B2B marketing (business-to-business marketing) is the marketing of products and services by one organisation to other organisations: businesses, government departments and non-profits. A payroll software company, a manufacturer of industrial parts and a consulting firm all do B2B marketing. B2C (business-to-consumer) marketing sells to individuals buying for themselves or their households.

The biggest difference between B2B and B2C is how the buying decision is made. In B2B, a group of people decides, usually over months, with a contract at the end and a relationship that continues after the sale. A common claim is that B2B buyers decide on logic and B2C buyers on emotion. B2B buyers respond to emotion too, and B2B marketers who treat them as purely rational tend to produce marketing that sounds like every competitor's.

How B2B Marketing Differs From B2C

B2B and B2C marketing follow the same principles. The differences are in who buys, how they buy and what happens after the sale.

A group of people makes the decision

The typical buying group for a complex B2B purchase involves 6 to 10 decision makers, according to Gartner. Each person judges the purchase from their own role. A finance director looks at cost and contract terms. An IT manager looks at security and integration. The people who will use the product every day look at whether it makes their work easier. The person who signs the contract is often not the person who uses the product.

This means B2B marketing has to reach several people in the same company, with messages that answer each person's concerns. The B2B buying committee explains who is usually involved and how to reach them.

Fewer customers, and each one is worth more

A B2B company may have a few hundred customers, and a single contract can be worth more than a consumer brand earns from thousands of shoppers. Losing one large customer can change a B2B company's year. That's why B2B marketing often works closely with sales, and why some B2B companies run account-based marketing, where the most valuable target companies are treated as markets of one.

The sale is the start of the relationship

Many B2B purchases come with a contract, onboarding and ongoing support. The customer decides again at renewal, and often buys more over time. In a subscription business, keeping and growing existing customers can matter as much as winning new ones, so B2B marketing includes customer marketing as well as new business.

B2B Buyers Aren't Purely Rational

Most introductions to B2B marketing say that B2B buyers care about return on investment, efficiency and risk, while consumers buy on emotion. B2B buyers do care about return on investment. They also respond to emotional brand values as well as rational ones. John Lynch and Leslie de Chernatony made this argument in the Journal of Brand Management in 2004, and proposed that B2B brands should balance functional and emotional values more evenly.

There are practical reasons emotion matters in B2B. The buyer's own reputation is at stake. A manager who recommends a supplier that fails has to explain that decision to their boss, so buyers look for suppliers they trust and feel safe choosing. And in many categories, competing products look very similar on paper. When buyers can't see much difference in features or price, they choose the supplier they know, remember and trust.

This is why brand matters in B2B. A buyer who starts looking for a supplier usually starts with the names that come to mind first. Mental availability explains how brands get into that first list.

What Stays the Same in B2B and B2C

The fundamentals of marketing apply in both. Kotler and Armstrong describe the same sequence for every business: understand the market and what customers need, design a marketing strategy, build the marketing programme, build relationships with customers, and capture value as profit. A B2B company still has to divide its market into segments, choose which segments to serve, decide how it wants to be seen against competitors, and set the product, price, place and promotion to match.

Another similarity is that most potential buyers aren't buying right now. In B2B, most of the companies that will buy from you in the next few years aren't in the market today, because contracts run for years and purchases come up rarely. Marketing that only reaches companies ready to buy this quarter misses most future customers. The 95:5 rule in B2B marketing sets out the research behind this.

What B2B Marketers Need to Do Differently

Reach the whole buying group. Plan your messages for the finance director, the IT manager and the people who will use the product, as well as the person who signs. A campaign aimed at one job title reaches one member of a group of 6 to 10.

Build memory over a long period. Because most buyers aren't in the market today, keep your brand in front of the companies you want to win, so they think of you when the need comes up.

Work with sales from the start. Agree which companies you're targeting, what counts as a qualified opportunity, and how marketing and sales share the work. Sales and marketing alignment covers what that requires.

Measure over the length of the sales cycle. If a deal takes nine months to close, this month's clicks and form fills won't tell you whether the campaign worked. Track pipeline and revenue over the full cycle.

Plan for the renewal. Give existing customers reasons to stay and to buy more, and keep marketing to them after the contract is signed.

FAQ

What are examples of B2B marketing? A software company advertising to finance teams, a manufacturer exhibiting at an industry trade show, a consulting firm publishing research for senior executives, and a company bidding for a government contract are all doing B2B marketing.

Can a company do both B2B and B2C marketing? Yes. A bank markets accounts to individuals and lending to businesses. A software company may sell a personal plan and a team plan. Each needs its own segments, positioning and marketing mix.

Is B2B marketing only about lead generation? No. Lead generation captures buyers who are ready now. B2B marketing also builds the brand with companies that will buy later, supports sales during long decisions, and keeps existing customers.

Is B2B marketing more rational than B2C? B2B purchases involve more people and more formal evaluation, but buyers still respond to emotion, trust and how familiar a brand feels. Treating B2B buyers as purely rational produces marketing that looks and sounds like every competitor's.

Learn the Fundamentals Behind B2B Marketing

B2B marketing sells to organisations, where a group of people decides over months and the relationship continues after the sale. The fundamentals are the same as in B2C, and so is the role of emotion. B2B Marketing Fundamentals covers those fundamentals in a B2B setting, from understanding the buyer to a one-page growth strategy for your own business.

Sources

• Gartner, "The B2B Buying Journey". Source of the finding that the typical buying group for a complex B2B solution involves 6 to 10 decision makers. gartner.com
• John Lynch and Leslie de Chernatony, "The Power of Emotion: Brand Communication in Business-to-Business Markets", Journal of Brand Management, 11(5), 2004. Source of the argument that organisational buyers respond to emotional as well as rational brand values. doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.bm.2540185
• Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong, Principles of Marketing. Source of the marketing process and the segmentation, targeting and positioning sequence.