Understanding B2B (Business to Business)

Have you ever wondered why B2B is called a challenging and complex market? Well, it hasn’t earned that reputation for nothing, as it is a tough market to crack, given the fact that the customers of B2B are other businesses and not direct consumers unlike B2C.

This blog highlights some of the finer nuances of the B2B businesses and what has changed for B2B in recent years!

B2B (Business to Business) is all about the services and solutions that are created and are catered to the needs, challenges and interests of other businesses who happen to be their customers. The complexity starts while defining the mode of business itself; B2B is a challenging market; but interesting enough for those who like to turn challenges into opportunities.

Unlike B2C; which is all about selling their products directly to their customers who utilize those goods; B2B is far more complex and intriguing.

B2B in Perspective: The Buying Cycle:

Every market has a buying cycle and the B2B market has the longest of buying cycles. Most B2B companies work on the number and quality of leads acquired and thus B2B lead generation is one of the biggest challenges of this market. Since there is no direct consumer here; the process of nurturing the lead (B2B lead nurturing) or in other words, leading the lead to conversion becomes an essential part of the process. Patience and persistence are one of the highly valued qualities of a B2B marketer; one that has the capacity to define success and ROI of the company.

ROI Matters:

ROI is one of the most important things in B2B. This is one of the most challenging aspects of this industry. It’s all about how well you create your marketing strategies; because at the end of the day it is not about selling some product to a consumer directly; but it is about selling it to another business. Hence expertise and efficiency play a vital role in augmenting other businesses. The profit of the clients’ businesses defines the success for any B2B enterprise. So unless you have proven track record of accelerating businesses or generating leads, it is difficult to build credibility in the market.

What has changed for B2B?

The image of B2B market and businesses a few years ago was all about being dry and boring and devoid of any fun element. The marketing communication has primarily built that kind of a reputation for B2B businesses.

However, things have changed in the recent times. And there is a lot of empathy, compassion and even fun elements in B2B that have worked wonderfully well with the audiences.

Realizing the fact that no matter what, at the end of the day, you are catering to a human being as a customer! The human element was the missing piece in B2B in to a human being and so empathy has now become an integral part of all communication and strategies of B2B.

Conclusion:

Whether B2B or B2C; human beings define a market and not just products or services. It is all about how your service is being perceived and how your communication and strategies are affecting the end customer; something that will decide the fate of your business. The change in the B2B landscape is a positive one; wherein more and more customers are delighted and the business owners are happier that they can now engage customers more effectively.