social marketing to b2b vs b2c: what's the difference?

Ruth BastedoGroup Head, Director,

Client Strategy and Innovationruth.bastedo@socialmediagroup.com

Social Marketing to Business vs Consumers:What’s the difference?

What is the overlap between a B2B approach and B2C approach to social marketing ?

Is it as simple as LinkedIn vs Facebook?

What about influencer outreach ?

Why is content marketing so hot?

And what is “out of the park” going to look like in the near future?

B2B vs B2CCirca 2012

What does thisshoe symbolize toyou- fashionor power?

Check out shoe on Bluefly

“Many firms you'd typically think of as B2C actually have B2B efforts in place as well… running in parallel, using many of the same tools and capabilities they have in place for their B2C efforts.”

Paul Hagen, Principal Analyst

Customer Experience Group, Forrester

Is it fish or fowl?

Paul’s Post

B2B Marketing B2C Marketing

Tend to be smaller, more specialized target markets

Tend to be larger target markets

Complex solution- more “consultative” selling

More product oriented, less “consultative”

Generally smaller above the line advertising/marketing budgets=Less well known brands

Larger “above the line” advertising budgets= more well known brands

Longer sales cycle Shorter sales cycle

Can be very relationship oriented- longstanding sales relationships

Relationship tends to be with the product- not sales person!

Less personal, more “value driven”

Very personal, ties into personal ideas of status, self image, peer group etc.

Both B2B and B2C customers

go through a tough decision

journey

B2B vs B2CWhat is the same?

This might look like this…

Harvard Business Review, Spotlight on Social Media and The New Rules of Branding: “Branding in a Digital Age” by David C.

Edeleman

Both B2B and B2C Customers

Consider/BuyEvaluate/Advocate

Bond

The fact is, A CustomerIs Always APerson

This is what is going to work best with a “Person”:

To market to him or her, in accordance with his/her own worldview, tastes, interests, life stage, unique set of needs and life experiences.

This is a green stove that I “like”,among other things…

Example

How would I use this information, if I were marketing a B2B product?Some B2B companies are starting to actively segment customers. Check out this women’s business event hosted by Dell- I attended last week…

There are more potential touch-points than ever beforealong the Customer Decision Journey.

And ways to deliver an almost 1:1 marketing message, offer and customer experience.

So what does this mean to ALL social marketers?

Emerging Reality: It’s going to be increasingly helpful to understand your Customer Decision Journey.

And how it is expressed in the digital environment.

A map will be a valuable tool.

Point 1

quaero.csgi.com/writable/files/mapping_customer_journey.pdfhttp://experiencematters.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/legos-building-block-for-good experiences/

Understand who your customers are as people: Invest in tools that will help you deeply understand your customer segments.

Point 2

http://microstrategy.com/Social-Intelligence/Enterprise/

Focus on relevant touch-points: Where will they emerge? Facebook? LinkedIn? Google Plus? Twitter? Microblogs?

Will the touch points be on paid channels? Blogs?

Try to understand this.

Point 3

Develop a content marketing strategy: Base this on the right mix of touch-points, content types, formats and channels.

And develop great content assets.

Point 4

http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2011/4972/content-fuels-social-media-interaction#ixzz1ajFMDisA

Make it a point this year to try and understand what Google is doing: Remember, if your customer can’t find it, it doesn’t exist.

Point 5

“Google is insisting upon making its new social layer a pervasive, personalized filter for the whole Google experience”

Jon Mitchell, ReadWriteWeb.com

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_adds_more_social_seo_with_1d_news_articles.php

/

So what is “out of the park” going to look like for SocialMarketers in the future?

It’s going to mean really, truly understanding the language and mindset of youraudience.

Check out shoe on Bluefly

It’s going to mean figuring out what this shoe means to each of the womenin your targetaudience.

And using that knowledge to sell each of thosewomen, your product.

And have them feel good about it.

To me, the Power thing trumps the Fashion thing.

Just for the record.

But it is also just a great shoe.

Ruth BastedoGroup Head, Director,

Client Strategy and Innovationruth.bastedo@socialmediagroup.com

Social Marketing to Business vs Consumers:What’s the difference?

Thank you!