B2B marketing: What it is and how it differs from B2C marketing

A best practices guide

Until a few years ago, offering a sound product at a competitive price with good service ensured success for a business. These key features have been rendered obsolete by technology, which has reshaped the world of commerce and customers, whether consumers, businesses or organizations, raising the bar regarding what an ever more demanding public now considers satisfactory service. Targeted marketing is now also necessary for a successful business.

Effective marketing means a holistic strategy that includes all those activities that aim to promote a product, service or brand to potential customers. Marketing campaigns vary depending on their target – audience, as businesses addressing consumers have different advertising needs from those addressing other businesses.
Although B2B (Business to Business) marketing is more specialized as it is addressed to market professionals, it shares basic practises with B2C (Business to Consumer) marketing. More specifically, as is the case in retail, wholesale businesses aim to:

Build long-term relationships with their customers

Regardless of whether their customers are other businesses or individual consumers, they’re aiming for a stable clientèle which will eventually generate growth in sales and ultimately enhance the profitability of the company.

B2B marketing: What it is and how it differs from B2C marketing

Steadily build their profile on LinkedIn and other social media

LinkedIn hosts millions of users and no business – retail or wholesale – should bypass it when planning their marketing strategy.

Utilize all marketing, promotion and communication tools

From the most traditional to the most advanced tools that tap into the latest technology, your wholesale business should leverage their full potential in order to achieve your goal of attracting and retaining customers.

Follow trends

Adaptability is key if an advertising campaign is to be successful. Customers’ expectations change with the times, making it essential for businesses to follow suit and tailor their advertising approach to current trends, regardless of the target audience in question.

These concepts form a common foundation for both retail and wholesale businesses, unlike their distinct marketing needs, which vary mainly in their approach.
Wholesalers should focus on:

1) Logic instead of emotion: As your wholesale business is aimed at professionals, you're best leaving emotion out of the equation. Your approach – from website to social media posts or emails – should be to focus on useful content, with data and information that other businesses are looking for before closing a cooperation agreement.

2) Necessity instead of desire: Customers of wholesale businesses buy products or services to satisfy their needs, in contrast to private consumers who are often motivated by their desires. This distinction must be taken into account when you design your marketing strategy so that it is tailored effectively.

3) Groups and not individuals: In B2B, the decision to make a purchase must be approved by several executives in various positions of a company, while in B2C the green light is given by a single person/customer, so the available tools must be used differently in each case.

Β2Β marketing is not just another passing trend. It’s an investment that helps your wholesale business reach your customers and build long-term relationships with them. Designing a holistic advertising strategy that will include all tools, from SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Google Ads to content, emails and social media marketing, specifically tailored to the relatively smaller audience of the wholesale market, increases the chances of growing your customer base.