What is B2B marketing?
B2B marketing is short for business-to-business marketing. It is one of the two main categories of marketing, and differs significantly from the other main category, B2C (business-to-consumer) marketing.
Technical definition
B2B marketing involves marketing products and services to other companies, typically in large volumes, with long sales cycles, to multiple decision makers and with more complexity than consumer products.
The definition of business
B2B marketing can also be defined as the marketing of products or services to other companies for use in production, general business operations or resale to other consumers.
What it really means
If we leave aside the technical definitions, B2B marketing is nothing more or less than carrying out marketing actions in a company that sells its products or services to other companies, not to end customers.
How B2B marketing works
The first step in B2B marketing is to let other companies know that your business exists and that you have a product or service that will benefit them. In addition to increasing brand awareness, B2B marketing gets companies interested in your brand and encourages interactions, with the goal of converting them into new customers.
Because B2B products and services are often more complex (and expensive) than those designed for consumers, developing long-term relationships is critical. While someone probably doesn’t care about relationships if they’re looking for the cheapest T-shirt, if they’re considering a long-term investment in something like manufacturing equipment, choosing the right partner is vital.
Many B2B marketers use traditional strategies, such as attending trade shows or employing a team of sales reps, to build and nurture these key relationships. Combining those strategies with digital tools helps them market to many companies without losing the traditional approach.
B2B marketing channels
B2B channels are simply the avenues marketers use to connect with potential customers.
There are two types of B2B marketing:
Offline Marketing
These are the traditional marketing platforms but with a revamped look.
Online marketing
Anything where marketers connect with an audience digitally. From computers, mobiles, screens and more.
In the past, marketers were limited to offline channels, but the last few decades have introduced all sorts of new possibilities. We’ve never had more channels available to build relationships with our audiences.
Like marketing strategies, channels continue to change with technology.
There is no reason to use one channel exclusively and ignore all others. Now, B2B marketers can choose between different offline and online channels, and test the results to see which channels work best for them. A multichannel approach may be the best way to leverage limited marketing budgets and create a system that is more powerful than the sum of its parts.
B2B Marketing Agency
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