B2B market, where product is valued primarily on technical parameters. More importantly, the offers are build on relationships, and not on dreams and aspirations.

Business –to-Business marketers

In Business-to-Business markets there is more emphasis on clear packaging. Resources are far better allocated to developing relationships and expertise.

Sub-brands make little sense in B2B markets

Building of a brand is never given too much preference in the B2B world. However, in this day and age, it is becoming increasingly important for each and every product to establish its own identity, so a sudden shift in approach- towards brand building- is been witnessed in the B2B world. In fact, in the past few years, the role of brand building has increased in the B2B world. In a B2B world, branding just influences 5% of the buying decisions, while in a consumer market 30% to 40% of the buying decisions is influenced by branding.

It has been frequently observed that B2B companies have a laid-back approach in terms of developing and implementing branding strategies as opposed to B2C companies. B2B companies are generally bad at recognizing branding strategies that is supposed to cover every aspect of the business.

In their eagerness to gain advantage of branding, many B2B companies have gone over board and have come up with large number of sub-brands, targeting every aspect of the product range. However, this approach is apt for consumer markets, where the marketer has to attract buyers of different segments and sub-segments of numerous target audiences. In business-to-business markets, target audiences are quite smaller and as explained earlier; more importance is given to relationships than branding. More importantly, B2B markets have more defined and well-informed buyers, so launching brands and sub brands are considered to be pointless in a B2B world.

The Role of a Business to Business Marketer

Here b2b marketer has to make sure that branding strategies are thoroughly researched and carefully executed. Branding strategy should act as a channel for transmitting company values and philosophy. Moreover, business-to-business marketers should acknowledge the fact that ‘less is more’ when we speak of branding in the B2B world. In other words, it is better have a single brand, where customers, stakeholders and employees can relate to, rather than having a set of sub-brands which eventually proves to be an obstacle to the marketer.

Conclusion: B2B buyers are tougher to deal with

Business-to-Business buyers’ jobs are said to be more challenging, because they are accountable of the purchases made to the companies concerned. As a result, they focus on the essentials, like the quality of the product. They don’t mind shelling out a little more, in an attempt to acquire the best of the products. Their experienced eye can instantly make out a bad product from the good. Business–to-Business Marketer B2B marketer’s job is to ensure that his products, services and intangibles meet and exceed customer requirements. Business-to-business buyers are more predictable than consumer counterparts. So this ultimately means that good quality market intelligence and attention to target market’s needs will help a b2b marketer better meet the market requirements.