This section will investigate the strategies of the Business to Customer (B2C), Business to Business (B2B) and Marketplace E-commerce. Furthermore, this part contains three main articles and this article will discuss Business to Customer (B2C) E-commerce.
- Business to Customer (B2C) E-commerce (This article)
- Business to Business (B2B) E-commerce
- Marketplace E-commerce
Business-to-consumer marketing, or B2C marketing, refers to the tactics and strategies in which a company promotes its products and services to individual people: creating, advertising, and selling products for customers to use in their everyday lives. There are many differences when it comes to B2C marketing and B2B. Some of the most important distinctions include the purchasing and sales process. Furthermore, decision-makers involved, and cost of purchases.
While a business will likely conduct extensive research before investing in new software, office space, or a large acquisition with another business, B2C transactions are frequently more impulsive and instantaneous.
Consumers generally seek out goods and services based on an immediate need, and make purchases more quickly, with less research and due diligence than a business would conduct. This grants B2C marketers a much smaller window of opportunity to influence consumer behavior.
For these reasons, successful B2C campaigns typically trigger emotional reactions or responses, while B2B campaigns focus on offering immediate value. Moreover, understanding these differences and making the appropriate changes to your marketing strategy will improve your outcomes.
The Difference Between B2B and B2C
1. Buyer personas are different
Both types of marketing address multiple buying personas simultaneously and build messages around brand value. Although, the types of personas are very different. Furthermore, B2C buyers are typically the end-user of that product or service. B2B buyers, on the other hand, are often purchasing a larger organization. B2B personas can also include multiple influencers and decision-makers, rather than a single individual.
2. Sales cycle lengths differ
Consumer purchases also have far shorter sales cycles involving comparatively less research. However, larger ticket items like automobiles and refrigerators are often exceptions, as consumers tend to extensively vet those kinds of purchases. Nurturing leads isn’t as long of a process in the B2C world. However, positioning the right content at the right stage of the buyer journey is still a major priority.
Why is B2C Marketing Important?
The explosion of digital platforms in recent years has fractured traditional marketing channels. To adequately engage consumers, brands need to navigate a wide variety of touchpoints and fine-tune their message for each scenario and platform.
Creating and maintaining a strong brand image on digital channels is also extremely important. Moreover, giving B2C companies more opportunities to connect with consumers and nurture brand loyalty.
Local search, SEO, brand websites and social media are all important facets of B2C marketing. Furthermore, it helps businesses reach prospective customers and raise brand awareness.
The Biggest Challenges in B2C Marketing
Modern B2C marketing is driven by data, personalizing brand interactions and making every customer experience unique. There’s a great deal of opportunity to boost engagement, but also plenty of pitfalls for companies to run into.
One of the biggest concerns is addressing the privacy-personalization paradox, in which consumers value customized brand experiences that are tailored to their specific preferences while also remaining skeptical of any effort to gather personal data to drive such initiatives.
Five Successful B2C Marketing Strategies
For any savvy B2C marketer, it’s crucial to meet consumers at the most appropriate time, with a perfectly tailored message to ensure conversion and retention.
Nonetheless, consumers nowadays consumers have more outlets fighting for their attention than ever before. This excessive ‘noise’ means that brands must go above and beyond to engage, convert, and retain customers.
Businesses that focus on B2C marketing need to observe their customers closely. It’s critical for B2C marketers to understand the needs, wants, and challenges of their customers. By concentrating on their target audience, marketers can create personalized messages that better address their customers’ needs.
1. Reminder Emails
Reminder emails are a great way to connect with consumers, by delivering timely, important messages. These reminder emails help keep brands top-of-mind (and top-of-inbox!) with customers and also help facilitate upsells and conversions.
2. VIP Programs
VIP programs are a great way to increase engagement and drive customer loyalty. These programs allow ‘white-glove’ customers to enjoy added perks and add-ons from a brand. When a customer has the opportunity to become a VIP, it also increases the chance of them becoming a brand ambassador, sharing their success story with friends and networks.
3. Social Retargeting
A third successful marketing strategy is social retargeting. It occurs when a potential customer who has been searching a site moves on to other pages, or perhaps other competitors. Retargeting ads are triggered by what customers may have been searching, and can pop up on social media to help recapture interest and drive them back to a particular site. Retargeting can be especially helpful when a potential customer abandons a cart, and the ad can help remind the consumer what they left behind.
4. Truly Understand Your Customers
One important thing to remember when it comes to building a successful B2C marketing strategy is to know the audience, their preferences, likes, and dislikes. Knowing the typical consumer, the challenges they are looking to solve, and their ideal buyer journey is the key to creating engaging content that helps drive clicks, conversions, and revenue.
5. Invite-A-Friend Incentive Programs
For B2C marketers in general, incentive programs can be tricky. While they can definitely help increase new business and facilitate personalized conversations, it can also be grating to loyal customers to see that something they bought for full price just a few days ago is now on sale. The best way marketers can address the issue of incentive programs head-on is with big data and machine learning, segmenting a consumer audience and then targeting them with specific messages and incentives to avoid confusion and frustration.
