B2C stands for business to consumer (German: from company to consumer) and describes the communication and business relationship between company and end consumer. In contrast, B2B (business to business) means business relationships between several companies. Thus, these marketing areas differ in terms of the target group.
Difference between B2C and B2B
According to phonejust, B2C and B2B differ in the target group and the purchase decision process. Since the purchase is made with these target groups for different reasons, a different approach is necessary in each case. Because in B2B, purchase decisions are made based on facts and several people are involved. With B2C, on the other hand, the purchase decision is often spontaneous and emotional. In order to reach consumers successfully, the advertising messages should therefore be short, concise and easy to understand. Also the expectationsof end users has changed significantly in recent years, so that they now expect a certain authenticity and targeted approach from companies. A targeted approach is much more successful than an anonymous one, as is the case, for example, in television commercials or print advertisements. In this way, wastage is reduced and customers are perceived as individuals.
B2C marketing differs from B2B marketing in the following ways:
- The target group is significantly larger and therefore more heterogeneous.
- The customer approach is more personal and more targeted, since emotionally appealing advertising messages are more successful.
- For the end consumer, the satisfaction of their needs is in the foreground.
- The target group usually has little specialist knowledge and is particularly interested in the price-performance ratio and immediate solutions.
- The products or services are mainly a relatively wide range of mass-produced goods.
Goals
The aim of every B2C marketing measure is to get the consumer to react in a certain way. That response is usually the purchase of a product or service. But in addition to the purchase, companies have other goals in B2C marketing:
- Increase brand awareness
- Improve engagement rate
- Generate more leads
- Establishment as an expert
- Increase in sales
- Customer acquisition and retention
B2C marketing measures
Effective marketing measures are necessary for the consumer to ultimately buy the product being advertised. B2C marketing includes all advertising material aimed at private end consumers. A successful marketing strategy must not only be geared towards the respective target group, but the product being advertised must also correspond to the company behind it. Because nowadays transparency, authenticity and customer relationships are important success factors in marketing. Since consumers make purchasing decisions mostly emotionally, a B2C marketing strategy should convey the personal benefit or advantage of the product or service. The most common B2C marketing measures areContent, email, social media and a user-friendly website.
The B2C marketing measures at a glance
- Content: Content marketing is one of the most important measures in B2C. Successful content should offer content with added value and address potential customers in a targeted manner. This evokes an emotional association and ultimately leads to more attention for the company or product. This means that greater customer acquisition and ultimately higher sales are achieved.
- E-mail: E-mail marketing enables the advertising message to be placed with a newsletter directly in the private mailbox of the respective target person. However, due to the large flood of newsletters, it has to be 100% convincing. In addition to the design, the content must also be optimally tailored to the needs of the target group. This is the only way to convince customers to deal with the product or service. Ideally, the recipient clicks on the included call-to-action button and is directed to the corresponding website.
- Social media: Social media offers a variety of options for targeting the product precisely.
- User-friendly website: Users now expect an appealing, user-friendly website and a technically well-designed online shop that enables a quick purchase process for all end devices. If the website or online shop has problems doing this, the potential customer leaves the website and cancels the purchase.
- Influencer cooperations: Influencers such as bloggers can generate a lot of attention for the product or service with their popularity and awareness. The more followers they have, the better the multiplier effect.
- Multichannel: In addition to your own online shop, B2C products should definitely also be sold on other platforms and marketplaces in order to increase reach and attention.
Conclusion
In B2C marketing, the main focus is on reaching a large target group with targeted measures. For the purchase decision, both the direct approach and the presentation of a solution for successful marketing are important. Since customers in B2C marketing choose a product or service for emotional reasons, the measures must be more target-group-specific. In addition to a user-friendly website, content marketing is the most important measure to address the relevant target group. Among other things, this enables companies to acquire and retain more customers achieve what ultimately leads to more sales.
