Influence-ification – B2C trends impacting B2B

There has always been a wide gap between the marketing strategies of B2C when compared with B2B, especially when looking at our industrial niche. The traditional trade media for example operates in a very different space to consumer media and therefore has a secure position as a trusted advisor, immune from click-bait strategies seen on social media and broader news, delivering quality fact-checked information to a dedicated expert audience. With that said, the B2B marketing world is not immune to changes and sometimes follows closely behind B2C, this blog looks at the B2C marketing trends that are slowly gaining ground within B2B communications:

1. Personalisation
   In B2C communications, personalisation has been a major advantage with customised product recommendations to targeted adverts. Each activity aims to inform the consumer of a potential purchase that solves a problem or offers value specific to them. While this may never work in the same way for industrial marketing, as solutions are already customised and adapted to the needs of the end users, account-based marketing enables content to be designed for specific personas. Operators, engineers, facilities managers, OEMs, systems integrators, and business owners will all have unique/identifiable needs, even when looking at the same solution! Using data insights, marketers can tailor messaging to focus on specific pain points for each job role, adapting personalisation for the needs of the sector.
2. Storytelling
   Looking back to the days of Mac vs PC, there has been a misconception that talking to a customer must be fundamentally different than talking to a business, missing the fact that it is the ‘people’ who work at businesses and who make buying decisions. There is nuance to this statement as B2B communications must show levels of detail not generally seen in B2C and must work on generally a much longer buying journey, but without ever ignoring the fact that you are talking to a human being. Industrial communications are in a unique position as the sector affects almost everyone to some degree! Brands looking to leverage B2C storytelling as part of their B2B strategy should take an holistic approach to messaging, answering the important questions; what is your approach to sustainability, how do you improve your local community, what are you doing to advance the sector?
3. Omnichannel marketing
   B2C brands have traditionally approached customers across multiple touchpoints, via social media, email, TV, and in-person for some. We are seeing this omnichannel marketing more frequently in industrial B2B across many formats. Webinars, digital content, LinkedIn, and in-person events are being seen as part of an overall strategy rather than single activities. Again, this serves to follow a potential customer on their long purchase journey.
4. Shifting generations
   Outside of some notable exceptions (life insurance, cruises etc), B2C marketing is always looking to reach the next and most influential generation, adapting messages for younger audiences that will become the consumers of the future. B2B and especially in industrial communications does have a similar goal but with a slightly different endpoint in mind. Industry comms must find a way to connect with the younger audience in the wake of a growing skills gap, breaking down misconceptions, and highlighting what an amazing career in industry looks like. Industry sits at the forefront of advanced technologies, promises competitive salaries, and offers a level of job security not seen by other sectors. It’s a difficult problem to solve and can’t be handled solely by marketing communications, education and media will play a vital role in following B2C trends and using them to deliver messages to the next generation of the industrial workforce.

These B2C trends reflect how B2B has come round to the fact that people deal with people, and that will never change. While trends may move faster in B2C the content it produces isn’t held to the same level of scrutiny, B2B can follow influential trends as long as any messaging continues to deliver the right information to the right person.