Recommendations for your Industrial Marketing Plan
Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2024 4:00 am
A B2C consumer market has a large number of buyers, often with similar desires, whereas B2B business markets typically have fewer customers , and many of these customers expect a customized product, application, or price . Purchase volumes can differ substantially among business customers; for example, a retail chain may purchase several hundred times more commercial carpets than a retail outlet.
B2C vs B2B
In consumer markets , retailers interact with individual consumers whose purchases are typically smaller in size and value than those of many industrial products. In addition, mass media advertising is an effective channel for stimulating this consumer demand.
Finally, B2B companies often rely on multiple business representatives, and aggregate B2B demand is ultimately derived from consumer product demand.
For example, when people eat out more often, restaurants order more ovens, oven manufacturers order more steel, and steel processors order more iron, carbon, and other alloying components.
Differences between B2C and B2B markets
B2C Markets B2B Markets
Many clients Less customers
Smaller value transactions Higher value transactions
Mass produced products Customized products
Fixed price Negotiated price
Short, retail-focused sales process Long and complex sales process
Multiple factors influence the value Usage determines value
Individual purchasing decision maker Multiple purchasing decision makers
Demand stimulated by the media. Derived demand
So, what key points should we take into consideration when approaching an industrial marketing plan?
Business strategy
There is a narrow, if blurred, line between corporate strategy and marketing plan. After all, defining the target market, the value proposition that meets the needs of the chosen customer segment or defining the brand positioning in the market are key aspects of a marketing plan that can hardly be separated from the business strategy.
Marketing departments make decisions that must inevitably be aligned with the mission, vision, objectives and values of a company. Only in this way can coherence be achieved between the impact of marketing action and the company's objectives. That is why it is key to ask: what business objectives should the marketing plan contribute to?
Market and customer knowledge :
The choice of the B2B markets to which the company will direct its offering is not a simple matter. Once chosen, the opportunity and customer need to start working on is also chosen, as well as the context in which it will operate. Furthermore, it is not an easily reversible decision, because the B2B company will have developed skills, capabilities, and sometimes long-term contractual commitments with suppliers and customers in the chosen market.
It is therefore necessary not to be carried away by the thailand whatsapp number data growth forecasts of a given market, but rather to know how the supply-market relationship really covers the needs of the end customer. It is at this point where it is key to gain a deeper understanding of the customer: who they are, what they feel, what they see, what they hear, what they are looking for, what their motivations are.
For this task, we have a huge amount of information easily accessible on the Internet, but in addition, it is an analysis that must be shared between the sales departments due to their proximity to the field, the product managers due to their technical and market knowledge, and the marketing department itself.
Knowledge about purchasing decision makers
As previously mentioned, in B2B environments there are many people and departments that can be part of the final purchasing decision. We can find those responsible for engineering, production, purchasing, general management, and marketing. In addition, each of them has different interests and motivations.
This is why marketing must contribute to making the offer easily accessible to these decision-makers, but also to making this information personalized and attractive to the individual interests of each one of them. In certain markets, with long sales processes and high-value transactions, it is advisable to activate new marketing strategies based on specific accounts (see Account Based Marketing by Sangram Vajre ).
Communicating the value proposition
Traditionally, in B2B environments, communication has focused on the product, on making known its specifications, functionalities and benefits, leaving aside how this product satisfies the client's needs. In B2B environments, it is necessary to talk about solutions, about how these solve the clients' real problems. For this reason, an in-depth study of the client's profile will give us the necessary communication information to connect their problems with the solution offered through the product being marketed.
B2C vs B2B
In consumer markets , retailers interact with individual consumers whose purchases are typically smaller in size and value than those of many industrial products. In addition, mass media advertising is an effective channel for stimulating this consumer demand.
Finally, B2B companies often rely on multiple business representatives, and aggregate B2B demand is ultimately derived from consumer product demand.
For example, when people eat out more often, restaurants order more ovens, oven manufacturers order more steel, and steel processors order more iron, carbon, and other alloying components.
Differences between B2C and B2B markets
B2C Markets B2B Markets
Many clients Less customers
Smaller value transactions Higher value transactions
Mass produced products Customized products
Fixed price Negotiated price
Short, retail-focused sales process Long and complex sales process
Multiple factors influence the value Usage determines value
Individual purchasing decision maker Multiple purchasing decision makers
Demand stimulated by the media. Derived demand
So, what key points should we take into consideration when approaching an industrial marketing plan?
Business strategy
There is a narrow, if blurred, line between corporate strategy and marketing plan. After all, defining the target market, the value proposition that meets the needs of the chosen customer segment or defining the brand positioning in the market are key aspects of a marketing plan that can hardly be separated from the business strategy.
Marketing departments make decisions that must inevitably be aligned with the mission, vision, objectives and values of a company. Only in this way can coherence be achieved between the impact of marketing action and the company's objectives. That is why it is key to ask: what business objectives should the marketing plan contribute to?
Market and customer knowledge :
The choice of the B2B markets to which the company will direct its offering is not a simple matter. Once chosen, the opportunity and customer need to start working on is also chosen, as well as the context in which it will operate. Furthermore, it is not an easily reversible decision, because the B2B company will have developed skills, capabilities, and sometimes long-term contractual commitments with suppliers and customers in the chosen market.
It is therefore necessary not to be carried away by the thailand whatsapp number data growth forecasts of a given market, but rather to know how the supply-market relationship really covers the needs of the end customer. It is at this point where it is key to gain a deeper understanding of the customer: who they are, what they feel, what they see, what they hear, what they are looking for, what their motivations are.
For this task, we have a huge amount of information easily accessible on the Internet, but in addition, it is an analysis that must be shared between the sales departments due to their proximity to the field, the product managers due to their technical and market knowledge, and the marketing department itself.
Knowledge about purchasing decision makers
As previously mentioned, in B2B environments there are many people and departments that can be part of the final purchasing decision. We can find those responsible for engineering, production, purchasing, general management, and marketing. In addition, each of them has different interests and motivations.
This is why marketing must contribute to making the offer easily accessible to these decision-makers, but also to making this information personalized and attractive to the individual interests of each one of them. In certain markets, with long sales processes and high-value transactions, it is advisable to activate new marketing strategies based on specific accounts (see Account Based Marketing by Sangram Vajre ).
Communicating the value proposition
Traditionally, in B2B environments, communication has focused on the product, on making known its specifications, functionalities and benefits, leaving aside how this product satisfies the client's needs. In B2B environments, it is necessary to talk about solutions, about how these solve the clients' real problems. For this reason, an in-depth study of the client's profile will give us the necessary communication information to connect their problems with the solution offered through the product being marketed.