The Difference Between Marketing to Consumers and Businesses
I recently led a "How to Create a Clear Marketing Message" workshop for the Women in Business NB Entrepreneurship 101 program. This two-hour session was designed to help women clarify their messaging and focus on positioning everything towards their customers.
The workshop went wonderfully. The participants were highly engaged, asking insightful questions, and experiencing significant "Aha!" moments. At the end of their program, each trainer received feedback, and while mine was overwhelmingly positive, there was one comment that caught me off guard.
The comment stated:
"This workshop was mainly concentrating on end customer. Would help to have marketing B2B based also"
I feel bad that this participant didn't understand that businesses, like individual customers, have problems they need help overcoming. Businesses are not faceless entities; they are run by people who face challenges and seek solutions.
Businesses struggle with many of the same issues as individual customers: managing staff, improving processes, integrating software, and achieving their goals. They need to know that someone understands their needs and can offer solutions to help them succeed.
The process of creating a clear marketing message is the same, whether you're helping a business or an individual customer. It's about understanding their pain points, addressing their specific needs, and showing how your product or service can take them where they want to go.
In all your marketing, you want to make it clear what problem you are solving. Provide a simple plan for working with you, and share what could happen if they decide not to take action. Most importantly show them how their lives or businesses can improve if they choose to hire you.
By focusing on these elements, we can create marketing messages that resonate deeply and drive successful outcomes for both B2B and individual customers.
Effective marketing addresses the audience's core needs, whether it's a business or an individual. Clear messaging, understanding the problem, and providing a straightforward path to a solution are universal principles that apply to all marketing efforts.
Check out some to help you create a clear message for your business, whether you are business to Business or Business (B2B), Business to Consumer (B2C), or even Software as a Service (SAAS)