The 7 key differences between business-to-business and consumer marketing

When asked if he could write an effective direct mail package on a complex electronic control system, a well-known direct response copywriter replied, “No problem.  It doesn’t matter what the product is.  You are selling to people.  And people are pretty much the same.”

He’s wrong.

Yes, there are similarities.  But there are also differences in selling to business and professional buyers vs. the general public.  In fact, here are six key factors that set business-to-business marketing apart from consumer marketing:

1. The business buyer wants 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. ...(register to read more)