The successful methodologies that work in B2C sales funnels are not traditionally the ones that work in B2B. However, the current business landscape is anything but traditional. Technology and data are both pushing marketing in new directions. Now that virtually every company in the world has the ability to aggregate data at scale, the world of B2B is beginning to look more like B2C every day.
Let’s take a look at some of the ways that modern B2C and B2B marketing overlap.
Customer Acquisition/Qualifying Leads
Traditionally, qualifying a lead in the B2B space is much harder than in the B2C space. After all, companies basically consist of many people, and to qualify a company requires research at that scale. Fortunately, third-party teleprospecting companies and improved customer acquisition/big data apps are automating and streamlining the vetting process. It is now much easier to prospect a large company, so the process is beginning to look much more like the prospecting funnel of a B2C lead process.
Timely Communications
Technology is improving the frequency of communications as well as the quality. One of the positive results is that communications can be distributed to an entire company in a timely manner. This was a privilege that was formerly limited to B2C communications in previous business generations. Today, e-commerce sites, buyer profiles that streamline entire companies into individual profiles and automated intelligence programs make personalized communications a snap, regardless of how big the prospect may be.
Building Conversion Rates
In the past, converting a prospect in the world of B2B meant an onboarding process with an account manager and plenty of customer service representation calls. The process is usually not as two way in the B2C world, but there is one striking similarity – both B2B and B2C conversions now include a buffer for buyer’s remorse. Just as quickly as large companies can get into agreements, they can also get out of them. Conversions are not really solid until they have been solidified through a few back and forth transactions.
In many ways, the world of B2B is becoming more like a B2C marketplace. This should be great news for B2B marketers – consumer marketing is usually less expensive. The trends above should continue well into this business generation, as technology, data, and consumer behavior all provide more data and technology for B2B marketers.
