In observing our clients over the past 17+ years, one consistent theme I’ve witnessed is that the Digital Marketing tactics Business to Consumer (B-C) marketers employ have evolved much more rapidly than those their Business to Business (B-B) counterparts have been working with.
To be clear, the same tools have been around for B-B just as long, it’s that adoption on the B-B side has been much slower. B-B sales organizations, particularly ones with outside sales teams have historically stuck with investing large amounts of money into tradeshows and other channels that emphasize in-person encounters. This is how these industries and sales channels were built, and there hasn’t been nearly as rapid a shift to digital.
We’ve been touting and explaining the B-B opportunity to clients for forever and, fortunately, most have heeded the call (to varying degrees). However, the pace seems to have picked up significantly over the last year or two and that in part is being fueled by the fact that B-B sales teams have been more receptive to internet-generated opportunities… because they work so well.
Tactics like remarketing, which have historically tilted toward B-C environments, are being utilized much more heavily in B-B. Most of the funds it seems are being shifted away from tradeshows, print, etc.
Most importantly, our B-B clients are receiving a larger number of qualified leads, which is helping fuel their businesses and reaffirming the importance of digital marketing to those organizations.
