B2B Marketing – Facts, Myths and Differences

Has B2B Marketing witnessed any grumpiness so far, If not on the part of the buyers of B2B Services or products, at least on the part of the B2B Marketers on the lesser conversion rate? Does B2B Marketing possess methods and tools which are concrete in deciding the course of action and the results? Or is it just like any other marketing tool that is just available in everyday marketing affairs?

Is there anything that marks a primary difference or a couple differences between the marketing and the B2B marketing sectors? All of the marketing processes seem to be similar in the methodology in which they function or in the tools they use but the difference is rather in the targeted customer base that belongs to varied business sects.

The question hovers around on what the buzz is all about when the name itself marks the subtle and sometimes, the overt difference. It is very much like the difference between marketing and sales. Even those who are into marketing do not clearly understand or explain what marketing and sales are all about and what is the difference between the two?

Marketers do not seem to legibly explain the two different phenomena. Similarly, you may also try to distinguish between E-commerce, BPO, Customer Service, Direct Sales Marketing and B2B Marketing. You may also have to wonder, if the B2B Marketing is inclusive of all these marketing tools and methods. The answer is partly yes.

Another question that surfaces is the difference between online marketing and B2B Marketing. The buzz is not all that big – the one primary difference that marks the difference between almost all or one of them is the fact that a B2B marketing is differentiated only by the clientele – the target to whom the business serves.

If B2B is a kind of support, marketing, pre-sales, after-sales etc. then the B2B transaction of a raw material supplier supplying necessary accessories to an automobile firm is also called as a B2B firm. But then, the ad agency differs from B2B Marketing by one major difference on the clientele.

Here, the clientele is entirely businesses in a B2B Marketing. Perhaps, it is said that strategies adapted in Business to Consumer transactions are the one and the same that serve B2B firms. An Ad agency also turns different from a B2B Marketing Agency by the clientele, where the agency markets only to the masses or sells product only to the individual customers.

The differences and similarities are many and it is commonplace in marketing and sales to interchangeably use words. But what matters is the success of a new phenomenon and only when it succeeds, it is much debated about!