The Difference Between Business to Business Advertising and Business to Consumer Advertising

Business to business advertising is about the marketing of your business not to a general audience but to a very specific audience, that being other businesses. In order to manage your business to business advertising effectively you will need to know the ins and outs and why it differs from advertising to the general public.

The differences

When you are marketing your business to the end consumer you are trying to reach a very different target market. The personal consumer goes through a very different decision making process than the one making a decision on behalf of a company.

When an individual goes shopping they purchase a product which meets their needs or the needs of another family member or friend. If not making a purchase which fulfils a direct need, the shopper can be persuaded to make purchases based on emotional decisions. Advertising messages can be directed at gaining an emotional response from a person in order to get them to make the purchase. Marketers do not need to convince the consumer to purchase the product by giving tons of hard facts, they will convince the consumer to make the purchase by appealing to their emotional needs.

When someone is making a purchase on behalf of a company the decision making process is very different. The buyer needs to make a very logical decision as the purchase needs to be justified to a number of other people involved. The decision making process will be much longer as more people are involved. A lot more pros and cons are weighed before making the final decision. When it comes to business to business advertising, the marketing approach will be more fact centred than emotional centred.

Where is it marketed?

Companies generally appeal to their niche market by advertising their products via direct marketing such as email newsletters or cold calling. They also advertise in targeted environments, such as trade shows, business expos, trade print and digital media, to name a few. This gives your audience a chance to get up and close with your product and therefore make a decision based on the facts.

In order to effectively advertise in the business to business sector, you need to use the services of a specialised business to business advertising agency, who understands the environment and how to reach this target market via the correct channels, using the appropriate messages and language.