EOC Week 4: Consumer Vs Business Marketing

"In some ways, consumer and business markets are similar in their buyer behavior. But in many other ways, they differ a lot." (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, Pg. 136)

1. The main difference between business and consumer marketers is their target. While business marketers sell to businesses, consumer marketers sell directly to the customer (or consumer). "The American consumer market consists of more than 300 million people who consume more than $14 trillion worth of goods and services each year, making it one of the most attractive consumer markets in the world. The world consumer market consists of more than 6.8 billion people who annually consume an estimated $70 trillion worth of goods and services." (Marketing: An Introduction, Armstrong/Kotler, Pg. 136)

 2. Many consumer marketers advertise products that people might enjoy, but don't necessarily need. But for business marketing, it's different. Businesses want to, and need to buy.

"Most consumer advertising offers people products they might enjoy but don’t really need.  How many subscription promotions, for example, sell publications that the reader truly could not live without?  If we subscribe, we do so for pleasure - not because the information offered is essential to our day-to-day activity.

But in business-to-business marketing, the situation is different.  The business buyer wants to buy.  Indeed, all business enterprises must routinely buy products and services that help them stay profitable, competitive, and successful.  The proof of his is the existence of the purchasing agent, whose sole function is to purchase things." (The 7 Key Differences Between business-to-business and consumer marketing, Robert W. Bly)

3. Consumers don't need as much information as a business does. Businesses have to be very sophisticated when buying products.

"Business-to-business copy talks to a sophisticated audience.  Your typical reader has a high interest in - and understanding of - your product (or at least of the problem it solves).

Importantly, the reader usually knows more about the product and its use than you do.  It would be folly, for example, to believe that a few days spent reading about mainframe computers will educate you to the level of your target prospect - a systems analyst with six or seven years experience.  (This realization makes business-to-business writers somewhat more humble than their consumer counterparts.)

The sophistication of the reader requires the business-to-business copywriter to do a tremendous amount of research and digging into the market, the product, and its application.  The business audience does not respond well to slogans or oversimplification." (The 7 Key Differences Between business-to-business and consumer marketing, Robert W. Bly)